Walden Writing Center

Top Chef: Semicolon Edition

2012-01-30T11:13:00.000-08:00

By Julia Cox, Writing Consultant

A sadistic challenge on Bravo’s Top Chef requires competing chefs to create a dish using ingredients chosen from a mystery box. Ingredients typically include such cryptic items as rock fish, ramp, and black garlic. Predictably, the episode is a panoramic crash and burn for the palate. Leek and mushroom fondue, anyone?

Successfully adding semicolons to your writing can be a similar process of confusion and experimentation. As the befuddled chefs discovered, it’s hard to cook with something you don’t understand.

Semicolons have long been the middle children of punctuation. They are caught in an identity crisis—not a comma, but not yet a period. These Jan Bradys of the grammatical realm are neglected and misunderstood. Consequently, they are often used incorrectly. The Writing Center certainly sees its share of semicolon confusion every week.

Despite their reputation for difficulty, semicolons are actually pretty simple. Semicolons are used in certain cases to separate parts of a sentence. Here’s how to use them in your writing:

1. With items in a series. Use a semicolon to separate items in a series that already contains commas. When you have lengthy elements in a list, semicolons help to make that list more readable.

Example: Josh bought three cupcakes: a vanilla with cream cheese frosting, peanut butter cups, and pecans; a red velvet with sprinkles; and a chocolate with vanilla frosting, sprinkles, and a cherry.

In an APA citation, the semicolon is used in a similar way, to separate different sources.

Example: The reports on drug use were inconclusive (Kim & Davis, 2001; Sawyer, Smith, & Perry, 1999).

2. With independent clauses. If you want to join two complete sentences, use a semicolon to separate the clauses.

Example: Ben argued the best ice-cream flavor was mint chocolate; Jerry maintained it was cookie dough.

Note: Make sure the sentences don’t need a comma and coordinating conjunction instead.

Example: Ben conceded Jerry was correct, and he ordered a waffle cone of cookie dough.
Because you have a coordinating conjunction here (and, but, or, etc.), a comma is used instead.

Nail down those simple rules and you’re all set. However, don’t get overzealous—an entire page of semicolons would look a little ridiculous. To harken back to my cooking analogy, you don’t want to over-salt. Semicolons are best used appropriately and with restraint. However, they can add welcome variety to the standard litany of periods, commas, and conjunctions that appear in your papers.

Of course, if you want more information on this member of the punctuation spice cabinet, refer to section 4.04 of your APA manual.

What's the Citation Frequency, Kenneth? *

2012-01-23T16:48:00.000-08:00

By Matt Smith, Writing Consultant

In the Writing Center, we often see papers filled with great insight and solid analysis but missing proper citations. Usually, students have written these papers for early coursework, and these assignments don’t always require strict adherence to APA rules, which makes sense: in academic writing, the way that you structure ideas and connect your research to your conclusions matters far more, overall, than whether you remembered, for example, to include the publication year when you mentioned an author’s name in your text. However, citing frequently enough is a fundamental aspect of APA style, and citing infrequently enough can lead to extra revision, lower grades, and plagiarism charges—outcomes you definitely want to avoid. Consequently, learning this skill sooner rather than later will pay off as you tackle bigger projects later on, such as theses, KAMs, dissertations, or doctoral studies.

Though APA style includes several exceptions to and variations of its rules, you can follow a few general principles to keep your citations on track. First and foremost, cite every time you use the words or ideas of another author. Even if you’ve already cited the author once in the same paragraph, you still need a citation if you’re using that author’s ideas. In practice, this can result in paragraphs with citations in nearly every sentence, which might seem cluttered or excessive, but it ensures that your readers will clearly see where your ideas came from. (Note, though, that you can simplify your citations if you’re citing one author throughout a paragraph—see Amber’s blog post for more.)

Similarly, you should cite whenever a reader could reasonably question the validity of your claim. For example, if you state that the sky is blue, then you wouldn’t need a citation, as this is common knowledge (and easily verified by looking out a window). However, if you state that some parenting styles (for example) affect the psychological health of children differently than other styles, you would need a citation to show that this idea comes from a scholarly source. Students sometimes assume, because their instructors and peers read their work, that they don’t need to cite information common to the group—if you all read a book by Bronfenbrenner, let’s say, you might think that you can talk about Bronfenbrenner’s ideas without citations. This might be true and acceptable for a discussion post (I’ll leave that to your instructors), but for virtually all other academic projects you can’t assume that your readers will have the same knowledge or experiences you have. More importantly, you shouldn’t expect your readers—who, after all, are critical thinkers themselves—to trust your arguments without seeing any evidence cited to support them.

To illustrate these principles, I’ve taken a paragraph of a real paper and removed the citations. Rhetorically, this paragraph looks pretty good: the student effectively synthesizes his research to support his own ideas. Take a look through it—without scrolling down and seeing the corrections, if you can help it—and try to determine where this student would need citations.

Stragalas argued that providing employees with details about an organizational change will help to eliminate difficulties. Similarly, Steele-Johnson et al. reported that sharing the details of a change process can help those involved better understand and support the change. Additional research showed that transparency through extensive communication can allow for a wider acceptance of the change. Maintaining clear communication with employees during an organizational change, then, can contribute to those employees’ acceptance of the change.

As you read, consider where this student presents other authors’ ideas, where he presents his own, and where they overlap. Then decide where you would put citations if this were your paper.

Here’s the corrected version:

Stragalas (2010) argued that providing employees with details about an organizational change will help to eliminate difficulties. Similarly, Steele-Johnson et al. (2010) reported that sharing the details of a change process can help those involved better understand and support the change. Additional research showed that transparency through extensive communication showed that transparency through extensive communication can allow for a wider acceptance of the change (James & Quinn, 2011; Nahata et al., 2010). Maintaining clear communication with employees during an organizational change, then, can contribute to those employees’ acceptance of the change.

Notice that the student added publication years after Stragalas and Steele-Johnson et al. because (a) he used their ideas and therefore needed to cite them, and (b) he used their names in his text (e.g., “Stragalas argued…”) so he only needed to include the years. He also added a citation to the sentence that begins “similar research showed…” to demonstrate which research, in particular, supports his claim. Lastly, this student did not need a citation in his final sentence because it’s fully his idea; it builds on the ideas presented earlier in the paragraph, but the author draws this conclusion on his own.

Of course, Chapter 6 of the APA manual also covers the details of how and when you’ll need to cite sources, and I encourage you to read through these pages if you haven’t already—when in doubt, consult the manual first. However, following these basic principles (cite whenever you use other authors’ ideas, and cite when readers could question your claims) will help you develop an intuitive understanding of proper citation, avoid plagiarism in your writing, and become an authority yourself.

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Example text adapted from a paper by Adam Jones. Used with permission.
* Reference to the R.E.M. song "What's the Frequency, Kenneth?"

Want to Type Faster? Then Don't Type. Talk!

2012-01-17T07:58:00.000-08:00

Speech Recognition Software for Dictation or Transcription

By Tim McIndoo, Dissertation Editor

Graduate education requires a great deal of writing. Writing means typing. And a great deal of writing means a great deal of typing! Some of us are not fond of typing or else our speed and accuracy are not up to the task; perhaps we have an RSI (repetitive strain injury) or maybe even a touch of arthritis (heaven forbid). If so, then speech recognition software can help.

We may be familiar with this technology from automotive speech recognition. OnStar and Ford Sync, for example, enable drivers to make phone calls, play music, and get directions without taking their hands off the steering wheel. Another common tool is the smart phone, including Android and the iPhone. The iPhone 4s offers Siri, a “personal assistant” directed entirely by voice.

But with its greater memory and processing power, speech recognition software for the computer offers more sophisticated and specific programs. They can be used to dictate and edit text as well as to control a computer (whether PC or Mac). Imagine not having to transcribe (or pay someone to transcribe) hours and hours of qualitative data!

For more examples of what such software can do, follow this link to Microsoft.

There are several speech recognition programs on the market, but they seem to be divided into two groups: Dragon Naturally Speaking (the most highly rated) and everyone else (e.g., E-speaking and Talking Desktop). Dragon costs around $100 for the home version—likely sufficient for grad work—and $200 for the premier version (perhaps too specialized). Some speech recognition software is also available for free: It’s built in to Windows 7 and Windows Vista.

However, like most sophisticated technology products, speech recognition software has both benefits and drawbacks.

Benefits

Faster typing and Web searching.
Eliminates typing errors.
Hands-free operation.

Drawbacks

Any such program constitutes another piece of software to learn, including memorizing voice commands.
Nevertheless, errors due to inaccurate recognition need to be corrected.
Could burden a computer’s RAM.
Typically requires a headset (possible added cost or discomfort).

Writing has always been a silent activity and it may feel awkward to have to talk in order to write.
Learning to talk in the same way we compose by hand—in other words, thinking out loud—could take some time.
Not all environments—libraries, for example—permit talking

To see videos of the Dragon software in use, follow these links:

A testimonial-like review that explains the product's features.
A clever scenario by David Pogue, technology guru who writes a column for the New York Times and swears by Dragon software.

To get further information on speech recognition in Windows 7, head here.

Writing Review Rut: Sometimes Change Really Can Be Good!

2012-01-12T15:27:00.000-08:00

By Beth Oyler, Writing Consultant

I know how scary it can be to let another person review your writing; whether I ask a friend, family member, classmate, or a tutor for help, I’m always nervous about their reaction. Over time, I also develop a relationship with the person I ask to give me feedback. I like to think of these people as my go-to reviewers: They know me and my writing, so they’ll be able to give me the best feedback, right?

Well, sort of. While I love knowing that the people who review my work understand where I’m coming from and the particular writing struggles I have, it’s also good to change it up a bit.

Recently, I had the chance to have a new tutor give me feedback on one of my final papers for class. While I was a little more nervous than I ordinarily would have been, it was no big deal. When I received her feedback, though, I was amazed. This new tutor was able to point out areas for improvement I hadn’t ever noticed before.

Now that I think about it, this seems obvious. Just like anyone else, tutors tend to create habits, commenting on particular parts of a student’s writing, or have special interests, things that they really focus on that someone else might not. As a tutor myself, I realize that I home in on instances of passive voice in a paper. Passive voice is something I try to avoid in my own writing, and that fact shows in my reviews of students’ work.

Moral of the story: Don’t be afraid to ask different people to review your work! Whether you are approaching family, friends, other students, or a tutor to give you feedback, try asking someone new. You might be surprised at the results! New reviewers bring unique perspectives and can give you a refreshing way to envision your work. Even if that reviewer gives similar suggestions, he or she may phrase them in a different way that “clicks” for you. This is especially useful if you’ve been working with a particular person for a long period of time.

If you’re working with the Writing Center’s tutors or editors, make sure to check out our profiles. You might discover a new reviewer (we have added a few in the last couple of months!) whom you’d like to try. Trust us—we don’t mind and we definitely understand. Sometimes, you just need to get out of that writing review rut.

Five Tips for Tackling the Dissertation

2012-01-09T12:35:00.000-08:00

By Tobias Ball, Dissertation Editor

I live in Minnesota. Minnesota winters are typically a time when residents are tightly bundled in layers of wool and goose down, a time when they must endure icy roads and strange street parking restrictions unless they want their 2005 Jeep Wrangler to be towed to the city impound lot (narrowly avoided this last year), and a time when recreational activities are limited to watching mediocre sports teams perform at a mediocre level.

It can, however, be a good time to write.

Recently, my writers’ group met and shared some of the best ways to keep the writing process moving forward. Although we were discussing fiction, the strategies for making progress also apply to those researching and writing a dissertation.
At all universities, there are more students who start the dissertation process than complete it. If you are taking the time to read this, perhaps you are one of those who have the perseverance and stamina to finish. Here are some of the tips that came up.

When you get stuck, go back and reread earlier sections as a warm-up. Although this is a regular part of the revision process, by reading the last couple of pages, writers can remind themselves of their last point of thought, possibly do a quick rewrite, and then continue moving forward. Get some more words on that page.
Write the manuscript that you want to read. Too often, topics, lectures, and journal articles can be boring. Sometimes, one comes across an article that is well written and interesting. Find that article and use it as a template, creating the dissertation that you would find compelling and meaningful.
Sit in the same place when you write. It might be a desk at a home office, the kitchen table, or like some of my favorite writers, tucked away in a closet. Find your special place and sit there every time you write. When that stops working, employ the antithesis, that is, sit someplace else.
Talk about your topic. Talk about it all of the time. Talk about it with friends, family, coworkers, or the dog. I cannot tell you how many times some stranger has started an absurd conversation with me while I am on the bus. Rather than nod politely, I respond with details about what I am writing. The more writers talk about their work, the better able they are to conceptualize it and share it with efficiency and precision.
Remember that you are a writer. When you are finished with your dissertation, you will have filled more than 100 pages with interesting, academic prose that will foster growth in your field. Enjoy this time. Keep writing. When necessary, use your writing as an excuse. As a writer you can justify backing out of uncomfortable social obligations, take trips to the bookstore for “research,” drink too much coffee, and adopt particular habits that help you cope with the stress of writing. Before you know it, you will be done.

The Hunt for Passive Voice

2012-01-02T09:31:00.000-08:00

By Rachel Grammer, Writing Consultant

The problem of passive voice is a real issue in academic writing. While many well-meaning but misguided educators may have told you that indirectness equals formality, the truth is that the two are not synonymous! In fact, rather than increasing the formality of a work, passive voice is a stylistic choice that often incites confusion in readers.

Passive voice likes to hide in your work, so in order to bring it to light, you need to face your fear of direct language. Here are a few tips to keep in mind as you tackle passive voice in your writing:

SVO is the way to go! Standard English word order is SVO, the subject-agent, verb, and then the object, in that order. If the object (the word that receives the action) comes before the subject-agent (the word that performs that action), then your sentence may be prone to passive voice.

Passive voice: The meal was eaten by James. (Note that the person performing the action is James, the subject-agent. However, look at the order of the words in this sentence. The order here is not SVO, but OVS.)

Revised to active voice: James ate the meal.

Be polite. Introducing a prop before the main actor in a stage performance would seem rude and strange. The same thing goes for passive voice. Introducing an object (a receiver of the action) before you show the reader which word is acting on the object (the subject-agent) can cause misunderstanding.

Passive voice: A study was conducted on the effects of sleep deprivation on driving. (This sentence does not even tell the reader who conducted the study! Therefore, the reader is left without important information.)

Revised to active voice: The high school students conducted a study on the effects of sleep deprivation on driving.

Watch out for those buzzing to be’s. Passive voice is marked by a “to be” verb (am, is, are, was, were, be, being, been, have been, will be, etc.) added onto the beginning of another verb (e.g., was thrown, is given, will be considered). While not all “to be” verbs are indicators of passive voice, they are still a good place to start.

Passive voice: Passive voice is considered to be a form of writing that is not used in academic papers. (Take a look at is considered and is not used, the two verb phrases in this sentence. Both of these contain passive voice, and both of them include is, one of the “to be” verbs.)

Revised to active voice: Passive voice is a form of writing that students do not use in academic papers.

Super secret subject-agents? Passive voice is notorious for eliminating subject-agents and leaving the reader wondering by whom? or by what? If you can add that question to the end of a phrase, your sentence probably has a case of passive voice (e.g., The grass was watered. [by whom?] The research was considered invalid. [by whom?] Many results were skewed. [by what?]).

Passive voice: The orange juice was drunk immediately, and the glass was dropped. (Who or what drank the orange juice? Who dropped the glass?)

Revised to active voice: The child drank the orange juice and dropped the glass.

Use these tips on your hunt for passive voice, and stop the ambiguity before it has a chance to start!

Writing With Authority, Even if Your Mama Taught You Not To

2011-12-27T08:17:00.000-08:00

By Amber Cook, Senior Writing Specialist and Faculty Liaison

Where I grew up, in East Tennessee, most people I knew spoke indirectly. If they wanted something, they’d say “Do you mind to hand me that pen?” They apologized for everything (“I’m sorry; do you mind to repeat that?”). I learned to read between the lines, easily translating “Well, isn’t that different?” to “That dress is horrifying” or “Can I get you anything else?” to “Please leave now.”

After moving to a different region, I learned that this language of roundabout cordiality is not universal. I blushed with embarrassment when a friend ordered her (unsweet) tea by simply asking (no “when you have a minute” or “could I please have a?”). I wore myself out trying to read between lines that contained no subtexts and breaking the long-held habits of apologetic communication. I had to learn the dialect of straightforward.

This habit of speaking directly is something I also had to cultivate in my scholarly writing, and now that I assist other writers, I see that my struggle is not uncommon. Many of us—for reasons of culture, confidence, or personality—feel uncomfortable asserting ourselves in writing. Some writers do not feel qualified to speak authoritatively on a topic, so they hide behind direct quotations or soften their ideas with language like I feel, sort of, or probably. Some writers are uneasy offering critique on literature, so their annotations or literature reviews wind up reading like polite summaries rather than real investigations of ideas.

If this sounds like you, take heart. You can learn to write with authority and confidence. Here’s my advice:

1. Remember that you are an expert. Although you may not feel like it, as you read heavy theoretical literature that boggles your mind on first glance, you know more about your field than 99% of the population. Keep learning, and keep your mind open, but don’t worry that you’re not qualified to analyze what you’re reading.

2. Develop your skills and comfort with critical reading. If you tend to read passively, treating the information as fact rather than perspective, look at the resources on this link. The strategies offered there will give you more to work with as you move toward synthesizing and evaluating rather than reporting and summarizing.

3. Remember that indirect expression does not translate well. Readers from other cultures or those reading in a second language may not catch euphemisms or overly subtle assertions, and you want your work to be as universal as possible.

4. Notice the language of the texts you are reading in your courses. Think about the way the scholars present their ideas and their analyses of past literature. You’ll start to identify conventions in the writing in your field, and you can use those as models.

5. Be assertive but not aggressive. If you take your authority too far, you lose the proper deference to the breadth of ideas in the field. As you develop a confident voice, remember the guidelines for writing with analysis rather than pre-formed opinions. Your authority should be informed not just by confidence but by thorough study.

Most of all, keep in mind that your voice, even if you’re unsure of it, deserves to be heard. We can’t wait to hear your insights, so get writing!

Why Are Abstracts So Abstract?

2011-12-19T05:39:00.000-08:00

By Jessica Barron, Writing Consultant

APA loves it when writers use citations. As other Writing Center bloggers have noted, all statements based on another author’s information, even if paraphrased, should include a citation to tell your reader the source. That usually means you will be citing a lot. In abstracts, though, APA has a few different requirements than the citation usage and formatting in the body of your paper.

When formatting an abstract per APA requirements, ensure that your text

follows the cover page, with the centered title Abstract in plain text (per APA 2.04)
is flush left on the page, without indentation (per APA 2.04)
is a single paragraph and about 150 – 250 words (per APA 2.04)
expresses all numbers as figures (per APA 4.31)
does not use abbreviations or acronyms (per APA 4.22)

Regarding the presence of citations in an abstract, know that citations should not be included. Why? Because this paragraph should not present any material that requires citation, like descriptions of theories or background details. Instead, your abstract should focus purely on your argument, how you develop that argument in your paper, and any conclusions you draw at the end of the document. Think of the abstract like a summary of your paper rather than an introduction to it, which is what we at the Writing Center often see.

Warning: For many course assignments, an abstract is not necessary. Therefore, it is always best to consult the assignment guidelines or your instructor before writing.

If you are looking for more details on abstracts, particularly those for capstone documents, visit our website. Also, examples of abstracts and an abstract primer are available on the Research Center site.

Hello. I'm Your Cyber Reader.

2011-12-12T10:03:00.000-08:00

By Hillary Wentworth, Writing Consultant

I bet an instructor or tutor has told you at some point to read your writing aloud. It’s true that this is a good practice during revision. By reading aloud, you can hear the rhythm and flow of the language and determine if the narrative progresses logically. I am taking this advice one step further, though: Have someone else read your paper to you. By becoming the audience instead of the writer, you can assess your writing—its strengths and weaknesses—more objectively. The words might still be your own, but they are now in someone else’s voice. This process allows you to step back and remove your emotional ownership of the material. Therefore, you should be able to listen for wordy phrases, awkward syntax, and repetitive ideas—things you don’t normally spot when you are in the groove of writing at your desk.

Now, I know that sometimes you are at that desk at 3 a.m., and the paper deadline is imminent. There is no human around, or at least awake, to help you. That’s when your cyber reader comes to the rescue! Fortunately for us writers, many free text-to-speech programs exist online today. In fact, I’ve embedded audio of the first paragraph below, so you can hear it instead of read it on the screen. I’ve used iSpeech’s free version, which is great because you don’t have to download any software. However, the recordings can only be 1 minute in length. iSpeech is probably most effective when you’re struggling with just a few sentences then. Some other programs that allow longer recordings are Natural Reader and Read Please. Because the voices sound more natural with the paid versions, if you find that you like text-to-speech and use it frequently, you might want to invest in that upgrade.

Of course, text-to-speech has uses beyond revision. You could convert course readings or journal articles to speech, for instance; that way, if you are more of an auditory learner, processing and retaining the information will come easier. You could take notes as you listen, thus activating your critical thinking. What other ways could you use a text-to-speech program during the writing process?

The Final Mile: Taking the Last Steps to a Finished Dissertation

2011-12-05T09:32:00.000-08:00

By Jen Johnson, Dissertation Editor

In the Writing Center, one of an editor’s primary responsibilities is reviewing dissertations and doctoral studies for form and style. This review is more than just a last stop for students on their way to earning a doctoral degree; it is also a prepublication review, meaning that one of our tasks as editors is to guide students toward creating a final document ready for publication. Let me pause here for a moment while we consider, again, the conclusion of that last sentence. A final document ready for publication. Dear reader, do those words give you a bit of a shiver? I hope they do, because they do me.

As a writer with some experience in the publishing world, I can tell you that “a final document ready for publication,” no matter what the genre, is a pretty ambitious goal, both for the writer and the editor. It means countless hours, if not days or weeks, of revision; it means fretting over every last comma and adjective; it means checking and double-checking the veracity of every idea and image. And this is when the final document is a 12-line poem. My mind, quite frankly, boggles at the commitment required to thoroughly revise a narrative the length of the average dissertation.

All this is to say, I am sympathetic to the task set before students in the final stages of their doctoral programs. After all the work of preparing for, designing, and executing a study, creating a final document ready for publication must feel a bit like entering Mile 24 of a marathon: You’ve never been so profoundly exhausted in your life, but though you feel as if you cannot possibly take another step, you know you must—after all, you’ve already come so far, and you have just 3.2 miles to go! This analogy has proven helpful for me as a writer, but it has been even more useful to me as an editor, and I remind myself of it each time I sit down to review another study. Which is why, I have to confess, I am more than a little awed whenever I read a clean, clearly articulated, well-formatted document that succeeds in “checking all the boxes” of its respective rubric. In those pages, the evidence of a student’s hard work—all those miles logged—positively gleams. He or she is so close, all that’s needed from me is a little nudge toward the finish line. And I give that nudge with absolute pleasure.

Of course, not every student is able to carry his or her work so far alone, even with committee help, and that’s okay, too; that’s why the Writing Center exists, after all. But I must also say that it’s always clear to me, as an editor, the difference between those students who have given their best effort and those who have opted out, between those who have struggled to reach the 24th mile and those who are still loitering around the last water station, waiting for someone to come pick them up. The evidence is in the care given to the document on my screen, the work put into every paragraph, every sentence, every word. It is unmistakable, that effort. And when it’s there, it makes my heart sing.

So if I could convey to our doctoral students but one message, it would be this: Though you may feel that the real work of your research is done once you’ve written up your results and conclusions, it isn’t. What you do with the final draft of your study matters; these last miles matter, more than you know. Take heart. Don’t stop. Keep tinkering. Keep polishing. And know that we’re waiting for you at the mile marker. Give us the very best work you can, and I promise we’ll give the very best right back to you.

Don't Lip-Synch Your Way Through College

2011-11-28T15:11:00.001-08:00

By Tim McIndoo, Dissertation Editor

Here’s a riddle:

What do Milli Vanilli and scholarly writing have in common?

You remember Milli Vanilli, the German pop group that appeared in the late 80s and won a Grammy in 1990? It turned out that the lead vocals were not sung by the band’s members. As a result, the group was stripped of its Grammy award and faced numerous lawsuits. Millions of album buyers were eligible for refunds. So why offer refunds? Because what the album purported to represent was not the case: band members Rob Pilatus and Fab Morvan were merely lip-synching; therefore, buyers were defrauded.

Guess what? Plagiarism is also fraud. Unless you tell your readers otherwise, they will assume that any words or ideas not cited are yours. But if they aren't yours—no matter if it’s a purposeful or accidental misrepresentation—then you're committing fraud and are guilty of plagiarism.

Like the music industry, academic fraud carries penalties. Plagiarism can result in sanctions, expulsion from a program, withdrawal of published books or papers, and even dismissal.

To protect yourself from mistakes—and to respect the work of others—use Turnitin, Grammarly, or another program that checks for similarities among documents.

And so, in Conclusion, I Will Now End My Paper and This Relationship

2011-11-21T14:31:00.001-08:00

by Jeff Zuckerman, Dissertation Specialist, CSS Faculty Member, and Dating Advisor

Dear Jeff: How do I end a paper? Sometimes I just keep going on and on and on and on and on. And on.
Signed, Confused

PS: Also, can you help me end my relationship with my boyfriend?

Dear Confused: Luckily, ending a paper is much like ending a relationship. You have several choices, depending on your purpose, audience, and context—whether it’s an undergraduate or graduate paper. Let’s start by ending things at the undergraduate level (with apologies to Lunsford [2008, pp. 134-135]):

• Move from specific to general.

When ending a relationship, you might tell your partner that his watching eight football games each weekend suggests his utter lack of interest in you and your needs.

In a paper, you might have described how droughts in Somalia have led to famine and war. In the conclusion, you might say how such problems at the start of the 21st century may well become commonplace throughout the Southern Hemisphere as the effects of global warming and population growth lead to widespread global destruction in coming decades.

• Conclude with a question.

When ending a relationship, your exit line might be a question: “I caught you kissing another girl in broad daylight. Did you really give me any other choice? Did you?”

In a paper, you might have described the need for the Israelis and Palestinians to compromise on land for peace. Your ending could then be a question: “Given that the two sides have made little progress in more than 40 years of tension, killing, and war, do they have any other choice?”

• Conclude with a call to action.

When ending a relationship, your exit line might be “Get your act together. It’s time you grew up.”

When ending a paper, a call to action can be effective—but only if it is specific and doable, rather than a vague statement that reads like a commercial.

Poor call to action: “Therefore, we should tell our leaders to be more supportive of higher education!” (An exclamation point is never effective in academic writing.)

Better call to action: “Therefore, shoppers and employees should (a) sign a petition telling specific stores to change to family-friendly hours on Black Friday, and (b) refuse to shop in stores that are open during the night.”

• Conclude with a warning.

When ending a relationship, you might warn said ex-boyfriend: “Don’t come around my house again, or my brother will have to intervene.”

When ending a paper, discuss what will happen if the position you have argued for does not come to fruition. “In conclusion, it’s important not only to return to your original thesis. Summarize briefly how your analysis of your experience and research has supported the thesis. If you do not end your paper with a logical, forceful, and clear concluding statement that fulfills your purpose, your instructor will likely wonder if you really had a point at all and if you even cared about the assignment. And you will long regret getting dumped by your professor.”

Coming next time: We’ll discuss how to break up with your partner and end a paper at the graduate level. For more on writing a conclusion, see our web page.

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Reference
Lunsford, A. A. (2008). St. Martin’s handbook (6th ed.). Boston, MA: St. Martin’s Press.

A Source Within a Source

2011-11-14T14:07:00.000-08:00

By Nikolas Nadeau, Writing Consultant

Here is one of the most common questions we receive at the Writing Center: How do you cite a source within a source?

To show what I mean, imagine that you are reading Can’t Stop Won’t Stop: A History of the Hip-Hop Generation by Jeff Chang and D.J. Kool Herc. (I highly recommend this book as personal reading, by the way!) Let's say that within this book, Chang and Herc cite the following newspaper article:

Lee, D. (1997, April 22). 5 years later: A mixed legacy of rebuilding. Los Angeles Times, p. A1.

Here, Chang and Herc’s book is what we call the secondary source, while the Los Angeles Times article is the primary source. You wish to cite this newspaper article – but how? Here are three easy steps:

1. Try as hard as you can to find the original source, whether in electronic or hard copy form. As we note in the Writing Center’s web page on secondary source citation, “You should use secondary sources only if you are unable to find or retrieve the original source of information” (Walden University, 2011, para. 2).

Reach out to the Walden Library staff if you are having trouble locating a source.

After doing a simple Google search, I actually found the Los Angeles Times article mentioned above at this link. Therefore, I would cite this source as an online newspaper article and forget about secondary source citation altogether.

2. If you cannot locate the source, follow this format when referring to it in your paper body:

Primary author (as cited in secondary author, year) stated … (p. number).
OR
… (Primary author, as cited in secondary author, year, p. number).

For example, pretend that the Los Angeles Times article above was, in fact, not available online, and that you could not access the newspaper’s paper archives. In this case, a proper secondary source citation would look like this:

According to Lee (as cited in Chang & Herc, 2005), areas affected by the 1992 Los Angeles riots still displayed sluggish economic growth 5 years later ( p. 120).

(Note that the page number citation above is fictitious.)

3. In your paper’s reference list, include the secondary source only:

Chang, J., & Herc, D. J. K. (2005). Can’t stop won’t stop: A history of the hip-hop generation. New York, NY: Picador.

For APA’s official explanation of secondary source citation, see page 178 of the 6th edition manual. For our own additional explanation, visit our web page.

You’re the Navigator! On Introductory Paragraphs and Topic Sentences

2011-11-11T13:13:00.001-08:00

By Tim McIndoo, Dissertation Editor

Readers can follow your argument much better when they know in advance what you will be discussing in a paper, chapter, or paragraph. Here’s an analogy that may bring home the point.

Chances are, you’ve driven your car with a navigator in the seat next to you. You’re driving along and suddenly you hear her say, “Take a left.” It takes a second to realize what the instruction is, but then you slam on the brakes, signal a left turn, and then squeal through the intersection. (OK, I exaggerate a little.)

Once you've caught your breath, you glance over at your navigator and say, as politely as you can, “Next time, could you please let me know a turn is coming in advance? How about a block beforehand?”

In writing, you're the navigator. It’s you who must prepare your reader for what’s up ahead—whether in a paper, chapter, or paragraph. Such guidance is typically called an introduction (when it starts out a course paper or a capstone chapter) or a topic sentence (when it starts out a paragraph).

This responsibility is harder to learn in writing, because readers can't tell you that they felt confused or frustrated when suddenly confronted with unexpected information. Help them follow your argument by letting them know, in advance, where you're taking them. You're the navigator!

New View, New Perspective

2011-11-07T12:20:00.000-08:00

By Beth Oyler, Writing Consultant
I recently had to write a literature review for one of my own classes. While I work with literary texts versus scientific studies, the lit review that we complete as English majors is quite similar to the ones that I review as a tutor. Because I’m usually the one reviewing another student’s completed lit review, being on the other side of the situation was enlightening. No wonder we get so many questions about lit reviews—they are tough!

While I didn’t find any quick fixes or miracle ways to make this type of assignment easier, I did discover a handy Microsoft Word feature: the Outline view.
Most of us are used to viewing Word documents in what Word calls “Print Layout” (news to me!). However, there are other ways that you can view and interact with your document, all accessed by the View tab at the top of your document. Here, you can find the Full Screen Reading, Web Layout, Draft, and (my new favorite) the Outline views. Try selecting a couple of these—they change how you view your draft dramatically! The first time I accidentally chose Web Layout, I thought I had lost all of my formatting. Don’t worry, though; you can switch back and forth between these views without altering your document.

As I said, the view I found the most useful was Outline. Because the document I was working with was so large, I had a tough time keeping my outline straight. Outlining is such an important aspect of a lit review because we, as authors, need to make sure we are organizing our information in the most logical way. So, although I had outlined my paper, as I wrote I tended to stray from the order I had originally laid out.

To fix this, I began giving headings to each section. While I usually insert headings once I’m done writing my paper, inserting headings now helped me remember which section focused on which theme and topic. That’s where I found out about the Outline view. If you’ve formatted each heading to be a specific style, you can go to this Outline view and tell Word which text styles you want to view. In my case, then, I only wanted to view my heading styles. That way, I was able to see easily the outline of my entire paper and move around my paragraphs if I needed to.

While I used the Outline view for my lit review, I can see this option being really useful for all kinds of documents—dissertations, capstone projects, doctoral studies, and the list goes on. If you’ve got a paper that’s longer than, say, five pages, you might find the Outline view helpful. Who knows; if you’re a visual learner, it might even work for smaller papers with only a few sections.

The next time you’re writing a paper, try the Outline view. You might find that it helps you visualize your paper and its organization in a whole new way. Go ahead, try the other views as well. I get bored with the same old Print Layout view and have taken to changing it up. It may sound corny, but it helps give me a fresh perspective on my writing in general!

Find Your Voice Type

2011-10-31T14:01:00.000-07:00

By Kevin Schwandt, Dissertation Editor

In opera, people tend to categorize singers’ voices based on the Fach system. The broadest categories in this framework are familiar to many people: soprano, mezzo-soprano, alto, tenor, baritone, and bass. But for opera fans, there’s more to it. The Fach system is based on range, but also on tone, power, and dramatic effect. Two sopranos can sing the same pitch, but they sing it quite differently; a dramatic soprano might shatter your glass, while a lyric soprano might lull you to sleep. Further, the music written for individual characters requires different voice types. Puccini’s Cavaradossi sings of love lost in tragedy with desperate bombast, while Gluck’s version of Orpheus is subdued and poised when singing about precisely the same kind of emotion.

Regardless of the context, however, most opera composers rely on a combination of various voice types to create musical continuity and fullness.
At some point, the Wagnerian soprano, in her Viking horns, shrieking on her way to save the world, must sing with the baritone patriarch, against whom she rebels. At that moment, the musical range is increased and the two voices complement each other to produce a sound that neither can create alone.

Cultural discourse is similar. In politics, of course, shouting pundits (as a baritone, I’ll call them tenors) talk about the same things as sober, careful journalists (perhaps introspective mezzo-sopranos), but the two voices have substantially different effects. Both pundits and journalists, at the same time, discuss issues that have been examined by social critics, fiction writers, scientific scholars, and a whole range of other people. All of these voices exist in tandem, and all are necessary for a full cultural conversation. Writers, though, need to adjust their voices according to the roles they play. Just as a soprano playing Mozart’s vicious Queen of the Night needs a different tone when singing the cautious melodies of the same composer’s Zerlina, a passionate social advocate needs to adopt a different tone when writing scientific prose.

I always feel a little pained when I tell a student to lose the adjectives, eliminate evaluative statements, and restrict personal experiences to the appropriate sections of a capstone. But scholars need to remember where they fit into the broader opera of social debate and, more importantly, need to remember that they can play different roles in different documents. When conducting and reporting on science, a scientific voice is required. Otherwise, the scientific rigor of an author’s study can (and should) be called into doubt.

My advice to students who struggle with scientific tone typically turns out to be something like “Save your passionate language for the op-ed you will write when you have those letters after your name.” Nothing strengthens an argument like credibility. In social science, one mark of credibility is a degree. However, to obtain that degree, an individual must show that he or she is an expert in the science part of social science, and that expertise includes writing voice.

Just as a lyric tenor cannot become a heroic tenor without developing and practicing the resonance of his high register, a social advocate cannot become a social scientist without developing and practicing the objective, measured tone of a scientist. Your lyricism won’t go away, but the heroism of your scientific voice will lend it credibility.

I Hope This Doesn’t Affect Our Friendship

2011-10-24T14:54:00.001-07:00

By Amy Kubista, Writing Specialist

When I was a junior in high school, there were two boys that I really liked. The first, Michael Hanson,* was intelligent, cute, and sweet. He played football, basketball, and the trumpet and had dreams of attending Harvard; he was the type of boy all parents hope and dream their daughter will date. Then there was Carter Denim.* He listened to punk rock, wore baggy clothes, and smoked cigarettes. He had a bad reputation. Both Michael and Carter made it known that they were crushing on me (yes, I just used crush as a verb). I was rather torn between the two; Michael seemed like the obvious choice, but there is something so appealing about the bad boy. After much deliberation, I chose Carter, but I felt awful about not choosing Michael, so I wrote him a note (because teenagers cannot be expected to actually talk to each other!) to let him down easy before he heard it from someone else.

I sat down to write the note, something like “I hope this doesn’t affect our friendship.” I’m sure we have all heard or used that phrase before, right? To me, it did not seem nearly as cliché at the time. Anyway, I got stuck on the word affect. I couldn’t figure out if it should be affect or effect, so I just wrote ffect and reminded myself to look it up and fill in the missing vowel later. I was really concerned that I would look stupid for not knowing the difference (everyone pays attention to spelling when writing notes as teenagers, right? This was the inner grammar nerd in me beginning to emerge).

I brought the note to school the next day, folded and shoved into the back pocket of my jeans. Carter came up and leaned on the locker next to mine, talked to me, and then walked me to my class. That was enough to let everyone know that Carter and I were “officially going out,” so after class I frantically searched for Michael in the hallway. When I found him, I slipped him the note, and as I was walking away, I realized I had never added the final vowel. I had just told Michael Hanson “I hope this doesn’t ffect our friendship.” I felt like such an idiot! If only I had taken the time to proofread.

This word confusion is common in writing. It is important to use the correct word, especially within academic writing (or breaking boys’ hearts) because it can change the intended meaning of the writer. In this case, affect is a verb that refers to the influence that something has on something else. Effect is a noun that refers to a result. For example, I hope this does not affect our friendship. The effect of my note was Michael would no longer talk to me.

For more examples of commonly confused words, such as accept/except or elude/allude, check out the Diction page on the Writing Center website. That way, whether you are writing an academic paper or rejecting a suitor, you will know the difference!

*Pseudonym

In Regards to Utilizing Formal-Sounding Words Within the Capstone Project

2011-10-19T11:35:00.000-07:00

By Tim McIndoo, Dissertation Editor

It’s true. The dissertation, doctoral study, and project study are all very serious, highly formal pieces of writing. It makes sense that they sound no less serious and formal than the thousands of pages of articles and books out of which they grow.

But the gravity of a piece of writing—as perceived by a given reader—comes not from mere formal-sounding words or phrases, but from the writer’s analytical insight, research skills, and mastery of the subject matter.

Here are three words and one phrase that many writers tend to utilize incorrectly: utilize, within, upon, and relative to/in regards to. Don’t get me wrong: There is nothing inherently incorrect with any of them. But their utilization needs to be based upon the audience and the meaning within a given sentence. One style does not fit all.

* * * *

Now, have another look at the previous paragraph. Can you see (and hear) the problematic words? (I have underlined them.)

Here are three words (and one phrase) that writers tend to utilize incorrectly: utilize, within, upon, and relative to/in regards to. Don’t get me wrong: There is nothing inherently incorrect with any of them. But their utilization needs to be based upon the audience and the meaning within a given sentence. One style does not fit all.

The same problems appear in the title too:

In Regards to Utilizing Formal-Sounding Words Within the Capstone Project

The problem is this: misunderstanding scholarly style or tone and presuming that gravity or seriousness is the result of seemingly formal-sounding words (or the number of letters used). The result tends to be overblown or verbose prose. Readers quickly sense this—even if they can't pinpoint it or name it—and may feel put off by the writing. The words don’t sound right and readers may lose confidence in the content.

Here’s an explanation of these four problems along with recommended changes:

utilize vs. use
The meaning of utilize typically shades into “make use of”; the simple word use is preferred. Short and simple words do not diminish your work or writing; in fact, their clarity tends to elevate.

within vs. in
The meaning of within is more specific than in; it generally means a specific location or "inside of." Thus, in is often sufficient.

upon vs. on
The meaning of upon and on is essentially the same. However, upon has a poetic sense to it that just doesn’t fit with social science research. Hence, the simple on is often the better choice.

relative to/in regard(s) to/concerning vs. on/about
The language of business often has a bureaucratic tone, whereas the tone of social science research is generally neutral. That way, the language doesn’t get in the way of meaning. So rather than use phrases whose tone doesn’t fit the audience (and may yield to indirect, long, or wordy sentences), use the simple about or on. They do the same work with neutrality—and with a fraction of the letters.

With those differences in mind, look at this revised version of the problem paragraph above:

Here are three words (and one phrase) that writers tend to use incorrectly: utilize, within, upon, and relative to/in regards to. Don’t get me wrong: There is nothing inherently incorrect with any of them. But their use needs to be based on the audience and the meaning in a given sentence. One style does not fit all.

And a revised title would read

On Using Formal-Sounding Words in the Capstone Project

Notice that these revisions are smoother, simpler, and easier to read. While tone does not generally affect a study’s data or conclusions, it can show that you know your audience and that you're a member of the same club.

To Thine Own Style Be True

2011-10-17T06:33:00.000-07:00

By Kayla Skarbakka, Writing Tutor

When I was a sophomore in college, I took an expository writing class from one of the star professors in my school’s English department. He was one of those grizzled men with bushy beards and patched suitcoats who live on coffee and cynicism. I was desperate to impress him.

When he assigned the course’s first major paper, he told my class that he wanted us to draw an outline. Not write it—draw it. I had no idea what he meant, and the outline I presented to him was a mess of random thoughts, arrows, and geometric shapes.

“Kayla, I don’t understand where you’re going,” he said.

“Well, I do,” I lied. I figured the tangles of thought in my outline would work their way out in the actual draft. They didn’t. The paper was a disaster. And if I had had just a bit more perspective, just a bit more confidence, I might have understood why.

That professor, to his credit, was trying to get us to free our minds and think outside the scope of the traditional outline: Roman numeral point I, subpoint A, subpoint B. How linear. How boring.

The only problem? That’s how I think—at least in a scholarly setting. That’s how I plan my academic writing. Without a clear, preplanned structure, my mind is a mess of—well, of random thoughts, arrows, and geometric shapes. Once I develop my paper’s argument and understand the basic progression of ideas, I don’t need to start with the introduction; in fact, rarely do I start writing on page 1. But I certainly need to plan that way. My paper failed not because my ideas were poor, but because I surrendered my instincts under the assumption that surely my professor knew best.

It may seem like a cop-out, but nobody—not I, not your instructor, not that mean old middle school English teacher who still haunts you—nobody but you can prescribe your own personal writing process. Maybe, like me, you like to write from ordered lists, engineering your ideas into a logical progression before you type your first word. Maybe you’re one of those freewheeling types who just write and write and write, composing a large body of text that you can then chip away at and sculpt into a cohesive paper. Maybe you prefer a combination approach. Maybe you even like to draw your outlines. The point is, there is a process that works for you. You just have to find it.

If you’ve already established a preferred writing strategy, fantastic! Go with it! If you haven’t, now is the time to experiment. Try writing a linear outline. Too constricting? Try some freewriting. What most interests you about your topic? What troubles you about it? What themes do you see emerging in your writing, and how can you organize them in a logical way?

There’s no best practice when it comes to writing, but there is, most likely, a best practice for you. And it’s up to you to find it.

10 Tips for Tweaking Your Reference List

2011-10-10T13:26:00.000-07:00

By Sarah Prince, Writing Tutor

Let me propose a brief scenario that might sound familiar to many of you. Although you had initially planned to give yourself ample time to write your paper and format your reference list, you find yourself just hours before your paper is due in a frenzied rush to finish your writing assignment. After finally crafting a paper that you are proud of (or at least think is acceptable), you spend a few hurried minutes creating your reference list. Quickly glancing over your references, you decide that everything looks okay (or at least good enough). You save your paper one last time and get ready to submit your work.

I’m here to tell you to WAIT, PAUSE, HALT, STOP! Before your pointer finger hits send, upload, or submit, I’m suggesting you use these 10 simple tips to make sure your references meet 6th edition APA standards. Taking a little time to clean up some common errors in your reference list could make a big difference in your compliance with APA guidelines and even prevent you from losing unnecessary points on your paper.

1. Insert a page break: You should always insert a formal page break between the body of your text and your reference list. This formal page break will begin your reference list on a new page and keep your text from sliding down the page as you make changes and revisions to your document. Make sure to check out http://writingcenter.waldenu.edu/440.htm to access a quick guide for creating a formal page break.

2. Format your reference title correctly: After you have inserted a formal page break, you want the word “References” (“Reference” if you only have used one source) to be centered in plain text (not bolded) at the top of your page. You should not have a colon (“:”) after your reference title.

3. Remove hyperlinks: Make sure to remove all hyperlinks from your reference list by right clicking on the link and selecting “Remove hyperlink.” After doing so, your link should no longer be bright blue and underlined; instead, it will appear in black (like the rest of your draft).

4. Format your references using a hanging indent: Instead of trying to manually create a hanging indent for each reference, you want MS Word to do the work for you! If you change your formatting settings (which I promise is really easy), your citations will remain perfectly indented no matter what revisions you make to your references. For a quick tutorial for formatting an automatic hanging indent, check out http://writingcenter.waldenu.edu/428.htm.

5. Capitalize titles correctly: Per APA guidelines, the title’s first word, its first word after a colon (or the first word of a subtitle), and its proper nouns should be the only words capitalized (whether your title is from a book, a journal article, or a website). For example, let’s say I wrote a book. In my reference list, the title would read Sarah Prince: The woman, the hero, the legend. Notice that here, the first word, Sarah, is capitalized, the proper noun Sarah Prince is capitalized, and the first word after the colon, The, is capitalized. All other words remain in lower case.

6. Format titles correctly: Although APA style does not have different rules for the capitalization of titles in books, websites, and journals, it does have different rules for their formatting. Shorter works, such as journal articles and websites, are written in plain text in your reference list. However, longer works, such as books (I recommend the brilliant read above) and entire journals are italicized.

7. Find the DOI or URL: Per 6th edition APA guidelines, you should actually include a DOI (instead of database retrieval information) when citing journal articles found online. If no DOI can be found, you should then use the URL of the journal’s home page. In other words, if you are glancing at your reference page, and you see “Retrieved from Ebscohost,” chances are you need to take a look at our easy-to-follow flow chart, which will guide you through the process of locating a DOI: http://writingcenter.waldenu.edu/Documents/APA/doi-and-url-flowchart-8.pdf.

8. Include publication information: If you are citing a print resource such as a book (like the brilliant one I’ve suggested above), you will want to include the city and the state postal code abbreviation in addition to the publisher. For instance, your publication information will look something like this: Atlanta, GA: Home Publishing Press. A common misstep is to leave off the state abbreviation or to fail to abbreviate it. If you are unsure, check out this list of state postal code abbreviations: http://www.stateabbreviations.us/.

9. Use correct punctuation: When in a rush, it is very easy to look over missing or misplaced periods in your reference list. For most citations, you’ll just need to follow the simple rules below; however make sure to check out http://blog.apastyle.org/apastyle/2011/07/punctuating-the-reference-list-entry.html for trickier sources.
• Periods should be inserted after the author name(s), date (which goes inside parentheses), title, and source.
• Periods should NOT be inserted after DOIs or URLs in reference list entries.

10. Double space your reference list: Your reference list should be double spaced, and it should not have any extra spaces between individual citations. Just like formatting your hanging indent, automatically double spacing your paper (including your reference list) can save you a lot of time and work. For more help on formatting double spacing, see http://writingcenter.waldenu.edu/432.htm.

So, before you click submit, go through this checklist to see if your reference list is up to code. And, if you still have questions, see the reference list in our course paper template: http://writingcenter.waldenu.edu/57.htm or check out these common reference examples: http://writingcenter.waldenu.edu/36.htm.

Tracking the Elusive DOI: Crossref.org

2011-10-05T12:11:00.000-07:00

By Melanie Brown, Dissertation Editor and Writing Faculty Member

If you have written even one reference list in APA 6th edition style—and if you have been a Walden student for more than a few weeks, chances are good that you have—then you have probably read about the DOI. What is this mysterious DOI? Some people say the letters individually (dee-oh-eye); others say doy (rhymes with joy or poi or “APA style leaves me an-noy-ed”). Either way, whatever you say, the DOI is here to stay. Savvy researchers like you need to learn what it is and how to use it.

DOI: What Is It?
A DOI is a digital object identifier—a fancy way of describing the unique number assigned to an electronic source. This number helps researchers locate a particular journal article quickly and efficiently. If a DOI has been assigned to a journal article you are citing for your paper, KAM, or proposal, then you must include that number in your reference list.

I can hear your questions now:

Savvy Student: “Wait a minute. I have 50 sources in my reference list. Do I have to include DOIs for all of them?”

Gentle Editor: “Only for electronic sources, such as journal articles you read in full-text or .pdf form.”

Savvy Student: “Wait another minute. Most of my sources are journal articles that I read in full-text or.pdf form. How do I know whether those 50 or 100 sources have DOIs?”

Gentle Editor: “By checking Crossref.org.”

Savvy Student: “Look, Editor. I know you’re trying to help, but I don’t have much time to tinker with my reference list. Is Crossref.org easy to use?”

Gentle Editor: “You bet it is. Follow the three simple steps below!”

DOI: How Do I Find It?
At Crossref.org, researchers can look up DOI numbers for online journal articles. Here’s how to use it:

1. Go to Crossref.org. Click on the green box (middle of the page) that reads Crossref: View Flash Intro.

It will show you a jazzy, action-packed, 45-second video about the DOI. Totally worth your time.

2. After you watch the video, you will be back on the home page. Click the Guest Query form: Want to look up a DOI? Visit our Guest Query form (above the intro video box in the middle of the page).

3. On the Guest Query page, scroll down to Automatic Parsing of a Formatted Reference. Paste your reference list entry (one source at a time; do not paste in your whole list at once) into the box, and click Search. If your article has a DOI, it will appear beneath the box. Voila! Thank you, Crossref.org!

DOI: How Do I Put It Into My Reference List?
Now that you have found a DOI for one of your journal articles, you have to include it in your reference list. Here’s a (fictional) sample:

Brown, M. (2011). Finding a DOI is not so hard after all. Journal for DOI Studies, 11, 9-14. doi:10.mlb/34.75329xp

Notice that doi appears in lowercase letters. Notice also that there is no space between doi:#. Check out p. 191 and p. 198 in the APA Publication Manual for more examples of using the DOI correctly in your reference list.

If you have any questions or comments about using Crossref.org or DOIs, post them here. Check out the Writing Center website, too, for more information about electronic sources (Citing Electronic Sources), DOIs (Google Knows Everything; DOI and URL flowchart), and reference list formatting in APA style (Reference List Examples). Happy DOI hunting!

The Politically Correct Pronoun and Why It Doesn't Always Work

2011-09-26T15:27:00.000-07:00

By Brian Timmerman, Manager of Writing Tutoring Services

Sure, it’s the 21st century. I get it: Being sensitive to gender is important. But honestly, if I see one more singular their or they used to avoid even addressing gender in a sentence, I’m going to take your computer away from you.

If you’re unclear, let me give you a few examples of what I’m talking about. These types of faux pas are usually found in broad, sweeping social claims.

For instance, someone might say, “A good doctor knows when to listen to his patient.” This construction assumes that all doctors are male, which is obviously faulty.

So you, a reasonable human being who wants to avoid bias, write, “A good doctor knows when to listen to their patient.”

Me?: Well, I’m crying in a fetal position, wondering how my 95-year-old grandmother, a retired English teacher, failed America.

Now, grammatically speaking, you’re wrong. The pronoun must always match the subject in number. In this example, your subject (doctor) is singular, and your pronoun (their) is plural, resulting in a mismatch. In the end, the politically incorrect person wins.

Another one:

Someone else might say, “In America, anyone can purchase a firearm so long as he does not have a criminal record.”

So you write, “In America, anyone can purchase a firearm so long as they do not have a criminal record.”

Me: I feel a great disturbance in the Force, as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror, and were suddenly silenced.

Again, you’re trying not to be a misogynist, which is commendable, but in the process you’ve constructed a weak sentence.

Now, my guess is that you’re thinking of a quick and easy solution here: Why don’t you just replace the his with a his or her and the they with a he or she? Problem solved, right? Well, not so fast. His or her and he or she should be used rarely per, you guessed it, APA. Instead, revise the subject to fit the plural pronoun:

Good doctors (plural) know when to listen to their (plural) patients.

Or

In America, citizens (plural) can purchase a firearm so long as they (plural) do not have a criminal record.

So there you are. I’ll end my rant. And you can keep your computer.

There Is an "I" in Academic Writing

2011-09-19T13:22:00.001-07:00

By Annie Pezalla, Dissertation Editor

Many students who see us in the Writing Center worry about using first person in their writing. They’ve been trained into “I-less-ness” through their previous classes or in their work with other instructors who have told them that using "I" will make their paper sound weak or subjective. Instead of writing, for example, that “I conducted interviews with participants,” students are told to write, “interviews were conducted with participants”—thereby removing the "I" from the phrase. And they’ve had good reason to practice this stance. Scholarly writing is generally about emphasizing the findings from empirical research, not the person (or people) who conducted the analyses or discovered those findings. Less emphasis, then, has traditionally been given to the "I" in scholarly writing.

But times they are a-changin’. There’s been a growing movement in social science research for greater transparency in our actions as researchers. This movement has been tied to a thing called the “observer effect,” which speaks to the power of our actions on the research findings we generate. This movement has also been linked to the importance of owning our actions for ethical reasons. This stance makes a lot of sense. I mean, is it really honest to act like “interviews were conducted” by some invisible being? Are we being ethical if we fail to disclose our actions in recruiting, interacting with, and compensating participants? Not really.

To present your research in the most transparent way, Walden University and the 6th edition of the APA manual (p. 69) recommend the use of first person in scholarly writing: I collected the data, I conducted analyses, I sought Institutional Review Board approval, and so on. First person voice usually provides the most concise and precise way of describing research processes, findings, and implications. It’s a lot more precise, for example, to write that “I scheduled a meeting with each consenting participant to discuss the study,” rather than “Meetings were scheduled with each consenting participant to discuss the study.” The latter phrase is convoluted, and leaves the reader wondering, “Who scheduled the meetings?” and “Who discussed the study?” The use of first person can limit those questions.

Of course, it should be said that first person should be used wisely. "I" should not appear in every sentence of your manuscript. “I did this” and “I did that” can sound forced and narcissistic. “I” should also not be used to express an opinion about the worth of other scholars' findings (e.g., “I thought this study was boring”). Instead, “I” should only appear in places where anthropomorphic writing might appear (e.g., instead of writing, “This chapter will explain…” write “In this chapter, I will explain…”) and where your presence is as equally important as is the content you are presenting (e.g., when describing the potential impact of your presence on the collection and interpretation of your findings). In any other context of your paper—such as when you are presenting the findings from past literature—“I-less-ness” should generally be practiced.

Six APA Manual Musts

2011-09-12T08:25:00.000-07:00

By Jamie Patterson, Dissertation Editor

There are fewer and fewer of us in the world who carried, loved, and knew the APA Manual fifth edition. You might recognize it on your shelf: red, black, and neglected. When the APA publication committee shifted to the sixth edition (blue, bright, and lovely), it made several changes. In addition to saying adios to the student section (the section that provided the loophole for single-spaced block quotes and reference lists), mention of how to format with a typewriter, and all-caps headings, the sixth edition is really quite readable.

Seriously.

Although it is absolutely possible to sit down and read the sixth edition cover to cover—particularly the early chapters—I realize that most writers sure don’t do this. So as someone who spends at least 8 hours a day with the book in hand, let me point you toward some of the more often visited pages. Even if you just read these few pages, you’ll start to understand the manual a bit more and it might actually be useful to you.

First, let me start by suggesting using the Internet for reference list entries. They’re all in the book (pp. 198-224), but you can also Google an entry or check out our website. Rely on the manual for these issues:

1. Heading levels: p. 62
2. When to use past tense: p. 78
3. Comma use: pp. 88-89
4. How to use hyphens: pp. 99-100
5. When to use a numeral and when to spell out a number: pp. 111-114
6. In-text citations: p. 177

So pull out your book and mark these six little spots. If you can master these elements, your writing will be polished and that much more ready for final review and publication.

One last piece of advice is to pay extremely close attention to APA p. 191 on DOIs. This might not be the most intuitive portion of the manual, so check out our web page on the topic and let me loosely interpret: If you retrieve an article from a database, you must (absolutely must) show how you accessed the article by including a DOI or the URL for the journal or database. As a dissertation editor, I’ve seen documents at form and style that were in need of this access information for all entries. If you can collect the DOI for each article as you write, this will be the single most important time-saving step you make.

That, and becoming familiar with sixth edition, of course.

Tools to Streamline Revision

2011-09-06T06:42:00.000-07:00

By Matt Smith, Writing Consultant

In my previous blog post, I focused on software that can help you generate, record, and organize your ideas during the prewriting phase of a writing project, whether you’re working on a short personal essay or a massive scholarly paper. Those programs can be incredibly helpful as you create your early drafts, but using them when you’re tweaking your final drafts—refining your language to make it more concise, for example, or making sure that each topic or subtopic in your paper has its own paragraph—is a bit like swinging an ax instead of tapping a chisel: Some tools are meant for felling and chopping, while some are meant for shaping and sculpting. In this post, I’ll focus on some tools that can help you polish your text in the final stages of the writing process.

The most indispensable of these finishing tools is also probably the least exciting—Microsoft Word’s spelling and grammar checker (discussed more in-depth here). Grammar and spelling (often simply called mechanics), while minor compared to big-picture concerns like organization and tone, have a powerful effect on your readers overall, and correcting mechanical issues is usually one of the easiest and most noticeable improvements you can make in revision. (Think of them as the fasteners that hold your paper together: One or two loose nails or missing screws won’t do much harm, but if too many are misused or absent, you’ll have a pile of assorted lumber instead of a wall, a bookshelf, or a cabinet.) Be careful, however, not to rely on this function too heavily—the exact meaning, after all, is tricky for even the smartest program to discern, and Word will occasionally misread your writing.

Speaking of built-in Word features, you can also use the Find/Replace function (press Control + F to open it) during revision to make your writing more concise. In early drafts, many writers—myself included, shamefully—tend to use two or even three words, usually adjectives, when they only need one to convey their meaning. While searching for all of these redundant words manually would test the patience of a monk, they’re most often connected by the conjunction and, so you can usually find a phrase with redundant words, such as examine and inspect the theories of Vygotsky, by searching for and and eliminating the extra words (in this case, by deleting and inspect).

Concision, of course, operates alongside diction (also called word choice), another important element of writing style, and diction’s effect on your readers is subtle but significant. While always and often may seem to have similar enough meanings for casual conversation (the grocery store is always out of my favorite peanut butter isn’t too far off from the grocery store is often out of my favorite peanut butter), in scholarly writing the difference between always and often can determine whether your research findings are lauded as revolutionary in your field or dismissed as misleading hyperbole. Luckily, you can use Wordle to eliminate overused words that could be easily misinterpreted (such as always). When you upload your text to Wordle, it creates a word cloud, or an arrangement of the words that appear most often in your writing scaled according to their frequency—that is, the most-used words are larger, while the less-used ones are smaller. If any of the larger words have especially strong or broad meanings, you can use the Find/Replace feature in Word to find them and replace them with more descriptive, nuanced words. Wordle can also help you vary your use of phrases that are repetitive but otherwise harmless. For example, you might not realize, during the drafting of your paper, that you’ve used the phrase Department of Health and Human Services 27 times in your seven-page paper until you see it in a Wordle cloud in a 64-point font.

While the issues I’ve covered so far are all vital qualities of writing that you need to consider when you revise your work, occasionally you’ll want to make major structural readjustments to your paper’s organization instead of focusing on these comparatively minor issues of style. Even if you begin your paper with a detailed outline built on crystalline logic, some measure of chaos inevitably creeps in as you write. For example, it may have taken you three paragraphs to adequately address a topic when you thought it would take only two, or you might have had far less material to include in a section than you initially planned. The result is often a paper full of interesting, thoughtful, yet disorganized ideas. At the Writing Center, we often recommend that students use a technique called reverse outlining to address their papers’ organization as they revise. As the name implies, reverse outlining consists of going through your paper and noting the topic of each paragraph, usually on a note card or Post-it; reorganizing these topics into an outline that makes clear, logical sense; and applying this new structure to your paper.

Reverse outlining can be a bit time-consuming, but there are a few software tools to make it faster and simpler. The word-processing and project-management program Scrivener has the most innovative implementation of this feature currently available. Scrivener’s Corkboard allows you to rearrange note cards on a virtual corkboard, and each note card represents a particular portion of your text. For example, if you move the note card titled “Impact of Piaget’s theories on contemporary psychology” so that it comes after the card titled “Introduction of Piaget,” Scrivener will actually move the text of the “Impact of Piaget’s theories…” section so that it comes after the text of the “Introduction…” section. Of course, you’ll still need to make minor adjustments to your text, such as tweaking your transitions, but this can save you a great deal of time overall in revision. (Note: Scrivener is currently only available on Macs, though there is a Windows version in development.) You can also use programs like PNotes or Word’s Outline View feature to reverse-outline your paper, though you’ll need to rearrange the text in your document manually.

Though these tools are by no means exhaustive—they can only supplement good writing practices and skills, not replace them—they can be a huge help as you enter the final stages of producing a finished discussion post, reflection paper, KAM, or dissertation. Revision is, quite literally, the process of seeing your writing again, and if nothing else these tools can help you to see, and refine, aspects of your work that weren’t yet apparent in your earlier drafts.

An Active Reader Is a Better Writer

2011-08-29T13:22:00.000-07:00

By Tobias Ball, Dissertation Editor

I too am guilty of publicly making the promise that after I complete this or that degree, I am finally going to sit down and do some personal reading. The transgression of denying one's self the pleasure of a good novel or a couple of hours browsing the articles in a favorite magazine or reading aloud some poetry to the dog is one that many students feel is necessary. This is not true. The more one reads the better writer he or she will likely become.

Reading, even something that is not from a peer-reviewed, scholarly journal, can be a reminder of what good writing looks and sounds like. An active reader is one who will also become intimate with the process of writing and be able to recognize when something is good, regardless of the topic or venue. Although fiction writers are considering a different audience, just like academic writers, they want to maintain their readers’ attention and convey a particular message.

Active readers serve as an audience and thereby become aware of the needs of an audience. This awareness makes them better writers. People writing in diaries write for themselves. When composing something as intimate as a letter, writers are acutely aware of their singular audience. Bloggers can track the reading patterns and waxing and waning interests of their audience. Academic writers too know their audience. At first, it is a committee, then the longer list of university approvers, and finally the academic community and future researchers. If meticulous writers are also meticulous readers, they will have an improved awareness and concern for their audience.

Active readers know what has already been written, what was written well, and what requires additional attention. One edition of the APA Publication Manual has a section on the repository that is the scientific journal. This section includes the caveat that a familiarity with the literature allows not only for insight and an ability to avoid repetition, but also an opportunity to contribute something new. The same joy that is felt when a reader discovers a new writer or a new piece by an already favorite writer can be felt by a reader who also contributes something new to the body of academic literature.

Reading can be a source of inspiration, even when reading something that has not been assigned in a class, something that was not retrieved from a library database, or something that is outside of the prescribed social science reading list. A fiction writer may use an old word in a new way or imagine some bit of science fiction that later becomes a tool in the classroom. The ability of someone to capture a feeling in prose or perfectly describe a feeling on the page is proof that words can captivate and motivate. There is no reason to believe that an academic paper cannot be a page turner in the same way as a mystery novel.

Too many things are already sacrificed in the name of school. Time becomes a premium. Leisure is lost. Vacations are postponed. Money is spent. The pleasure of reading has no place on that list. Pick up a book. Buy one or go to the library. Before sitting down to compose a single word of a single draft, read a page or two of fiction. Look at the girth of a hefty novel and know that this writer too, just like the academic writer, conducted research, wrote multiple drafts, shed tears when an editor shredded it, bounced back to create an even better draft, and one day finished the work.

One! One Blog Post!

2011-08-22T12:57:00.000-07:00

By Jessica Barron, Writing Consultant

I never much cared for The Count on Sesame Street. He was not as furry as Snuffleupagus, and his dark lair was a bit frightening for me to comfortably learn numbers. I chose a career path that would lead me into words and writing, and never did I think that the lessons of The Count would be needed in that field. That was, of course, until I learned of count and noncount nouns.

The quick definition of a count noun is a word that can be divided into or counted in units, like one apple or seven puppies. These nouns have both singular and plural forms, and these two forms make it relatively easy for a writer to spot any noun/pronoun agreement or subject/verb agreement issues. However, where a writer can easily change a plural pronoun to a singular one to align with a subject, it can be more difficult to spot any noncount nouns that are used improperly.

Noncount nouns are not categorized as singular or plural; instead, they exist in the singular form. An example of a noncount noun that Walden students often use is evidence. Rather than make this subject plural, like The Count yelling “Two! Two evidences!” during his segment, the writer would refer to the singular form or precede the term with a unit of measurement:

Jones collected evidence that was based on previous research.

Smith found two pieces of evidence to use in the study.

Other noncount nouns that you might encounter during scholarship are fields of study, like education, or groups of similar items, like faculty. Review our Grammar page for more examples of noncount nouns and how to use them in context.

Also, if you’re wondering how another Sesame Street character, Cookie Monster, relates to grammar rules, see this previous grammar post.

Getting Lost

2011-08-15T15:35:00.000-07:00

By Hillary Wentworth, Writing Consultant

My husband and I recently traveled to Venice, Italy, for vacation. Let me tell you some things about Venice: there are no roads, only canals; there are no straight walking paths, only long windy ones with bridges and dead ends. Our first night there, we wanted to go to one specific restaurant that was in our guidebook. We had an address but not much else. Well, an address won’t get you too far. We searched and searched for the restaurant and ended up lost, in a completely different part of town. However, it was the Venice we were looking for: free of tourist crowds and just normal people going about their daily lives. A little boy kicking a soccer ball around an empty church square. An older woman out for an evening stroll with a neighbor, her hand relaxed on the neighbor’s wrist. A small, sleepy canal too narrow for a gondolier to sneak through. We took a moment and forgot about the restaurant, basking in the state of being lost.

In student writing, I often notice that the first half of a paper is about one thing, while the rest is about another. The student is in effect “getting lost” by exploring material unrelated to his/her introduction or thesis. Getting lost is not something to be afraid of; rather, it is something to be embraced. In this discovery is where the real heart of your learning resides. Obviously, you cannot leave your paper as two vastly different ideas. You need to choose one. My advice is to go with the second one. When I see these papers, I see writers who are finding their groove and determining what they really want to write about, and what is important to them. Therefore, if this happens to you, you might decide to revisit the main topic of the paper with the second half in mind. You might even throw out the first half. In that way, the initial writing is just a vehicle to another, more robust and deeper idea.

Sometimes, though, you can’t even tell that you are lost. Or if you do know that you are lost, you are still afraid to ask for directions. To determine whether you are lost and where you should be going, draw a map of your paper. Read through the paper from beginning to end, marking the main idea of each paragraph in the margin. After you finish, look back over what you’ve sketched there. Is there a certain point where you veer off into different territory? Does the end of your paper seem to “match” the beginning? In other words, did you achieve what you proposed in the introduction? If the paper does seem disconnected, consider starting fresh at the fork in the road, the spot where you veered. You can also try to make the current paper work by deconstructing the paragraphs and then rearranging them. This is a fun scissors activity; just cut up the paragraphs and shuffle them around on your desk.

The real aim, though, is to be comfortable with the writing process. It’s going to be messy; you’re going to get lost and desperate. However, with the right tools—the right mentality and the right process—you will always be able to find your way home.

A Lesson in Time Management --Oh Yeah, and Paraphrasing

2011-08-08T14:18:00.000-07:00

By Jeff Zuckerman, Dissertation Specialist

Contributing writers (that would be me) should check the schedule of deadlines so that they do not find out while on vacation they have 2 days to submit a blog post.

Speaking of which: If you’ve taken A Practical Course in APA Style, you know why I used the numeral 2 in that sentence instead of the word two. (Hint: See APA 4.31.)

But would you know how to directly quote or paraphrase that first sentence following all APA style guidelines? In fact, one of the hardest tasks for many of my students in Center for Student Success courses I’ve taught has been quoting a source and paraphrasing in correct APA style. Yet it’s one of the most important skills students need to master.

Here are some basic guidelines:

1. You can’t just copy a phrase from a source without using quotation marks to show it’s a direct quote. That would be plagiarism.
2. When you are directly quoting, you are required to use quotation marks and show the page number or paragraph number from the original source.
3. The APA manual (2010) “encourages” authors to include a page reference when paraphrasing (p. 171).
4. The page number goes inside parentheses (the abbreviation p. or para. followed by a space and then the page number).
5. When you cite an author, all you need is his or her last name followed by the year.

So how would you quote the first sentence in this piece? Here are two ways:

a. Zuckerman (2011) realized that contributors “should check the schedule of deadlines so that they do not find out while on vacation they have 2 days to submit a blog post” (para. 1).
b. Contributors “should check the schedule of deadlines so that they do not find out while on vacation they have 2 days to submit a blog post” (Zuckerman, 2011, para. 1).

As your instructors have probably told you, your writing should be more than a series of direct quotes. Instead, you should try to paraphrase—that is, you should take what you’ve read and put it in your own words. And “your own words” truly means your own words, your own voice, and your own interpretation.

So how would you paraphrase that first sentence?

a. Zuckerman (2011) suggested he should have planned ahead and noticed the due date for his next blog contribution (para. 1).
b. Authors ought to pay attention to their deadlines so they do not spend their vacation in Boulder, Colorado, whipping together a post at the last minute (Zuckerman, 2011, para. 1).

As you progress in your studies, keep these time management tips--and citation rules!--in mind.

Special Guest Blog: An Excerpt From Recipes for Success

2011-08-02T06:24:00.000-07:00

By Dr. Marilyn K. Simon, with an introduction by Dr. Jim Goes

Faculty member Dr. Marilyn K. Simon outlines a step-by-step plan to help you successfully write your doctoral program dissertation or a full-length book in the third edition of Recipes for Success.

“The research-based dissertation is the hallmark of most doctoral programs and sets doctoral-level study apart from other levels of learning,” explains Walden faculty member Dr. Jim Goes in the introduction to the third edition of Dr. Marilyn Simon’s Recipes for Success (2011). “Dissertation writing is a profound act of original scholarship, involving deep original thought, critical thinking, and creation of new knowledge. Dr. Simon has crafted a process by which anyone can build the pieces of a successful dissertation.”

Recipes for Success is presented in three parts: preparing the menu for your feast; gathering the utensils to collect and analyze data to help you solve the problem you pose; and finally, learning how to put your meal together to ensure a delicious high-quality study to serve at your feast. Here, we’ve excerpted a taste of the book, which teaches you how to knead the critical ingredients together:

APPETIZER
The purpose of an introduction is to capture the attention of the reader or set the stage for the courses to follow. It will acquaint the reader with the problem you are studying, the approach that you have chosen to study the problem, and your style of writing. It is the place where you begin to dish out your ideas and whet the appetite of your readers. An introduction gives the reader a peek at your study. It usually:

1. Puts your study in some perspective.
2. Establishes the need for your study.
3. Alerts the reader to what will follow.
4. Catches the attention and interest of the reader.

SOUP/SALAD
A literature review is an integrated critical essay that analyzes and synthesizes the most relevant and current published knowledge on the topic under investigation. The review is organized around major ideas and themes. You need to review critically other studies that have tried to answer the questions that you are asking and solve problems similar to the one you framed. You need to summarize these studies, compare them, contrast them, organize them, comment on their validity, and stir similar ones together.

A substantive, thorough, and scholarly literature review is a prerequisite for doing substantive, thorough, and scholarly research. To be useful, scholarly research must be cumulative; it must build on and learn from prior research on the same or related problem under investigation. It must also clarify and resolve inconsistencies and tensions in the literature and thereby make a genuine contribution to the state of knowledge in the field (Boote & Beile, 2005).

MAIN COURSE: PART ONE
You are ready to put together many of the ingredients that you have carefully amassed and create a splendid main course. In chapter three, you will spoon-feed your guests as you elaborate, in great detail, the research design that you selected and how it applies to your study.

Chapter three is where you elaborate on why the paradigm and method you chose are appropriate to solve the problem you posed. If a qualitative design was chosen, an argument about how a quantitative method would not solve the problem should be included, with sources. Make certain to use a germinal book on the method to help justify your selection. Also let your work marinate so all parts come together and tenderize as needed to make your feast palatable to your guests.

MAIN COURSE: PART TWO
Here is where you provide the punch line, or tell the reader what you discovered from your study. Chapter four presents, in sufficient detail, the research findings and data analyses and describes the systematic and careful application of the research methods.

There is no single way to analyze the data; therefore, the organization of this chapter and analysis procedures will relate to the research design and research methods you selected. However, there are general guidelines to follow and components to include. The presentation and analysis chapter of your dissertation usually contains many of the garnishes listed below and provides an affriander (addition to a dish to give it a more appetizing appearance).

DESSERT
Kudos, cheers, and compliments to the chef. It is now time to relax and savor the final moments of your eloquent banquet. Here is the time where you can editorialize about you study and advise future cooks on how to create similar feasts.

Chapter five discusses the findings and expounds on their importance, meaning, and significance. Confirming and contradicting data are thoroughly discussed. Here is your chance to unravel the power and importance of your research.

-----

Dr. Marilyn K. Simon has been actively involved in mathematics and computer education since 1969. She has been part of the Walden community, first as a student and then as a faculty member, for 22 years. She has published numerous books on mathematics education, scholarly research, high stakes test-preparation, and online learning. She is also the president of MathPower, co-founder of Best-Prep, educational consulting firm, and president of the board of directors of Responsibility, a non-profit charity that builds schools for families that live at the Tijuana municipal dump. Dr. Simon joins forces with her esteemed Walden colleague Dr. Jim Goes to provide an open source web page to assist doctoral students and doctoral mentors. The two helped establish many of the social change initiatives that Walden has enacted.

Shortcuts: Functionality at Your Fingertips

2011-08-01T05:57:00.001-07:00

By Jessica Barron, Writing Consultant

Using the functions of Microsoft Word makes me happy. Finding the location of these functions, however, does not. Sometimes it just seems easier to manually double space a paper instead of taking the time to search through drop down menus for the line spacing selection. Thankfully, Microsoft has an extensive list of shortcut codes that puts functionality at your fingertips, literally! Check out http://support.microsoft.com/kb/290938 for a complete list, but here are some of my favorites:

CTRL+S – Save a document

I use this shortcut the most, usually after every edit I make to a document. I have had more than one computer crash on me mid-sentence, so learning this shortcut would be beneficial to all writers who want to frequently save their work.

CTRL+Z – Undo the last action

I tend to click on things a lot, even if I don’t know what they do. The shortcut to “undo” helps me reverse something immediately before I click on something else and my actions become irreversible.

CTRL+C – Copy selected text or object
CTRL+X – Cut selected text or object
CTRL+V – Paste cut/copied text or object

These are classic shortcuts, but they are still useful in modern word processing. When revising a document, I often cut and paste sentences from one paragraph into a different one to see how that placement impacts my overall flow and organization.

CTRL+A – Highlight the entire document

This function highlights all of the items in a paper. While it may not be used often, if a global edit needs to be made (e.g., changing the line spacing or font style), this shortcut helps writers avoid dragging their mouse through a whole document in order to highlight their text.

CTRL+2 – Double space a document

Not sure what Word can do for you? This shortcut is fantastic for those new to the functionalities of Word. Because all course papers should be double spaced, this action helps those who may not be tech savvy format their papers per Walden and APA guidelines. No more manual spacing required! And yes, you guessed it—CTRL+1 easily changes double-spaced text to single-spaced text.

CTRL+ENTER – Insert a page break

This shortcut is especially useful for writers who have gotten into the habit of manually entering spaces to start a new page in a document, like for a reference list. Using Word’s page break functionality helps you avoid having to reformat the placement of that new page if you add or delete anything during the revision process.

CTRL+EQUAL SIGN – Create subscript text
CTRL+SHIFT+EQUAL SIGN – Create superscript text

Ever wonder how writers make text incredibly small and off-center, like in H₀1 or 21^st century? These two shortcuts will help you avoid having to search for font options to create these subscript and superscript styles.

CTRL+T – Create a hanging indent

The term hanging indent often appears in discussions of reference list formatting, but finding a document’s ruler is often more time consuming than just using the Tab key to indent lines of a reference citation. However, this shortcut quickly creates a hanging indent, which will help ensure that your reference citations are APA compliant!

There are many more shortcut options available to Word users, so if you often use one that isn’t on this list, let us and your peers know!

Book Review: Woe Is I: The Grammarphobe’s Guide to Better English in Plain English, by Patricia T. O’Connor

2011-07-25T14:10:00.000-07:00

By Jen Johnson, Dissertation Editor

A confession: I like grammar rules. Not because I think they are easy to learn or even always logical (where’s the fun in that, after all?), but because in a world that is frequently confusing and sometimes chaotic, grammar rules offer a comforting source of consistency. Nouns always (or should always) agree with verbs. Pronouns such as everyone and everybody are always singular. The word it’s is always a contraction for it is, never a possessive (that would be its). As both a writer and a reader, I find that kind of linguistic constancy reassuring, lovely, even elegant.

But in spite of my affection for grammar rules, I have to admit that few authors on the subject manage to bring those rules to life in a lively, let alone memorable, way. Patricia O’Connor is one sparkling exception. In her book Woe Is I (first published in 1996 and expanded in 2003), O’Connor infuses chapters on such potentially dry subjects as pronouns and punctuation with humor and charm. In an especially entertaining chapter on clichés, for example, she encourages writers to be discerning about which well-worn phrases they allow to creep into their work; among her list of overused clichés is “agree to disagree,” which she dismisses by saying, “People never really agree to disagree. They just get tired of arguing” (p. 169). And to illustrate the concept of a dangler, O’Connor uses this chuckle-worthy example: “Born at the age of forty-three, the baby was a great comfort to Mrs. Wooster” (p. 160). O’Connor’s use of humor as a literary device, while great fun, also serves a more serious purpose; by first tickling the reader’s brain with these little feathers of wit, she succeeds in making the reader more receptive to the (blessedly clear and concise) grammar lesson that follows. After the Mrs. Wooster dangler, for example, O’Connor explains,

As the sentence is arranged, the baby—not his mother—was forty-three. (The opening phrase, born at the age of forty-three, is attached to the baby, so that’s what it describes.) Here’s one way to rearrange things: The baby, born when Mrs. Wooster was forty-three, was a great comfort to her. (p. 160)

And that, I would say, is about as painless a grammar lesson as one could ever hope for.

Adding to the appeal of Woe Is I is O’Connor’s voice. Her tone is accessible, even conversational, making me feel at times as if we were chatting about the nuances of grammar over a morning cup of coffee and a warm cinnamon roll. About the verb to wake, for example, she writes, “There are lots of ways to greet the morning—maybe more than we need. You can wake, or you can waken, or you can awake, or you can awaken. So rise and shine, already!” (p. 67). And O’Connor’s candor about her own grammatical hang-ups, such as not always using the verbs may and might correctly (p. 59), is refreshing, especially considering that she was once an editor at The New York Times Book Review. (See, even experts can make mistakes.)

Woe Is I is more than a guide to grammar, though. O’Connor winds down the book with chapters on grammar rules that have gone extinct, such as, “It’s wrong to end a sentence with a preposition” (p. 183); how to write more effectively (applicable whether you’re writing a dissertation or a letter to a friend); and e-mail etiquette (including the use of abbreviations, such as LOL, and emoticons), each of which could prove useful to readers wanting to sharpen their command of English grammar in all its many applications.

One caveat for Walden readers: O’Connor and the editors of the APA manual are not always in perfect agreement, and where they differ, the APA manual wins (at least when it comes to writing academic work at Walden). For example, O’Connor instructs the reader to add ‘s “to form the plurals of all numbers” (p. 30), but this rule contradicts APA 4.37, which directs writers not to use an apostrophe in plurals of numbers (e.g., 1950s, not 1950’s). And while O’Connor lists among her dead rules, “Data is a plural noun and always takes a plural verb” (p. 184), any student who submits work to the Writing Center knows (or quickly learns) that this rule is in fact alive and well in APA land. Such distinctions aside, Woe Is I is a smart, witty, and, for the rule-weary, palatable guide to the sometimes quirky world of English grammar. And for the grammar lover, well, this book is pure delight.

O’Connor, P. T. (2003). Woe is I: The grammarphobe’s guide to better English in plain English. New York, NY: Riverhead Books.

Announcement: New Appointment Scheduling System

2011-07-20T07:49:00.000-07:00

On July 7, 2011, Walden University launched a new scheduling system for our student services, including the Writing Center. This new system will replace the Walden Interactive Reservation E-System (WIRE) that students have been using to make appointments with the Writing Center since 2008.

On July 7, students will reserve appointments for July 25 and on through the new Walden scheduling system by clicking on the “Schedule an Appointment” link on their myWalden Portal under the Academics tab. This new system will ensure university-wide access to online scheduling. Our current scheduling system, the WIRE, will not be available for appointments after July 24.

We hope that you find this new and improved service helpful in contributing to your student experience and success in your degree program at Walden University. If you have any technical questions about the new system, please contact the Student Support Team. You can reach Student Support by phone at 1-800-WaldenU; by e-mail at support@waldenu.edu; or through chat: Choose "Click Here to Chat" on the Support tab in your portal.

Please continue to direct writing questions for the tutors to writingsupport@waldenu.edu and for the editors to editor@waldenu.edu.

We look forward to working with you!

Because You Practice It Wrong: Writing as Empowerment and How to Make It Fun

2011-07-18T19:32:00.000-07:00

By Kevin Schwandt, Dissertation Editor

Walden University’s resident writing guru Jeff Zuckerman recently related a wonderful story of music education. As a musicologist—a nutty disciplinary title (not just a Prince album) that essentially means I’m a musician who is trained to be a writer and, equally, a writer who is trained to understand music—I was prompted by Jeff’s tale to think about my own educational path, one steeped in both writing about musical thinking and thinking musically about writing. I’ve always thought that the two disciplines lived, uncomfortably, in different parts of my brain, but Jeff’s tale made me reflect more seriously on how the concept of practice can transcend disciplines.

One recent morning, Jeff—a pianist, as well as Walden’s resident writing sage—asked his talented drummer and music educator son to jam for a bit. Jeff expressed disappointment with his inability to match a particular rhythmic passage, to which his son, an educator at heart, asked what precisely he was struggling with. Jeff asked why he could keep trying to perform one passage over and over again and never get it right.

As a good music teacher, his son replied, “Because you practice it wrong.”

The repetition of ineffective actions is perhaps the most confounding, though common, aspect of skill development. We crave familiarity, even when we know we need something new. The act of writing almost perfectly reflects this fundamental truth of most people’s daily lives. Struggling writers tend to repeat patterns; developing and growing writers change them.

When I reflect upon the long history of my education, I remember one of my first piano teachers. She emphatically told me that my piano ability would be with me forever; no matter how old I grew, I would always have my pianistic skills. The abilities I was fostering would bring joy to my life. Partly because I was a very stubborn child and partly because her tendency to smack my hand with a pencil to indicate my fingering errors was irritating, I didn’t believe her.

The angry child in me wants to say she was wrong. Years later, I must grudgingly admit that she was right.

Now, working to help students improve their writing, I have learned that those piano lessons meant more than I thought. Few things in my life make me as happy as playing the piano. One of them is writing. In both cases, reaching a point where practice became joyful, not tedious, required critically engaging with what I was doing.

Regardless of the task, practice means more than repetition. Indeed, repetition can be detrimental. Practice requires careful examination of one’s actions as well as the results of those actions. That examination, coupled with the bravery to try new approaches, makes practice both fun and productive. In many religious traditions, the concept of practice is considered the essential companion to empowerment. That is not coincidental; self-aware, critically engaged practice is the essential foundation of growth, change, and improvement.

The writing process is a privilege that we as scholars need to recognize. I believe strongly that writing is a gift. Indeed, as I often remind students at residencies, many people do not have this gift; it is precious and should not be taken for granted. Walden students tend to be people who seek to do good in a world that doesn’t always produce good by itself, so this isn’t a new idea for them. Walden students often speak for those who are institutionally voiceless. Nevertheless, facing deadlines and program requirements can make people feel assaulted and exhausted. As scholars, we need to remember that we are among the most privileged of people; we have the time and energy to think big thoughts.

As scholars, we have an obligation to put those big thoughts into words; our privilege comes with the responsibility to share ideas. To that end, the articulation of ideas should be performed with the same passion that led to the ideas in the first place.

To maintain that passion, scholars’ writing needs to be as active as the higher level thinking they engage in daily. When you find yourself in a rut, when the words don’t come as easily as you’d like, do something different. Change your word order; try new verbs; see if you can say the same thing four different ways. When you feel that you can’t write something correctly, focus instead on practicing your writing creatively. Make it fun by not practicing it wrong.

Citing an Author Throughout a Paragraph: Notes on a Tricky APA Shortcut

2011-07-11T12:27:00.000-07:00

By Amber Cook, Senior Writing Specialist

In both the fifth and sixth editions of the APA manual, there is a shortcut involved in citing the same author multiple times within a paragraph. It’s a rule that was so vexing to understand in the fifth edition that we tutors had a long e-mail thread with the subject line “The Great 208 Debate.” (Page 208 was the location of the rule. And yes, we are that dorky.) In the sixth edition (now on p. 174, or p. 71 in the latest Perrin Pocket Guide), the guideline is explained somewhat more clearly, but it still generates more questions than just about any other APA conundrum.

There are two parts to this rule: One applies to in-text citing (where the author is part of the sentence itself), and the other applies to parenthetical citing (where the author and year appear at the end of the sentence within parentheses).

1. In-Text Citing: When presenting the author’s name in the text of a sentence, the year only needs to appear the first time it shows up, and it can be omitted thereafter in other in-text citations in that same paragraph:

a. First time for in-text citation:

Cook (2010) asserted that a shortcut causing this much trouble may not be a shortcut after all.

b. Next in-text citation in the same paragraph:

Cook noted that, in spite of the frustrations it sometimes causes, APA is a pretty handy style guide.

2. Parenthetical Citing: Every time the author of a source appears within parentheses, there must also be a year within those parentheses. Unlike in rule # 1, the year will never be dropped from the parenthetical citation:

a. Like this:

APA often confounds writers, especially with citation shortcuts (Cook, 2010).

b. Never like this:

Citation may actually be simpler without such a rule (Cook).

The key here is that these two rules operate independently. The number of times a source is mentioned in parentheses (# 2 above) will not impact the decision to use the year in an in-text citation (# 1 above). See this example:

APA often confounds writers, especially with citation shortcuts (Cook, 2010). Cook (2010) asserted that a shortcut causing this much trouble may not be a shortcut after all. Citation may actually be simpler without such a rule (Cook, 2010). Cook noted that, in spite of the frustrations it sometimes causes, APA is a pretty handy style guide.

The Writing Center website has a little more on this rule here, if you’d like to see another example.

Some other things to keep in mind:

1. This rule only applies to the same work by the same author. If you have multiple works in that paragraph, the rules here apply to each source separately.

2. This rule only holds true within one paragraph at a time. Once you shift to a new paragraph, you’ll need to start over with the citation pattern described above.

3. If you are using multiple sources by the same author, you must always include the year to differentiate between the sources.

The good news: It doesn’t get much more complicated in the APA manual, so if you can get a handle on this, you’re in great shape for navigating the rest of the guide. We may even let you in on our next geeky e-mail thread about APA minutiae.

Electronic Interaction With Research Made Easy

2011-07-05T10:34:00.000-07:00

By Beth Oyler, Writing Consultant

Based on personal experience, my guess is that most students groan when they find out that the assigned readings for a class are a whopping 28 pages at least. It’s not so much that we don’t want to read the material, but that we like to print out articles so we can write in the margins, highlighting and circling important information and ideas and scribbling large question marks when confused (that one might be just me). Marking up an article in this way helps us better understand the material, as well as pick out the important bits weeks later.

Not being able to print out long articles is a bummer because we cannot interact with the assigned readings. What I have now realized, though, is that the recent version of Adobe’s PDF Reader has some handy new tools that allow us to do just about everything we would with a print version. Previously these types of tools were only available to those who bought Adobe Acrobat Pro. Now the free version, Adobe Reader X, includes these capabilities.

Highlighting. Highlighting is an important and useful tool to use as you read an article. Not only can you highlight the main ideas of the author, you can also highlight ideas or facts that will be important to you in your research. If you’ve ever read an article, set it aside, and then come back to it weeks later with the intent of using it in your paper, you know what I mean. You’ve already read the article but have forgotten where that great quote was or where the author mentioned her thesis. By highlighting this important information, you can easily skim the article and find what you need.

Annotations. Not only can you highlight important information, you can also write yourself notes about the highlighted information to help you in the future. Not only are you now able to remember that this was important stuff, you can remind yourself why. There’s no need to wonder why you highlighted a sentence; an annotation can tell you that you thought it would be great to use in your introduction.

Sticky Notes. Similar to annotations, you can also place sticky notes throughout a document (similar to Post-its). Instead of highlighting something, you might want to include a global note for yourself, something that isn’t attached to a specific sentence or paragraph but is placed within the document itself. These are great for summarizing an article, recording your reaction to a particular paragraph, or noting to yourself where information might be useful in your own paper. Or maybe you want to insert that big question mark I was mentioning earlier when things get confusing.

Color Coding. You can also change the shape and color of any of these tools by right clicking and selecting “Properties." You can then make whatever changes you’d like and choose “Make Properties Default” so that all further uses of that tool will follow these settings. This might be useful if you want to highlight all information for chapter 1 of your dissertation in green and all information for chapter 2 in pink. Of course, you can always use these options to make the article just a bit more colorful!

Use these tools in whatever combination and way you’d like—if circular sticky notes make you happier, go for it! Just make sure to take advantage of these options. Interacting with your research will help you to better understand the material, make connections between ideas, and use the research in the future. No need to make the excuse that you couldn’t print out an article; use that green highlighting to your heart’s content!

The Comma Conundrum

2011-06-27T13:09:00.000-07:00

By Sarah Prince, Writing Consultant

In fourth grade math, I started each class period with what my teacher called Mad Minute quizzes. For a grueling 60 seconds, each student stared down a sheet of multiplication problems, which had to be answered as quickly as possible. The student who answered the most multiplication tables correctly received a gold star by his or her name after each class. I never did very well on these quizzes, and at the end of the year, there were still no stars beside my name. From this point forward, I just assumed I was terrible at math. As I progressed to middle school algebra, high school trigonometry, and college calculus, I felt like this initial assumption was confirmed over and over again. On each math quiz or test, I would give up and assume the worst at the first sign of anxiety, frustration, or confusion. I was simply bad at math, and I would never understand.

I bring up my own fraught experience with multiplication facts not to draw some weird parallels between poor math skills and excellent writing skills, but to instead draw another sort of similarity regarding many writers’ beliefs about understanding correct comma usage. As a writing instructor and as a tutor, I have heard countless students say “I just don’t understand commas,” or “I don’t know why I put a comma there.” If I probe a little further, students reveal that there are too many rules and too many exceptions to these rules to really ever get a good handle on where (and where not) to place commas in their writing.

Just like the fourth grade Sarah, who decided she would never understand 8 x 6, these students simply decided they were not capable of understanding commas. So, how about we make a deal? For 10 minutes or so, throw out all of your assumptions about what you think you know and don’t know about correct comma usage. Pretend you are learning about commas for the first time. Open a new brain file, select a blank document, and take down these three important rules, which will steer you in the right direction regarding comma placement:

1. Insert a comma before a coordinating conjunction that joins two independent clauses.
a. To clarify, a coordinating conjunction is simply a small connecting word. Many grammar nerds (like me) use the acronym FANBOYS to remember these words (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so).
b. Another point of clarification: An independent clause is simply a part of a sentence, either before or after the coordinating conjunction, that can be read as a complete sentence on its own.

Examples:
I am not a big fan of salad, but I know I should eat leafy greens.
• Because both “I am not a big fan of salad” and “I know I should eat leafy greens” can be read as complete sentences on their own and because they are joined with and (a coordinating conjunction), you DO insert a comma here.

I really like the smell of grapefruit but not the taste.
• Here, only “I really like the smell of grapefruit” can be read as a complete sentence. Writing “not the taste” by itself is a sentence fragment (or what we call a dependent clause), as it does not have a clear subject or verb. So, even though it is still joined by but, a coordinating conjunction, you DO NOT need to insert a comma in this case.

2. Use a serial comma in your academic writing.
a. A serial comma simply means that a comma should separate each element in a series of three or more.

Example:
Before running a marathon, I like to make sure I have my shoes tied tight, my race number on straight, and my hair pulled back in a high pony tail.
• Here, because you have three list elements, you insert a comma to separate each element (even the one that comes after the and).

3. Add a comma to an introductory clause to help readability.
a. An introductory clause, often called an introductory subordinating clause by grammar nerds (again, like me), is a way many writers provide readers with sentence variety and necessary context. These clauses begin with subordinating conjunctions (e.g., after, although, since, while, for, if, unless) and are situated at the beginning of your sentence.
b. Important: Although many believe that a comma is necessary after every introductory clause, some other scholars believe that these commas are only necessary after longer introductory clauses (for instance, those of four words or more). I know this might seem a bit confusing, but the most important takeaway here is to stay consistent in your own writing.

Example:
Although I always wake up early for work, I really would love to sleep in some days.
• Here, your introductory subordinating clause is “Although I always wake up early for work.” However, you still have an independent clause (a part of your sentence that can be read as a complete sentence on its own) following this clause.

Now that you know these three important comma rules, hit that mental save button. Although I promise that no one at the Walden Writing Center will pass out any comma Mad Minutes to test your new knowledge, I challenge you to try implementing these three rules into your academic writing. Hopefully, with just a little practice, you can erase that voice in your head that is telling you correct comma usage is something you‘ll never grasp. And while you are catching up on commas, I’ll be working on 8 x 6 . . . without a calculator.

When to Use an Author Name in the Body of a Sentence and When to Keep It in the Parenthetical Citation

2011-06-20T15:46:00.000-07:00

By Tim McIndoo, Dissertation Editor

Scholarship requires acknowledgement of all sources of text or ideas not one’s own. APA style calls this an in-text citation. It is done in two ways:

Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences (year)
The theory of multiple intelligences (Gardner, year)

In the first example, the author’s name appears in the body of the sentence; in the second example, it appears in the parenthetical citation. Both are correct. But why choose one over the other?

Which is more important to the sentence or paragraph: the author of the idea or the idea itself? When you are comparing authors’ ideas—which would be common in a discussion of theories, for example—readers need to know which idea belongs to which author. Thus, the author’s name (or names or et al.) should appear in the body of the sentence, that is, in the foreground. But outside of this direct comparison—when the ideas are more important than who presented them—the author’s name should be kept in the citation, that is, in the background.

By keeping ideas in the foreground (and authors in the background), you improve clarity, continuity, and thus comprehension. The sources of ideas (author names) do not get overemphasis. Readers are not forced to keep reading authors’ names—names that are secondary to ideas. Relegating authors’ names to parenthetical citations also benefits you as the writer: You don’t have to find artful ways of integrating names into the text.

To recap: All sources of ideas or text not your own must be cited. Broadly speaking, when the author’s name is as important as his or her idea, include the name in the sentence; when the idea is more important than the author’s name, keep the name in the parenthetical citation.*

*See also p. 172 of The Craft of Research (Booth, Colomb, & Williams, 1995), a highly recommended guide.

APA: More Than Citations

2011-06-13T15:33:00.000-07:00

By Hillary Wentworth, Writing Consultant

It’s easy to think of APA style as simply a way of crediting the sources you reference in your paper. Yes, the citation part of APA is quite important, as you always want to maintain academic integrity and avoid plagiarism. However, there is much more to APA than parentheses at the end of a sentence. Carve out some time to review chapter 3 in the APA 6th edition manual or the Perrin Pocket Guide, which both deal with writing in a scholarly manner. In these chapters, you’ll find tips on transitions, word choice, tone, and bias, among other topics. Here’s a taste:

• Did you know that using he to indicate both genders is a form of bias? Instead, you will want to use he or she or revise the sentence to avoid the pronoun. You can also easily change a singular noun to a plural, thus allowing for the neutral they. Here’s an example:

Biased: When a teacher introduces a lesson, he should use images to stimulate visual learners.
Unbiased: When teachers introduce a lesson, they should use images to stimulate visual learners.

• Has a tutor or editor ever commented on anthropomorphism in your writing? What a long word, what an interesting concept! Anthropomorphism is the act of giving human qualities to inanimate objects, such as a course paper. Here’s an example:

Incorrect: This paper discusses the importance of social cognitive theory in the development of personality.

Well, a paper can’t really discuss anything because it is lying flat on a desk or embedded in your computer. You as author, however, can discuss, argue, and examine. A revision of this sentence could be as follows:

Correct: In this paper, I will discuss the importance of social cognitive theory in the development of personality.

• Do you find your paragraphs dragging on and on? Are you exceeding the page limit on every assignment? If you are having a hard time getting your point across clearly and quickly, check out what APA calls economy of expression. Sometimes the best way to express an idea is also the simplest. I like to go through my papers after I’ve written a draft and physically cross out extra words with my pen or rephrase especially wordy sections. In this way, I train myself to write succinctly in future papers. Consider this original sentence:

Wordy: There are several ways for researchers to design their studies; those ways are quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-methods approaches.

And here is the revision:

Better: Researchers can design their studies in several ways: through quantitative, qualitative, or mixed-methods approaches.

This revision just streamlines the material to avoid the passive there are and the repetition of ways.

Now that you’ve had a sampling of APA’s great advice for writers, remember to turn to that book whenever you are feeling lost at your computer screen. It’s not all citations and references, you know.

Formatting the Reference List: Saving Time With MS Word 2007

2011-06-06T12:30:00.001-07:00

By Melanie Brown, Dissertation Editor and Writing Faculty Member

APA-style reference lists pose challenges for so many writers. Each list must be comprehensive (every source cited in your paper, KAM, or dissertation chapter must include a reference list entry so that readers can locate each source). Each list must be accurate (one mistyped number in the DOI can send your readers to the far reaches of the Internet in search of that article; for more on DOIs, see Google Knows Everything and Citing Electronic Sources). Each list must be current (if an online report you cited now shows a Page Not Found message, then you have to delete all mentions of it from your paper). Finally, each list must show correct formatting (authors, publication years, page numbers, and DOIs positioned in just the right places in a double-spaced list with hanging indents).

Given how much time it takes to write a reference list, I can understand why some writers rush through formatting. These writers press the enter key repeatedly until the list “looks” double-spaced. They indent lines by pressing the tab key (or, worse yet, the space bar) like they are sending an urgent message in Morse code on an old telegraph switch. These actions are satisfying because they feel fast: “A few enters, some tabs and spaces, and voila! My list is formatted, just like in the manual!”

Except it isn’t. Inserting spaces manually with the keys and the space bar can give you headaches down the road. What happens when you realize you left a few words out of the article title? When you type those words into the title, the entry becomes longer, and now those careful line breaks, tabs, and spaces you spent so much time inserting are askew. When that happens, you have to spend more time backtracking to delete some of those spaces and reinsert others. Does that approach feel efficient to you? Beware of confusing comfort (“I already know how to do it this way and don’t have time for anything else. My paper is due in 20 minutes!”) with efficiency.

Here are some steps to help you use MS Word 2007 spacing functions to your advantage.

1. Type one of your reference list entries into a new MS Word 2007 document. As you type the entry, do not press enter at the end of each line. Instead, let each line of text wrap to the next line until you have typed the entire entry (author, publication year, title of book/article/what have you, electronic location information). Press enter only to break to your next source.

2. After you have typed all material for an entry, you can format it. Here’s how:
a. Highlight the entire entry with your cursor; right-click your cursor and in the drop-down menu that appears, select Paragraph.
b. In the formatting box that appears, find Indentation; in that area, click on the Special box, and then click on Hanging. This step formats your entry with a hanging indent.
c. In the same box, find Spacing (below Indentation); in that area, make sure that Before and After both show 0 pt. (Type 0 into each box or use the arrows on the right side of each box to change the number shown. This step ensures that spacing before and after each line is correct and consistent.)
d. Also under Spacing, click on the box under Line Spacing and select Double. Now your list will show a hanging indent and be double-spaced. Great job!

3. Now, save this special formatting. That way, you can apply it to other entries in your reference list with the touch of a button. You will not need to follow the steps in Item 2 over and over again. Here’s how:
a. Use your cursor and mouse to highlight the fancy new double-spaced and indented reference list entry you just made; right-click the cursor and select Styles (at the bottom of the drop-down box).
b. In the next drop-down menu that appears, click Save Selection as a New Quick Style; give this style a name—I use RefList—and click OK.

After you follow these steps, type your next entry in the reference list. (Again, press enter only when you are finished typing the entire entry.) Now, here comes the fun part that saves you loads of formatting time:

• Highlight the second entry with your cursor; go to the Home tab at the top of the MS Word screen and find the Styles box in the ribbon above your paper.

• In that Styles box, you should see the style you just created—RefList. Click it, and voila! You have reformatted your second reference list entry with the touch of a button! (If you do not see the new style you just created, simply scroll through the styles boxes there in the ribbon until you do find it. Then click on that new style, and voila!)

Any new process takes a little time to learn. By following these steps, you will format reference lists for papers, KAMs, and capstone drafts efficiently and effectively. If you have any questions, comments, tips, or shortcuts, post them here. I would be glad to hear from you!

Book Review: How to Write a Sentence and How to Read One, by Stanley Fish

2011-05-23T13:40:00.000-07:00

By Amy Kubista, Writing Consultant

Had I known that the contents of this book were intended for an audience of creative writers rather than academic writers, I would have sought out a book that is more appropriate for Walden students. The title of the book duped me into thinking that it would address sentences at all levels of writing, and I was hoping to point students toward a text that would excite them and help them breathe life into their academic writing, a style of writing that is often stereotyped as boring and tiresome. I was seduced by Fish’s long list of accomplishments, awards, and positions held (specifically his current position as a weekly columnist for the New York Times). I found myself hopeful after reading his definition of a sentence as a creation of relationships between the actor, action, and object of action, and that once you, the reader, understand this concept, you can “write anything: a paragraph, an argument, an essay , a treatise, a novel” (Fish, 2011, p. 8). However, it soon became obvious that academic writers would benefit little from Fish’s discussion.

From the moment I cracked open the book, I was expecting to be dazzled not only by examples of artistic and famous sentences, but by Fish’s sentences as well. However, the first sentence of the book failed to pique my interest much and was a disappointment, despite the fact that Fish spends an entire chapter focusing on first sentences. After reading the chapter on last sentences, I prepared myself for a grand finale for a book about sentences. In other words, the last sentence of this book, no doubt, will be phenomenal. Again, I was disappointed as the last sentence was actually a question that, instead of giving finality and purpose to the content of the book, left the reader hanging. It was a thoughtful and artfully composed question, but one that was vague and disappointing nonetheless.

The book had many examples of sentences that were well crafted, and Fish takes the time to dissect and analyze these sentences to determine why they are great. However, I was unimpressed with his selection of sentences; most of them derived from classical works, giving the impression that the art of writing a good sentence is an antiquated one that needs to be revived. Personally, I would have enjoyed examples of more contemporary sentences to make the content of the book more relevant to contemporary writers.

My time spent with Fish and his sentences was not a complete loss, though. I did take away a great deal from his emphasis on scrutiny and attention to detail. The book inspired me to pay more attention to sentence structure, content, and meaning. I particularly enjoyed Fish’s definition of a sentence as “a structure of logical relationships” (Fish, 2011, p. 133) and the journey he takes the reader on from the basic structure of a sentence, to the different sentence styles (I especially enjoyed the chapter on satirical sentences), to sentence content. I could not help but feel, though, that I was taking a college course that was devoted to writing a sentence. Each chapter felt like a distinct unit of study, complete with exercises, examples, and explanations. I could almost feel Fish lecturing to his students and assigning homework (write an additive sentence in the vein of Virginia Woolf). He even provides a summary prior to the last section of the book, and I couldn’t help but thinking of it as a review before the final exam.

Overall, while this book was fascinating in its investigation of the art of composing sentences, it is not one I would recommend to students invested in academic writing. I should have known better than to judge a book by its title.

Fish, S. (2011). How to write a sentence and how to read one. New York, NY: HarpersCollins.

Expository and Persuasive Elements in College Essays

2011-05-16T10:36:00.000-07:00

By Mara Galvez, Writing Consultant

"Am I supposed to take a stand, or do I just summarize all my research findings?” This is a question a student recently asked me, attaching a copy of her assignment directions. The question made manifest a challenge both grads and undergrads face in writing papers for their courses: Students have a general sense that assignment directions set the parameters for their writing, but they don’t always know how to decipher those directions to determine the appointed purpose, content, or even research requirements.

Luckily, most academic essays fall into a few core categories or "genres"; once you know what types of essays are possible, deciphering assignment requirements gets less challenging. For example, assignment directions will typically indicate whether the overall purpose of the essay should be primarily expository (to inform the reader about something), persuasive (to convince the reader about something, especially about one side of a controversial issue), or a combination of the two. If an assignment asks you to explain, describe, provide an overview, or give the history of something, your purpose is going to be mostly informative. For instance, assignment questions for an expository essay might ask: Provide an overview of the treatment options for schizophrenics. Give a history of the concept of mental illness. Describe the main theories of adult learning. Notice that none of these directions asks you to choose among better or worse theories, to decide among treatment options, or to critique concepts. All of them just ask you to report the information.

On the other hand, persuasive essay assignments might ask questions along the following lines: What are the best contemporary treatment options for schizophrenics? What are the dangers of viewing mental illness as a social construct? Which adult learning theory is most applicable in the online educational environment? Notice that this trio of questions actually does require you to take a stand—to choose and defend one position (treatment x is the best because. . .; the social construction of mental illness is problematic because. . .; Knowles’s learning theory is most applicable because. . .). While both expository and persuasive essays will involve incorporation and analysis of research, then, the former essay type will foreground the informative aspects of the research, while the latter will use the data to support a particular position or argument.

Of course, most essay assignments will actually entail a combination of expository and persuasive elements. In these cases, it is still beneficial to try to break down the essay components into those aspects that are primarily information-centered and those that are mostly persuasion-centered; this will ensure that you successfully address all aspects of the assignment. Consider the following typical assignment question: Read the case study of Patient X. After comparing and contrasting the different therapeutic options available for treating the patient’s schizophrenia, choose the therapy (or combination of therapies) you believe to be most applicable in her case. Provide a rationale for your decision. Notice how this question requires that you first provide a detailed summary of treatment options (expository aspect of the assignment); then, building on that data, you are expected to convince the reader of the superiority of one treatment (persuasive aspect of the assignment). If you just summarize the data or you just present your position, you will leave half of the assignment unaddressed.

The student who came to me asking for help deciphering her homework assignment was unclear about whether she just had to provide a synopsis of research findings or if she had to take a stand regarding her findings. Her assignment turned out to be for a proposal; she was supposed to define a problem (exposition) and then propose a solution (persuasion). Once we broke down the different parts of her assignment question, she was able to determine her essay’s required focus and its purpose. From here, she was able to use the components of the assignment question to outline and organize her response, determining appropriate content for each section of her essay.

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If you found this blog topic useful, keep your eyes open for Mara's next blog post, which will look at differences between definition, comparison/contrast, causal analysis, and proposal essays.

Announcement: Website Change

2011-05-13T12:54:00.000-07:00

In an effort to improve your experience with the Walden University website, the Writing Center web pages will have a new look come Monday, May 16. This change will not affect any of our content, so all the links that you rely on today will still be there come Monday! For a taste of how the Writing Center website will look, go here.

Chapter 1 Made Easy

2011-05-09T20:08:00.000-07:00

By Jamie Patterson, Dissertation Editor

The number one problem I see with the writing in chapter 1 of a capstone study is that the writer is trying too hard. This should come as really great news if you haven’t started writing and will probably come as a blow if you have. Not to worry; this blog post is all anyone needs to write or revise for a perfect chapter 1--that is, if you’re writing a dissertation or an EdD research study. (My apologies to other schools, which have slightly different requirements.) Some of the golden nuggets to follow will certainly apply, but know that requirements for DBA and EdD project studies are slightly different.

No matter what school you’re in, my first piece of advice for making chapter 1 easy is to write it after chapter 3. Chapter 3 is where you’ll delineate the methodology of your study, where you’ll get to the real nuts and bolts of what it is that you’ll be doing. Because chapter 1 is introducing your study, it will be much easier to write after you’ve had a chance to really formalize what, exactly, it is that you’ll be doing.

Next, keep things as simple and to the point as possible. Never forget that chapter 1 is an introduction and is meant to do just that: introduce. Clear, concise, and to the point should be your writer’s mantra (referred to by APA as “economy of expression”). Chapter 1 in particular is incredibly formulaic. There are very specific pieces of information that you must present to your reader. Rubrics are available to help you present this specific information: http://researchcenter.waldenu.edu

Taking the rubric, then, you’ll outline your chapter 1 in this way:

Introduction (Shoot for one page, maybe two. Refer to greater detail in chapter 2)
Problem Statement (A really strong paragraph will suffice)
Nature of the Study (One paragraph. Refer to greater detail in chapter 3)
Research Questions and Hypotheses (Simply list your research questions. Note: if qualitative, no hypotheses)
Research Objectives (One paragraph)
Purpose of the Study (One paragraph)
Theoretical Base (quantitative) or Conceptual Framework (qualitative; no more than a page)
Operational Definitions (Four or five are fine)
Assumptions (Short paragraph)
Limitations (Short paragraph)
Scope and Delimitations (Short paragraph)
Significance of the Study (No more than a page)
Summary and Transition (No more than a page)

Okay, now that we’ve completely mapped out all the Level 1 headings for your chapter 1 (and I do mean completely; please don’t add to these headings), let’s talk about some elements here that might not be intuitive for all writers.

To begin, at Walden all quantitative studies require a null and an alternative hypothesis. When you present your research questions and hypotheses, do so by presenting the question, followed immediately by the corresponding null and alternative hypotheses, following the example below and the guidelines on APA 4.45 for guidance.

Research Question 1: Listed here following a one half inch indent, followed by a question mark.
H₀1: Place the H in italics, the 0 in subscript, and 1 in plain font, followed by a colon, followed by the hypothesis.
H₁1: The alternative hypothesis will follow the null hypothesis.
Research Question 2: Most often, focusing your research questions and limiting the number will also help you to focus the entire study.
H₀2: The null hypothesis for Research Question 2 goes here.
H₁2: The alternative hypothesis for Research Question 2 goes here.

Note that qualitative studies are not hypothesis driven and therefore will not include hypotheses.

Next, note that the assumptions will be based on the study itself. That is, what will you assume to be true as you conduct this study? For most qualitative studies, for instance, the researcher assumes that the participants will be honest and open in their responses. For all studies, the researcher makes the assumption that the chosen methodology is the best possible tool for solving the research problem. Take care to leave any assumptions about the outcome of your study out of this section (a common mistake I see). Remember you are an unbiased scientist. The assumptions you make in chapter 1 are related to the functionality of the study itself.

Finally, let’s talk about limitations and delimitations in very basic terms. The limitations are elements of your study that you have no control over. The delimitations of the study are choices you made as a researcher. That’s why the delimitations and scope of the study are often grouped together: both the delimitations and scope are explaining the choices you made to define the parameters of the study.

Seems pretty simple, right?
It is!

I promise you, it is. Chapter 1 is as formulaic as it comes, and it behooves you to follow that formula as closely as possible. Think of who your actual readers will be: people like me who read hundreds, if not thousands, of academic documents in a single year. There’s a specific language that extends to how and when information is presented, and meeting your educated readers’ expectations of that language and presentation will make it easier for your content to shine through.

So, just to review: write chapter 1 after you’ve written chapter 3 and, I would suggest, after you’ve at least started the research for chapter 2. Keep things simple, concise, and rubric adherent. Remember: after you’ve fulfilled the requirements of the rubric you can stop writing. Really.

Chapter 1 is just that easy.

Demystifying Prewriting: Yeah, There’s an App for That

2011-05-02T13:26:00.000-07:00

By Matt Smith, Writing Consultant

In interviews, many well known creative writers report that one of the questions most frequently asked of them is also one of the most annoying: “where do you get your ideas?” Their answers to this question, while polite, detailed, and thoughtful, are usually elaborate ways of saying “I don’t know,” because writing—both creative and academic—is a complex, complicated process that often defies simple logic: what works perfectly for one person may not work at all for another, and what has worked in the past may no longer work in the future. While these writers are often unable to pinpoint the sources of their creativity (the ideas, they say, just sort of appear), they usually instead articulate the methods and techniques that they use to make themselves more receptive to inspiration when it arrives, allowing them to develop seemingly random connections and possibilities into something original. Some, for example, use freewriting (that is, writing constantly for a set period of time without stopping to change or correct anything) to bypass their inhibitions; others record everything of interest—an unusual phrase, a surprising fact, a key detail—in notebooks so that later, when they’ve forgotten all about those snippets of information, they can see them again and find new relationships between them.

This phase of the writing process, which consists of everything you do before you actually put words on the page, is called prewriting, and it includes almost as many tactics and tools as there are writers. Traditionally, prewriting methods—for academic writers as well as creative ones—were limited to what could be done with pen and paper: keeping notes in a college-ruled notebook, for example, or jotting your ideas onto note cards that you can rearrange into different organizational schemes. However, with the advent of personal computers, the Internet, and a variety of portable gadgetry (smartphones, tablet computers, etc.), new software tools have been created to help you organize and connect your ideas as you begin a piece of writing.

Freemind, for instance, is a mind-mapping tool that allows you to quickly record your ideas and rearrange them at will, creating organizational structures on the fly. It’s especially great for nonlinear thinkers (like me) who hate the Roman-numeral method (each topic indicated with a Roman numeral, each subtopic with a capital letter, etc., in an orderly column with sensible indents) and its oppressive linearity with a fiery passion. In Freemind, you can also use icons and arrows to visually connect ideas with each other regardless of their locations on the screen. Best of all, it’s free, and it will run on virtually any personal computer (there are versions for Mac OS X, Windows, and Linux).

For those who prefer the flexibility of Freemind but still want to produce a neat outline at the end of their brainstorming sessions, Microsoft’s OneNote provides an even compromise. In this program—which costs money but might already be on your PC if you own a copy of Microsoft Office—you can arrange your ideas as nonlinearly as you think of them. You can type anywhere on the screen, for example, and move your notes around at any time, and, when you want to start organizing, you can rearrange those ideas into bulleted lists to easily establish a hierarchy for your thoughts. OneNote is only available for Windows, though—Mac users, I feel your pain.

If you struggle to record your ideas in the first place (never mind arranging them), you might find Evernote useful too. It’s a free note-taking program that can archive nearly anything—text, audio, photos, web pages, etc.—into a virtual notebook that you can access on your computer, your smartphone, or your tablet. You can add tags to each item in your notebook so that, later on, when you’re trying to remember that one article—the one you read about, you know, that thing, you know, that study on, um, I think it was memory and technology, well, I think so, anyway, and it was written by a researcher from the Cleveland Clinic—you can simply search for “Cleveland” to find it again. Please note that Evernote is so useful it’s addictive, and if there were ever a computer program likely to lead us into a science-fiction future in which everyone’s brain is connected directly to the Internet, this is it. (You’ve been warned.)

Like Evernote, Zotero, a free add-on for the FireFox web browser, has exhaustive archiving powers, but it’s targeted specifically at scholarly writing, and it can greatly simplify the process of managing and formatting your references to other authors’ works. Furthermore, Zotero is possibly the easiest of these tools to integrate into your existing writing processes—you simply read text (web pages, articles from scholarly databases, etc.) as you normally would in your web browser, and, whenever you find a thought worth saving, you simply add the text to a collection in Zotero (if you’ve used iTunes, you can use Zotero—their interfaces are quite similar). From there, you can organize your notes into groups and subgroups, building your observations into an argument grounded solidly in the texts you’ve read. Also—and this is truly magical—Zotero automatically retrieves bibliographic information from the vast majority of databases and websites you read; the program all but eliminates the tedious step of manually typing authors’ names, titles, and publication information into your reference list. The Walden Library has a great guide to using Zotero here.

Of course, you might find some of these tools more useful than others—Freemind, for instance, might be too chaotic for your way of thinking, or you might find Zotero too rigidly hierarchical. Still, I encourage you to try at least one of these tools the next time you begin a writing project if only because they all, in their particular ways, can help you develop good prewriting habits, those little rituals that allow you to clearly see the ideas in front of you, the relationships between them, and with practice and luck, something new too.

When Am I I and When Am I Me?

2011-04-25T13:49:00.000-07:00

By Brian Timmerman, Manager of Writing Tutoring Services

I hate me. There. I said it. And before you even think about referring me to Dr. Drew, let me stress: I mean using the word me, not me personally. I’m awesome.

“My boss asked her and me to review the report.”
“Let Dave or me know if you need anything.”
“My grandmother gave my sister and me a plant.”

If you’re like me, saying anything resembling the above probably makes you feel like Cookie Monster as soon as it comes out of your mouth. And that’s why I hate it. You might well have just said, “Me hungry” or “Me like shiny.” The use of me just doesn’t sound right (although, grammatically speaking, the use of me in all three instances is 100% correct).

So, when do you use me (instead of the far more sophisticated-sounding I)? Well, that’s actually kind of simple, and it’s all about being selfish. Let’s break down those sentences, making them all about me.

“My boss asked ~~her and~~ me to review the report.”
“Let ~~Dave or~~ me know if you need anything.”
“My grandmother gave ~~my sister and~~ me a plant.”

Now, those . . . those sound good, right? You would never say, “My boss asked I to review the report.” And that alone lets you know that me is, in fact, correct.

OK, OK, OK, but when do you use I?

Well, that’s pretty easy, too. Just be selfish. Change “My wife and me need to get groceries” to “~~My wife and~~ me need to get groceries,” and it’s pretty clear that you should use I: “I need to get groceries” or rather, “My wife and I need to get groceries.”

Now, as with most tricks, there is an exception. Let’s say you have a sentence with the verbs are or were:

“Beth and I are going to Italy.”
“Beth and I were in Brussels.”

If I break the first one down, I’d have “~~Beth and~~ I are going to Italy,” but me, of course, doesn’t work either: “~~Beth and~~ me are going to Italy.” In these instances, the tie always goes to I.

“Beth and I are going to Italy.”

And good for I, I say. I hate me.

Using Verbs Carefully

2011-04-18T16:54:00.001-07:00

By Annie Pezalla, Dissertation Editor

Many of us who are passionate about social science research are also passionate about writing creatively. This passion for creative writing might stem from an innate love of language, or from a class taken long ago in poetry or fiction. Alternatively, it might stem from reading too many published articles that seem, well, like a snooze fest, and the subsequent resolve to write something more engaging. Wherever that zest originated, there’s no denying that it exists. And it often guides the language choices we use in our scholarly writing.

In an effort to marry those two passions, it feels only natural to be creative with the language choices in our scholarly writing. Instead of writing that a researcher found a relationship between two constructs, for example, we might instead write that a researcher declared a relationship or, even better, opined a relationship. After all, declared and opined are much more creative than the boring old verb found, right? In other efforts to keep our readers engaged, we might be tempted to introduce additional creative verbs into our work: proclaimed, protested, or harangued. After all, we want to engage our readers, right?

Yet caution should be used when those creative temptations start to rise. This advice might sound like a buzz kill, but in scholarly writing, verbs should be unembellished and straightforward. For example, if I wanted to report the findings from Zuckerman’s (2009) study on the impact of gender on the preference for the Twilight vampire series, I should stick with the straightforward verb of found to discuss his results:

Zuckerman (2009) found a relationship between gender and preference for Twilight.

Any other verb choice would be unclear here. Zuckerman (2009) stated that there was a relationship… suggests that Zuckerman didn’t actually carry out a study on gender and Twilight; he simply thought about it and made some proclamation about it. Similarly, Zuckerman (2009) argued that there was a relationship… suggests that Zuckerman engaged in some philosophical debate about the topic but didn’t collect any empirical evidence on it. The verb found clearly conveys to readers that Zuckerman carried out this study and generated findings based on the resulting evidence.

In your own writing, a helpful guideline for choosing verbs could stem from the type of research—theoretical or empirical—on which you are reporting. Theoretical research is generally contemplative or speculative, and the verbs to describe such research should reflect the tentative nature of that kind of knowledge.

Sigmund Freud (1932) speculated that all behaviors are reflective of unconscious urges from the id.

B.F. Skinner (1930) hypothesized that all behaviors are acquired through conditioning.

Empirical research, on the other hand, is based on direct observation or experiment; hence, the verbs used to describe empirical research should reflect that sort of discovery.

Anna Freud (1941) tested her father’s psychoanalytic theory on her adolescent patients.

Behavioral researchers have assessed the validity of Skinner’s (1930) claims by studying the role of partial reinforcement in the likelihood of compulsive gambling.

In your scholarly writing, remember to use your verbs carefully, with attention given to the type of research you are reporting. And when it comes to those creative urges, channel those into the findings you are reporting, not into the verbs associated with them.

How to Get Your Name in the APA Manual

2011-04-11T14:24:00.000-07:00

By Jeff Zuckerman, Dissertation Specialist

Having all but given up on winning the Nobel Peace Prize, I was gratified a couple of years ago when I achieved another lifelong dream: My name appeared in the preface to the sixth edition of the APA style manual.

It’s true. It’s right there on page xvi: “For taking their time to share their recommendations, we are most grateful to [a bunch of people no one cares about] and Jeff Zuckerman.” Next time you’re at my house you’ll see the page blown up as a 3 ft x 4 ft poster on my refrigerator.

When the style manual was released, several Walden faculty members thanked me “for writing the new manual.” I considered confessing that all I did was send the editors a few nasty messages complaining about the preceding edition of the publication. But why bother? Who was I to tell a group of PhDs how wrong they were?

So that’s the whole story. Over the last 6 years, I did contact the APA editors on a number of occasions to discuss certain ambiguities in the fifth edition, as well as certain conventions that had been driving our students and faculty crazy. I built up a relationship with one of the editors—yes, they are real people, in Washington, DC—and, in fact, she and I met over coffee in early 2009 when she was visiting my hometown of Minneapolis.

More interesting than my involvement is what I learned from this editor.

The APA style manual is written by a committee of editor-types and psychologists. During the writing process, at times the discussions were passionate. At times the discussions were inane. Fascinating to me was that the psychologists tended to get the final word in over the editors. That might explain why a few things that bug me, such as how numbered lists are formatted and the exclusion of the journal issue number in most references, survived the final cut.

We did “win” clarification on the acceptance of first person. In the second printing, we also won single spacing after a period.

One specific rule I argued for was single line spacing of block quotes and reference lists. The fifth edition was ambiguous about it, which led to a lot of, um, discussions with faculty over spacing guidelines. The sixth edition clarified the rule, so now double spacing is required. That ended the arguments, all right, but I still think double-spaced block quotes are hard to read.

In any case, that’s all there was to it: a few phone calls and respectful email messages. Next on my list is the Congressional Medal of Honor, and I’ve already sent a few messages on my behalf to my close personal friend Congressman Keith Ellison. Stay tuned!

Table of Confusion

2011-04-04T23:30:00.000-07:00

By Jessica Barron, Writing Tutor

I always thought I was pretty tech savvy: not quite a computer expert, but fairly adept at solving any word processing issues in Microsoft Word. That was, of course, until I met the table of contents (TOC).

Anyone constructing a capstone project most likely has encountered trouble with a TOC. Whether an “Error! Bookmark not defined” message or an entire paragraph popping into your Level 2 heading, TOC glitches can cause headaches, undermine confidence, and make stepping on your keyboard seem like a good idea. Unfortunately, the Writing Center staff is unable to help students troubleshoot any TOC issues, but do not fret! There are multiple resources available to help you create, update, and troubleshoot a TOC.

One way to avoid any of the common TOC errors is to create the table manually. This option does mean that you will have to hit the tab and period keys many times and that reformatting may be painstaking, but it can provide piece of mind when you add additional text to your document. If interested in this route, see our document templates to view examples of APA 6th format for TOCs.

If manually creating a TOC is not attractive to you, Microsoft Word does have functions that allow for automatic TOC creation. On the Microsoft Word support website are step-by-step instructions on how to create and update a TOC in Word 2003, 2007, and 2010. When using these steps, be sure to review the “APA Style” headings that your version of MS Word populates in your document. Some versions might not be updated with the APA 6th edition format, so reviewing our sample templates will help you know if your formatting is aligned with the current requirements.

If you are more of an audiovisual learner and you want help beyond the step-by-step Microsoft instructions, there are a multitude of online videos designed around the troublesome TOC. Searching the Internet for phrases like how to and table of contents yields many viral videos on the subject. One of my personal favorites is this video, which is informative but still brief.

So, after using these resources, you will have a TOC in your document. Nevertheless, even if you’ve followed the directions and feel comfortable with the format of your TOC, errors still might occur when you add text or try to update your page numbers. The MS Word support website has listed the most common occurrences and solutions to these errors in an FAQ format in addition to the other links on TOCs. If this page does not have your specific error, you can contact the technical department at Microsoft to help work through the issue with you.

While we at the Writing Center are not technical gurus who can provide TOC guidance, we try to point students to word processing resources (see the right-hand side of our Writing Resources page). We have worked with the Walden Student Support team to create some handouts for our website specifically on the TOC, but if you’ve found any of the previous links helpful or you uncovered a useful online video, let us know! We would love to share your unproblematic experience with other Walden students.

Happy formatting!

This Blog's for You

2011-03-30T15:58:00.000-07:00

By Writing Center Staff

You might have noticed that we've been posting more frequently lately. In fact, we've started a new initiative to post at least once a week. In this system, each Monday you can head into the week with some words of wisdom from the Writing Center. Here's the breakdown of topics:

First Monday of the Month: Tech Tips. Here you'll find information to make your research and writing easier in the digital age.

Second Monday of the Month: APA Style. Learn the nitty-gritty style and formatting rules to make your writing polished and presentable.

Third Monday of the Month: Academic Writing. These posts will discuss all aspects of the writing process--from the blank page to the dropbox.

Fourth Monday of the Month: Grammar and Mechanics. Great writing starts at the sentence level. Here you'll learn tricks and find resources to conquer grammar.

Fifth Monday of the Month (when there is one): Wild Card. Anything goes. We'll spice up the blog a bit from time to time with other random posts.

If you're interested in just one topic (for instance, you really need to hone your APA skills), feel free to tune in on the particular week in question. You can also search for blogs in each category by clicking on the right side of the screen under "Labels."

The Art of Compound Sentences

2011-03-28T13:01:00.000-07:00

By Laurel Walsh, Associate Director of Writing Services

Economy of expression should be easier for all of us in this era of text messages and tweets. All around us, people collapse major events into sound bites; short bursts of written communication have become a common part of our daily lives. Having a working understanding of parts of speech can accelerate our ability to distill information into informative and useful sentences.

Independent clauses (otherwise known as sentences) require both a subject and a verb. In academic writing, we rely primarily on declarative sentence patterns (a sentence that makes a statement). In order to create sentences that other people want to read, we need to learn how to build from that sentence plus verb structure to create sentences that provide the reader with information in a digestible and engaging manner. We cannot rely solely on short sentences to relay our information to the reader. Strong academic writing includes a variety of sentence lengths.

The vast majority of my students fall into one of two categories: commaholics or commaphobics. My commaholics tend to use commas excessively to create long and often confusing sentences. In the work of a commaholic, prepositional phrases are especially popular. It is not uncommon for a commaholic to have sentences that look quite like paragraphs. The others, the commaphobics, are fearful of comma usage, and these students avoid the comma at all cost. They’ll end a sentence after two words if it avoids employing a comma. Generally, this type of student draft feels like a police report: just the facts. There is a middle ground, but it requires that we become more comfortable with commas and semicolons. Using punctuation appropriately to create compound sentences is an essential scholastic composition skill.

There are two ways to create a compound sentence. The first way is to use a comma plus a conjunction. If you want an easy acronym to remember for the conjunctions, you can think of FANBOYS (For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So). A comma plus a conjunction will allow you to join two related sentences.

I love teaching grammar and punctuation, but I know that some of my students find grammar and punctuation painful.

In the sentence above, I could have two full sentences. A comma plus a conjunction allows an author to create a longer sentence from two independent clauses. The other way to marry two related sentences is my punctuation boyfriend: the semicolon. The semicolon is a flirt (it winks at you), and it is a tool to show that two thoughts are connected without overtly saying so.

Scholarly writing depends on showing relationships between concepts; using semicolons is a wonderful tool in an academic writer’s toolkit.

Make sure to consider sentence length when you revise your drafts. Writing in a scholarly voice requires that we create effective and engaging sentences. These well-constructed sentences become persuasive paragraphs when we are able to vary our sentence length and use punctuation appropriately.

Revising: Seeing Your Work Again

2011-03-21T14:06:00.000-07:00

By Tobias Ball, Dissertation Editor

Recently, the dissertation editors got together to discuss the different ways that we approach the early drafts of a student's writing. We were asked a couple of open-ended questions and learned that our responses and philosophies were similar. We shared at least two ideas: (a) we all took ownership of our core competency, that is, to develop a student's ability to demonstrate critical thinking skills in writing; and (b) we all have a personal dedication to the iterative nature of good writing and the need for a cycle of revision.

The idea of writing and rewriting and then rewriting again and then maybe one, two, three, or four more times before that one last and final revision, is not a new idea. Working over and over on a single piece of writing has existed in one form or another throughout history. Before the advent of the printing press, manuscripts were reproduced in medieval, monastic scriptoria. The task of a scribe was to reproduce word for word copies of important manuscripts. Fortunately, the task of the modern academic writer is not so tedious a job.

Keep in mind that revising is more than correcting spelling, adding serial commas, and double checking the format of a citation. That is called proofreading. A writer may do some proofreading during the revision process or decide to leave that task until the end.

Revising, which means “to see again,” is the chance to look at a manuscript in a new way, from a different perspective. It is a time for writers to ask themselves if the arguments are valid, if the evidence is adequate, and if their ideas are being communicated in an interesting way that is demonstrative of their critical thinking. Writing can be an opportunity for discovery. Ideally, writers will allow themselves the time to continue to think not only about the ideas of others, but also their own ideas, interpretations, and conclusions.

How then should you revise? Although there is no single answer to that question, here are a few suggestions:
• Before revising, let the manuscript, and your own mind, rest for a short period. Even a couple of days can change one's perspective.
• During that first read of a draft, avoid making revisions or corrections. In other words, read it as if it was already published. See what you think. Is there cohesion? How well does the narrative flow? Do you still agree with what you have written?
• Be honest with yourself. Take note of what is good and what could be improved. Use those passages where you are satisfied as a guide for revising those that you want to rework.

Writing a dissertation, a doctoral study, a project study, or even a course paper is not only an iterative process, it is also a collaborative process. Cooperate with faculty, committee members, colleagues, fellow students, and certainly with the Writing Center. Together we can be a part of that cycle of writing, revising, and then final submission.

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For a multimedia presentation on revising, head here: http://writingcenter.waldenu.edu/js/872.htm

Grammar Gaffe #1

2011-03-18T16:37:00.000-07:00

By Writing Center Staff

It's very sad; no one sent us a picture of bad sign grammar (mentioned back here in February). We dug through our archives, though, and found this gem. Can anyone spot the grammar gaffe?

If you see any signs in violation of grammar or spelling rules, send them our way via writingsupport@waldenu.edu. We'll post them as we get them.

APA Style Blog: What Were They Thinking? Now We Know.

2011-03-14T17:29:00.000-07:00

By Amber Cook, Senior Writing Specialist

Have you ever looked in the index of your APA manual, feverishly trying to find information on a topic that just does not seem to be there? Have you stared at an APA rule, wondering how to interpret it for use in your paper? Ever wish you could have a word with the fine people who wrote this sometimes frustrating manual?

There’s hope! The APA Style Blog, “the official companion to the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, Sixth Edition” (APA, 2009, About Us section, para. 1), is written and maintained by the same APA style experts who contributed to the manual itself. It is a searchable, reliable source of information that clarifies and supplements the manual. The authors post approximately once a week, addressing topics ranging from elements of a reference to details about hyphenation. Interested readers can follow the blog on Facebook or by visiting http://blog.apastyle.org/apastyle/.

Here in the Writing Center, we’ve found this blog tremendously useful when faced with questions that are not sufficiently covered in the manual. When the manual came up short on guidance for citing a Kindle, we found this handy post. To settle a Writing Center debate about how to handle references for works with no DOI and no journal home page, we came across a post that addressed this very issue. The search feature on the APA Style Blog makes these kinds of quests quick and painless, and it’s often the first place I go when faced with a question from a student or colleague.

On some matters, however, we in the Walden community will have to continue to scratch our heads. As mentioned in this post from the APA Style Blog, there are some issues that are outside the scope of APA guidance, such as annotated bibliography format or content requirements. Your instructor is your best source of help in these areas. I encourage you, however, to make the APA Style Blog your first stop for APA questions that may have you stumped; I think you’ll find yourself returning quite often!

Making Word Work for You

2011-03-07T14:11:00.000-08:00

By Beth Oyler, Writing Tutor

Have you ever noticed those squiggly red and green lines that appear in your paper? If you’re like me, you probably ignore them. What I’ve learned, though, is that these markings are a great tool that can help improve your grammar and writing style. Here are the basics of Microsoft Word’s spelling and grammar checking:

1. Spelling errors appear as red squiggly lines.
2. Grammar errors appear as green squiggly lines.
3. For more in-depth options, consult Word’s help website.

Only recently did I realize how extensive Word’s spelling and grammar checking can be, helping writers with issues like serial commas, spacing typos, and passive voice. These additional capabilities are integrated into Word as options from which you can choose.

To select any of the options described below, you’ll first need to follow Word’s instructions for how to reach the proofing options menu.

1. Writing style. Word automatically defaults to “Grammar Only,” but for additional suggestions, you can choose “Grammar & Style” instead. This will have Word not only check for spelling and grammar errors, but also other stylistic errors in your writing (listed below).

2. Serial commas. We all know that APA requires us to use serial commas in our writing, which can take a lot of practice to remember. However, Word will check for this error automatically if you change the “Comma required before last list item” option to “always.”

3. Spaces between sentences. APA prefers scholars use two spaces between sentences (per section 4.02, page 88 in the APA manual). Word will check for this if you change the “Spaces required between sentences” option to “2.”

4. Grammar. With Word’s normal settings, all of the “Grammar” options should be checked already, but do make sure they are. This allows Word to check for a range of grammar issues, including capitalization and subject-verb agreement.

5. Style. While Word automatically checks all of the grammar options in the default settings, the style options are usually never checked by default. In this category, though, are some great options that might really help your scholarly writing. For example, you’ll probably want to check “Cliches, Colloquialisms, and Jargon” and “Gender-specific words” because APA asks writers to stick to formal, unbiased language. In addition, the “Passive sentences” suggestion can help you avoid passive voice, “Sentence structure” can help you vary the structure of your sentences, and “Possessives and plurals – stylistic suggestions” can give you suggestions to ensure that apostrophes are being used correctly.

I’ve just discovered all of these new settings in Word; however, I’m sure that like any other automatic grammar or spelling checker these settings probably won’t be perfect. Like any technology, it isn’t fool proof. This means that you’ll need to use this tool thoughtfully to ensure it isn’t leading you astray. You won’t be able to accept all changes that Word proposes, but rather you will need to be picky.

If you have questions about a suggestion that Word makes, you can always find out more information about a particular topic on our website or you can feel free to email us directly at writingsupport@waldenu.edu. We’d also love to hear your experiences with this feature of Word: What do you find really helpful? What doesn’t seem to work very well? Have these options helped save you time or are they more trouble than they’re worth?

Calling All Grammar Groupies!

2011-02-15T14:21:00.000-08:00

By Writing Center Staff

Do you ever get really annoyed with grammar and spelling mistakes you see in advertising? Do you ever just wish you could fix them? Well, back in 2007, friends Jeff Deck and Benjamin Herson traveled across the country in search of mistakes, misspellings, and typos in public signage. Once they found a problematic sign, they actually corrected it—with permanent marker, Wite-Out, anything that was on hand—in the name of the greater good. Last fall, Deck and Herson released a detailed log of their journey as The Great Typo Hunt (read more about it here).

With inspiration from these guys, we at the Writing Center are embarking on a little project, but we need your help. When you’re walking down the street, visiting a new town, or otherwise going about your day-to-day life, look around you at the signs. If you notice a misplaced apostrophe, unnecessary quotation marks, misspelled words, confusion of there/their/they’re, or any other grammatical error, snap a picture with your digital camera or phone. Send it to writingsupport@waldenu.edu, and each month we’ll post the best photograph on our blog (with proper credit to the author, of course). Just remember that in doing so, you agree that (a) you are the photographer and (b) we can do what we wish with your image. No snagging from another website; we want real-life snapshots from your surroundings! And please don’t correct the typos yourself. As Deck and Herson discovered, you can get into a lot of trouble for that.

We’ll post the first photograph on March 15th. Let the hunt begin!

Favorites

2011-02-03T17:17:00.000-08:00

An Interview With Jessica Barron, Writing Tutor

The Walden University Writing Center is expanding. In the past few months, in fact, we've added five new tutors and editors to better serve the student population. And we are now assisting undergraduates as well as master's and doctoral level scholars. To keep our services personal during this time of change, we're presenting a series of blog posts about our writing consultants--both tutors and editors. Here they talk about their favorite words, books, and writing techniques. In this particular installment, Tutor Jessica Barron, a native of Minnesota, lets loose.

Jessica, what is your favorite...

word in the English language?
Currently, I enjoy the word prowess, though I can rarely find a sentence in which to use it properly. I am also a fan of all homophones.

foreign language word?
I love the Japanese word oishii, which means “delicious.” Whenever I hear it, I know that either I or someone nearby is eating something scrumptious.

first line from a novel?
I can’t think of one – suggestions other than anything from the Harry Potter novels?

last line from a novel?
My favorite novel’s conclusion is George Orwell’s (1949) last line of 1984: “He loved Big Brother.” The book could not end in any other way, but rereading that line still makes me so sad.

author?
My favorite author would be a tie between David Sedaris, Kurt Vonnegut, and Tennessee Williams. Their styles and genres are so varied that my mood depicts whom I enjoy reading on a particular day.

thing to do while writing?
When I write, I always need a beverage (typically sparkling water) and white noise. I can block out anything when I get in a writing groove, though a fan is usually less distracting than a Law & Order marathon.

topic to write about?
I love to write about myself. It’s a topic I know well, and it’s always fun to pretend to be an outsider to experiences that were so personal.

writing rule to discuss with students?
The thing that I enjoy discussing with students the most is variety: word choice, sentence structure, and overall format. We all can get comfortable with one style of writing, and it’s fun to help students become aware of their favorite.

writing location?
My parents’ old library table that I use as a desk.

proofreader?
My husband. He forces me not to get too attached to any piece of text.

For complete bios of the tutors and editors, head to the About Us page of our website. To make an appointment for a paper review with Jessica or another tutor, see our Tutoring Center page.

Transitioning Into Better Writing

2011-01-20T06:56:00.000-08:00

By Sarah Prince, Writing Tutor

For most of us, our lives are filled with transitions, both epic and mundane. In the span of our lifetimes, we transition from childhood to adulthood, from innocence to experience, and from immaturity to maturity. Daily, we transition from breakfast to dinner, from work-mode to couch-potato-mode, and from enthusiasm to exhaustion. Ultimately, these transitions become the ways we bring structure to our days and organization to our lives. Here, I highlight transitions’ abilities to create order in our lives, not to offer up my services as a life coach, but to suggest that this same transition logic can be applied to create structure and cohesion in scholarly writing.

Using transitional words, phrases, and sentences in our writing can be used to emphasize, repeat, conclude, summarize, synthesize, compare, and concede. Transitions can show time and place, develop examples, and build evidence. Most importantly, however, transitions can be used to create a logically ordered and cohesive paper, which increases our writing’s natural flow and momentum! Now that we are all onboard the transition train, I’d like to highlight a few of my favorites:

1. Building Evidence: When writing a scholarly essay, building on evidence or examples makes a paper both convincing and well-founded. To draw logical connections among examples, I like to use transitional words and phrases like in addition, furthermore, moreover, and also. For example: “Writing with transitions increases the overall flow of your paper. Moreover, transitional words and phrases can make connections between sentences and paragraphs clearer.”

2. Developing Examples: Often in scholarly writing, we explain an abstract concept and then use a specific example to make our meaning more clear. When connecting these specific examples to abstract concepts, I like to employ transitional terms such as for example, for instance, specifically, and in particular. To highlight: “For instance, do you notice my use of a developing example transition in the Building Evidence section of this blog post?”

3. Showing Time: Frequently, as APA writers, we have to shift between the past tense, which describes researchers’ findings, and the present, which highlights our contemporary experiences. When you are making these kinds of shifts in your writing, an unexplained verb tense change is NOT the way to go. Instead, try out a transition that shows time: currently, previously, formerly, and before are some of my personal favorites! For example: “Previously, I had no clue how to use transitions. Currently, however, I have really started to understand their value in scholarly writing.”

4. Comparing and Contrasting: In literature reviews and analytical essays, we often need to compare information or present conflicting research. To highlight this shift in our thinking, transitional words such as similarly, like, just as, in contrast, and however offer readers cues as to what new direction our thoughts are headed. For example: “In contrast to disjointed papers that lack cohesion, scholarly writing that uses transitions is logical and easy to read.”

5. Synthesizing and Concluding: In most scholarly writing, we are asked to synthesize information and draw knowledgeable conclusions. As you might have guessed by now, I think a great way to introduce these synthesizing and concluding statements is through a transitional word or phrase! Using words and phrases like consequently, as a result, therefore, and in sum are great ways to begin these sentences. For example:

In sum, transitions can be excellent ways to create order, cohesion, and flow in your scholarly writing. Moreover, they provide helpful clues for your reader, and they draw logical connections between your sentences. To learn more about how and when to appropriately use transitions and to review a list of commonly used transitional words and phrases, make sure to check out the Writing Center's helpful Transitions page.

From the Writing Trenches

2011-01-05T06:18:00.000-08:00

By Amber Cook, Senior Writing Specialist

For those of us in the writing world, November means NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). During this month, aspiring novelists commit to writing 50,000 words in 30 days, with the goal of completing a novel in raw form. Several of us in the Writing Center decided to give it a try this past year, myself included.

Let me first say that I am NOT a fiction writer. My only long-term writing project was a master’s thesis for a musicology degree. I hadn’t written fiction since the fourth grade, when I wrote and illustrated Betsy and the Magic Fish (a little stapled-together book for which myself and my mother were the only readers). So when I decided to start NaNoWriMo, I felt like a fraud immediately. Writing in third person felt odd. Developing characters, settings, and plots was totally new to me. To keep up with the word count demand, I also had to fight the natural editor’s urge to slow down and refine every little nuance as I went. Everything about NaNoWriMo was uncomfortable at first, like trying to brush your teeth with your nondominant hand.

The experience has helped to give me more sympathy for so many of the adult learners I work with at Walden. Many students returning to academic life will report similar fish-out-of-water feelings when faced with scholarly writing assignments. Fiction for me, and academic writing for many of you, has a foreign set of conventions and assumptions that can be awkward at first. The next time I’m talking with a student about making the transition to a new style of writing, I will remember staring at my first blank page, wondering why I ever thought I could write a novel, and immediately understand.

I learned a few things about writing during this experience that I thought I’d share.

1. Peer pressure is very powerful. NaNoWriMo sets up a “buddy” page where you can load your page output each day and compare it to those of your friends who are also participating. That was the only thing that kept me going some nights. See if you can find a peer in your program who could do the same for you.

2. It helps to end each writing session by writing a sentence or two about what comes next. That way, when you return to your paper, you’ll have a little help getting started.

3. Output accountability helps keep you honest. If you’re the kind of person who thinks you’ll get to it later, you might benefit from an online reminder system that tracks your progress and lets you know how much writing you need to do each day to meet deadlines. NaNoWriMo had a great tool like this, but there are others, such as Write or Die and the dissertation calculator.

4. It’s important to be gentle with yourself without letting yourself off the hook. It’s OK to have a few unproductive days, but it’s easy to slide off the writing wagon quickly if too many days go by. Beating yourself up doesn’t help; just get back to the computer and forge ahead.

Now that 2011 is here, you might want to consider January your personal writing month. Make some goals, find a buddy, challenge each other, and write on!

Four Quick Tips for Better Academic Writing

2010-12-17T16:04:00.000-08:00

By Sara Culver, Writing Specialist

Need a fast route to scholarly writing success? These tips should get you on your way.

1. Use standard formatting. Wing-dings are fun, sure, and who doesn’t like a customized title page? All that fancy formatting, however, can easily overshadow your ideas. Readers who are used to a standard format may be distracted or confused by too much pizzazz. Keeping things professional—using 12-point Times New Roman font, double-spaced lines, and APA templates—ensures that your original analysis stays front and center.

2. Take a trip to the library. No matter what stage of writing you’re in, a trip to the library can help. Brainstorming topics? The library has broad overviews of any subject you might choose. Refining your thesis? Librarians can point you toward articles to help shape your argument. Think you’re ready to get published? Back issues of journals at the library can help you decide where to submit your manuscript.

3. Pick the weird (or challenging) topics. Scholarly writing should advance new and original analysis, research, and ideas. That task is sometimes easier to accomplish when you’re writing on a less-popular topic. The next time all your classmates are writing about substance abuse or No Child Left Behind, branch out—it’s likely there are many areas in your field that will allow you to make a new contribution.

4. Ask for help. If you ever have a question or a concern about a writing assignment, don't be afraid to email your instructor, a classmate, a librarian, or a writing tutor. The worst thing that can happen is that the person you emailed will point you to a better resource. The best thing that can happen is the person will be able to help you and will remember you as a motivated, engaged student.

Organize, Organize, Organize

2010-12-01T11:37:00.000-08:00

By Beth Oyler, Writing Tutor

For many of us, the hardest part of the writing process is organizing our information. You’ve done all the research, taken copious notes, and now know a lot about your topic (maybe too much); what do you do now? I often find myself simply staring at the blinking cursor of my blank Word document. When the number of my sources has reached the double digits, I tend to freeze. For some of you who are like me, Writer’s Café may help solve this problem.

In a recent blog post for The Chronicle, Billie Hara reviewed Writer’s Café, a program to help writers keep track of the information used in a project. As Hara reports, Writer’s Café was originally created for fiction writers developing their characters and storylines, but it can easily be used by scholarly writers who would like a little help organizing papers both small and large. As a writer who could certainly use some help in this area, I was intrigued and thought I would see how well Writer’s Café translates to scholarly writing.

Hara discusses all of the Writer’s Café tools in detail, but the Storylines tool seems to be the most helpful in academic writing. If you are early in your writing process, you can put each topic on a note card and then play with the order. This function can aid writers who are having trouble with the overall organization of their paper. The note cards can also be used to represent each paragraph. As you write your paper, you can fill in the information you’d like to discuss. The note cards have the capacity for as much information as you’d like to add, so you could even list all of the sources you’d like to use in that particular paragraph. Or you could use each chapter to represent a paragraph and then use each note card to represent a sentence or source you’d like to include in that paragraph.

So far, I’ve discussed the Storylines tool as it could relate to a paper that doesn’t have chapters. Where it really gets fun is if you used Writer’s Café to write a dissertation or doctoral study. With the ability to add multiple chapters, writers have the freedom to organize their entire dissertation. Each chapter can be organized into the various sections and topics that you’d like to discuss, making outlining your dissertation much easier.

As you'll see, Writer’s Café isn’t perfect. Because it is geared toward fiction writers, it might not work effectively for all scholarly writers. But if you’re a visual learner, Writer’s Café could be a great way to visualize the structure of your paper.

Although Writer’s Café is for PC users, Mac users do not fear. According to a few reports, the comparable Mac program, Scrivener, is much more user-friendly (Ryan Cordell, who reviewed the program for The Chronicle, says that it “changed the way I think through, organize, and perform my professional writing”). One advantage that Scrivener offers is its ability to store research (including PDFs, Word documents, audio and visual files, and Web pages). Scrivener is also able to display the research alongside your paper. Another advantage of Scrivener is that it is geared toward academic writing instead of creative writing, allowing its functions to handle the amount of research you might have for a dissertation. Cordell discusses many other features of Scrivener in his blog, and I’ll admit that I’m pretty jealous.

Bottom line, there are some great programs out there to help you organize your academic writing—for both Mac and PC users. These are only two programs that were featured in The Chronicle; I’m sure there are others. If you’ve used one of these programs, or a different program altogether, let us know! We’d love to hear about your experiences. Feel free to leave us a comment so other writers can learn from your experience or send us an email at writingsupport@waldenu.edu.

From Creative to Scholarly

2010-11-15T13:33:00.000-08:00

By Hillary Wentworth, Graduate Writing Tutor

Do you ever ask yourself how you wound up here, writing scholarly papers and worrying about serial commas? Staying up late at night agonizing over whether to use “et al.”? Well, I do. You see, I’m a creative writer and I often find it hard to switch between my artistic endeavors and my academic pursuits. Imagination and creativity—traits that put you ahead in other areas—don’t necessarily translate to a scholarly venue. Lately students have been asking for tips to make this transition into academia. There are indeed ways to keep your creative “you-ness” and still write in the formal style expected of scholars.

1. Theme-ify it. Your paper doesn’t have to be stuffy summary—in fact, it shouldn’t be. Just as creative writing follows thematic lines, so should your academic writing. As you read, make note of the themes that emerge in the literature and consider organizing your paper around them.

2. Relate it to real life. Creative writers are told “write what you know." However, I encourage all writers to give real-life examples to illustrate the points they make. This could be a situation in your own classroom or business that highlights a certain theory, for instance.

3. Look it in the I. Both Walden and APA allow you to use the first-person “I” in your assignments and capstone projects. This gives a personal tone to your paper, eliminates the awkward “this author,” and asserts your control over the narrative. If you’re used to expressing how you feel and what you believe, though, rein in the impulse to provide opinion. You are a scholar and your writing should be based on evidence.

4. Turn it around. Similes and metaphors, the beautifiers of creative writing, are not accepted in scholarly writing because they can be vague and confusing. If you normally like to make connections through analogy, that impulse is correct: the topic probably needs further description. It is your job now to explain it in clear, concise language.

5. Write it out. Sometimes you just have to give in to the creative spirit. If you’re reading a scholarly journal and it gets your poetic juices flowing, sit down in a quiet spot (not at your computer) and write a poem about it. Then go back to your computer and start fresh. You might find that writing creatively has given you a new perspective on the topic that you can use in your scholarly paper.

6. Deal with it. One of my greatest discoveries as a creative writer was how to flourish under constraints. It can be yours too. Challenge yourself to work within the boundaries of APA, and you will reap the rewards.

How to Be Productive

2010-11-01T13:28:00.000-07:00

By Timothy McIndoo, Dissertation Editor

I recently learned about two productivity tools that can be useful in doing research. One highlights, while the other reveals deeper content without leaving the Web page.

Back in the day, researching the literature meant photocopying articles and then underlining passages with pen, pencil, or highlighter. I can recall typing up such passages (along with my notes). Today’s Web tools make such work much easier. For example, a software company, Diigo, has created an online highlighter that lets you use different colors to highlight text you read on the Web. It even lets you save all your highlighted text in one place. (It also lets you add permanent Stickies to a Web page.) If you think this might be useful in your research, visit the following page for further details:
https://chrome.google.com/extensions/detail/oojbgadfejifecebmdnhhkbhdjaphole. So far, however, it’s only available on the Google Chrome browser.

Performing searches on the Web just gets easier and easier. First there was the search tool embedded in the browser’s menu bar. But now Apture Highlights lets you search Google (as well as YouTube, Flickr, Twitter, Wikipedia) without leaving the screen you are reading—and without typing. Simply highlight the word or phrase you’re interested in and voila! Up pops a small screen with the search results, whether text or video or pdf. If you think this might be useful in your research, visit the following page for further details:
https://chrome.google.com/extensions/detail/cppaadhnncohnjgallikmjdonfliciek.
This tool is available for three browsers: Firefox, Safari, and Chrome.

Google Knows Everything

2010-10-15T14:44:00.000-07:00

By Erica Schatzlein, Writing Specialist

Google knows everything, according to a friend’s kindergarten-age daughter. Oh, how I wish it were true. I have thousands of questions: When will my retirement account start to grow again instead of shrinking? Where was the “very special place” I put that very important document I can no longer find? I wouldn’t be surprised if people type these questions into search engines. In fact, if you go to Google and type in “when will I” or “how do I” you will get some amusing suggestions for the rest of your question!

Less amusing but much more helpful are the number of search engines that will help your academic career. Here are a few of my favorites for saving time, money, and sanity:

1. Get Help Completing Your Reference List

Students get a majority of their scholarly articles online, often from different databases like ERIC or SAGE. Following sixth edition APA rules, though, listing the name of the database as retrieval information is not preferred. (You can read more about retrieval information details here: http://writingcenter.waldenu.edu/355.htm). The preferred retrieval information is the digital object identifier, or DOI. A search engine isn’t my favorite way to look for a DOI; instead, I use crossref.org (http://www.crossref.org/SimpleTextQuery). However, for articles that have no DOI assigned, the next preference is to list the journal homepage. How do you know if the journal has a homepage? Entering the journal title into a search engine is the best way to tell.

2. Nail That Picky Grammar or Style Rule

As I read papers from numerous students each week, I come across just as many different writing styles, and often many topics I know little about. How do I check if a student is using an unfamiliar term or awkward phrase correctly? I search for it. Additionally, many of us know how to write to avoid tricky grammar situations. For example, I always set my book on the table because I’m never entirely certain if I should lay it or lie it. But when I need to find out the right way to write something, search engines are blessings. Typing a “versus” statement often works: lay vs. lie. I have also searched for APA reference formats for sources students use that I’ve never seen before and aren’t addressed in the manual, like the first time a student asked me about the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, which was not in my grammar nerd schema.

A note here about scholarly, reputable, and junk sources: Almost none of the sources in regular search engine results are scholarly. Thus, they are not good sources for a KAM or dissertation. Many of the sources in search results are pure junk. When relying on websites for factual information, be a savvy searcher! Two of my favorite (and trusted) sources for grammar are Grammar Girl’s Quick and Dirty Tips and Grammarbook.com. They often come up on the first page of results when searching for a specific grammar topic, too. I feel better knowing that both of these online resources resulted from published books. For APA information, the best source is always the actual APA manual, which is not online. Besides that, apastyle.org is the official manual website, so anything that appears on the search engine from that site is my first choice. Many universities (including Walden!) have great APA information online. Please take a minute to evaluate the source before trusting the information found in web searches.

3. Get a Free Book

A kind student at July’s Summer Session Residency shared in one of my sessions that some of the books written by classical theorists (so commonly used in KAM Breadths) are available on Google Books for free, as they are out of copyright. Additionally, just like in a database search, where you restrict searches to “full text,” you can limit for “full view” sources in this search. For books that aren’t free, many offer a nice amount of pages to preview. I’ve since located hundreds of books I want to read, both scholarly texts and books for use when procrastinating about scholarly work.

Read This ASAP

2010-10-01T13:58:00.000-07:00

By Hillary Wentworth, Graduate Writing Tutor

Is it becoming cool to misspell? Hip to abbreviate?

I asked myself these questions as I strolled through the business district of a town I was visiting recently. Everywhere I turned, something was a bit off. In front of the theater, the marquee read, “TONITE: JAWS!” I strolled by a salon with the name Hair and Moor (I doubt that meant a tract of marshy land). And to top it all off, the actual road on which I walked was called Mainstreet. Not two words but one.

It is true that language can change; the words in dictionaries today are very different from those 100 years ago (think of the computer terms alone!). Over the years, doughnut became donut due to length (and probably so we don’t have to think of all that dough while we’re eating it)—but doughnut is still the main entry in Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary. While you’re texting, how often do you write out because or see you later? Man, that takes time and finger strength. Instead, you truncate and cut corners. But does that make it okay?

Misspelling is not the only popular corruption of the English language these days. Abbreviations and acronyms have permeated American culture due to texting and emailing, and they’re likely to stay. Though APA allows acronyms (SAT instead of Scholastic Aptitude Test, for instance), limit their use. You don’t want your paper to sound like a string of HTML code. Your responsibility as a scholar-author is always to express meaning through clear language. And to do so, sometimes you just have to write the whole word or phrase.

Advertisers long ago discovered that if a business was “creatively” spelled or abbreviated it would get more attention. Passersby would stop and stare and think that’s not right. Then they would go inside to see what all the fuss was about. Misspelling was a way of attracting customers! Call me a purist, but I like my tonights with night in them and my doughnuts with dough. I think that misspelling in order to save time or business is, well, just plain lazy.

And as for scholarly writing, forget about it. It’s certainly not cool to write “thru this research” or “2day I will demonstrate” in your dissertation. It’s not even cute.

What is the Point?

2010-09-15T06:52:00.000-07:00

By Amy Kubista, Graduate Writing Tutor

Have you ever wondered, as you toil away at ensuring your paper adheres to all of the APA rules that the manual throws at you, what is the point? Why do you, as a student, commit so many mind bending hours to correcting grammatical nuances, inserting running heads, and choosing appropriate wording so your paper follows APA format? Well, for one, because your professor tells you to, but why is it so important? Let’s take a deeper look at this issue of APA format and its importance in the academic world.

Many journals within the social science realm require articles to follow the APA style in their publications. One of Walden’s goals is to help students produce scholarly articles worthy of publication, and therefore APA is drilled into the students via the papers that are assigned. It is much easier to submit articles for publication if they are already in the correct format, even though most manuals are very similar with their rules (the differences are often in the details). So the strict adherence to APA is due in part to the potential publication of students’ work.

Academic journals utilize specific formatting in order to maintain consistency throughout their publications. This helps avoid confusion between articles. For example, one article may have pretest, another pre-test, and a third Pretest. A reader may easily interpret these as different while in reality they all refer to the same type of test. By having rules to follow, uniformity is assured, and there is less chance of a misunderstanding.

APA rules also help professors in their reading and grading of papers. These rules act as guidelines so professors can easily look for necessary components of a paper instead of quibbling about certain grammatical or style rules. Instead, everyone follows the same rules. Think of it as something constant in a skill that has so much elasticity. Plus, learning to use APA shows you are capable of taking directions from professors (or a future boss) and problem solving by finding answers to APA questions you may have.

So the next time you are flipping through your APA manual because you can’t remember how to cite a personal communication, know that there is some reasoning behind the madness. When you are submitting articles for publication, you will be grateful that Walden and your professors were so insistent on using APA format.

Introductions: Waiting Until the End

2010-09-01T12:30:00.000-07:00

By Jessica Barron, Graduate Writing Tutor

I dread creating introductions to my papers. A blank MS Word document is quite intimidating, and I know that the opening sentences of my introduction should and will set the tone for my whole paper. Not only do I want the first sentence to grab my reader’s attention, but I want the rest of the paragraph to set the stage for my thesis statement. Because my anxiety often overshadows the actual paper I have outlined in my head, composing introductions is the last task I complete in my writing process.
“But, Jess, it’s called an introduction for a reason! Your whole paper will be disorganized if you just start in the middle.” This might be true, but as long as you have a solid outline that flows smoothly between topics and a strong thesis statement that encompasses the argument of your paper, why couldn’t you write your third section first? I mean, who ever said that you have to write your paper in order? Whatever mood I’m in when I sit down at my computer dictates what section I begin to write.
How do I overcome my introduction anxiety? Once I get into my writing groove and have a rough draft of the body of my paper, the anxiety begins to dissolve, and I am able visualize my first paragraph. I know what my paper is about and what background information my reader needs to know, and because I’ve already written my thesis, I just need to add transitions to link this statement to my newly created opening sentences. Forming an introduction can be quite a simple task once I know what I am introducing.
So, any other writers out there who are stuck on an introductory paragraph, try putting the task aside for a day. See if you, like me, prefer constructing the beginning of your paper near the end of your writing process.

Economy of Expression: Being Concise is Nice

2010-08-16T06:30:00.000-07:00

By Laurel Walsh, Associate Director of Writing Services
The first rule of writing at the graduate level is to befriend the delete key. Early iterations of scholarly arguments are cluttered with extra phrases. This is because we use phrases as placeholders on the page. We are waiting for good ideas, but we type things that do not illuminate an issue for our reader while those juicy thoughts marinate. One of the editors on our team would argue that you should find every adjective and adverb and kill it, but I am not quite so ruthless about prose. To compose elegant sentences, you need only promise the reader one thing: to inform and delight.
To inform your readers, you need to do your research. I am not talking about a midnight stroll through Wikipedia or making a few Google searches. To really inform and delight an academic audience, you need to look at the academic material that is available on the topic. The problem is that there is so much information. An essential part of becoming part of the academic community is learning to be a thoughtful consumer of information.
So much of what is available to us online is biased. News sources routinely promote video that was provided to them at no cost from corporate sources (to read a fascinating story on Video News Release or VNRs go to http://www.prwatch.org/fakenews2/execsummary), and the stations most often do not disclose a source for this content. With so much misinformation, it is not surprising that student authors have difficulty writing in an unbiased manner. Writing for an academic audience requires clarity, cohesion, and fairness. Authors cannot inform their readers if they do not review many different approaches to a policy, phenomenon, or practice.
Learning to evaluate sources takes time and energy. By carefully reviewing, analyzing, and summarizing a variety of sources, you can begin to create a thesis by integrating several insights into an overarching theme. The trick is that you must not merely look at material that supports your hunch about a topic. To really delight your audience, you must include counterargument. By juxtaposing contradictory findings, student authors establish themselves as thorough scholastic investigators. Make sure that your audience can tell that you are trying to cast light on a topic and do not create essays that make the reader think you are out to prove a point.
I ask students each term to omit all unnecessary words from their drafts. Many students have asked me, “If you want me to omit unnecessary words, why did you assign 10,000 word assignments?” Writing academic essays is not like writing a haiku. In an academic paper, you are exploring and engaging your reader in an investigation. When authors delete clunky extra phrases and empty verbiage, we honor our contract with the reader. Our words are our gift to the world of scholarship and each one is a form of currency. Spend your words wisely and get rid of each phrase that does not carry its weight!

APA: True or False?

2010-08-02T05:55:00.000-07:00

By Jessica Barron, Writing Tutor
There are a lot of APA rules to remember. A lot. Most students learn these rules through reading the APA manual. Others hear about these publication requirements through the Writing Center. And some people… well, some people just plain make them up. Below, I weed through common APA myths that are taken as fact and a few APA truths that are hard to believe.

True or False: Personal pronouns, like “I” or “we,” should never be used in academic writing. Using the third person, like “the author,” is more appropriate.

FALSE! Per APA section 3.09, the third person can be ambiguous in scholarly writing. Writing “the author found…” can make the reader wonder, “Are you talking about yourself or that theorist you just wrote about?” Personal pronouns are preferred, but be sure to follow up with your instructor if using the first person is appropriate for your assignment.

True or False: Always begin a sentence, title, or heading using words rather than numerals.

TRUE! Fifty-two percent of people begin sentences with numerals while only 12% actively follow the correct format. These statistics have been falsified, but the sentence demonstrates how numbers at the beginning of a sentence should be treated (see section 4.32 of the APA 6th edition manual).

True or False: As long as I put a citation at the end of my sentence, I have not committed plagiarism.

(KIND OF) FALSE! Citations should always be included when you use research to support your argument, but any time that you have taken word for word content directly from a source, your in-text citations need to be more thorough. For direct quotes, quotation marks should surround the cited material, and the citation at the end of your sentence needs to include the page or paragraph number(s) where this material can be found (Author, Date, p. #). Accidently forgetting to include quotation marks could be considered an act of plagiarism. Feel free to brush up on the plagiarism guidelines and the Writing Center tips on how to avoid committing plagiarism in your writing.

True or False: The APA manual is the first place I should look when I have a citation or reference question.

(PRETTY MUCH) TRUE! Your APA manual will be your best resource (and perhaps best friend) when you are writing a scholarly paper. The tips you receive from the writing center or your writing tutor on properly crediting sources are all based on the information housed within your APA manual. For specific Walden assignments or sources, however, the Walden Writing Center website provides information on citing course material, discussion posts, and yourself.

I hope these explanations helped ease a little APA confusion. Learning APA standards can be the most difficult process on your writing journey, so just make sure that you are asking questions of a tutor or your manual when you are unsure of the proper methods for scholarly writing.

Avoiding Unintentional Plagiarism

2010-07-13T09:48:00.000-07:00

By Amber Cook, Senior Writing Specialist

A specific image comes to many of our minds when we think of the word plagiarism. A sinister and perhaps lazy student surfs the Internet and finds a well-written paper by another writer. Hoping to avoid the effort involved in writing an original work, and knowing that this other writer’s paper will likely earn a higher grade, the student downloads the paper. Looking around to make sure no one is watching, the student deletes the name of the original author, replaces it with his or her own, and submits the paper, intentionally deceiving the unsuspecting reader.
This scenario might occasionally occur, but the plagiarism committed by many writers looks quite different from this act of blatant cheating. In the Writing Center, for instance, the vast majority of plagiarized passages we see are unintentional. Some writers paraphrase poorly or intend to add citations after finishing the paper. (This practice, by the way, is a bad, bad idea. You may want to refine your APA format after you’ve finished the writing, but you should always put at least a note to yourself to indicate the need for a citation.) Other writers do include citations, but these attempts are inadequate for the type of citation being used. For instance, many writers will borrow wording directly from another source and then provide only a parenthetical citation for that source. This is better than nothing, but without quotation marks or block quotation format, this passage would still be considered an academic integrity violation. If you’re unsure of the rules for direct quotation or paraphrasing, take a look at our simple list of guidelines.
Although the plagiarism in the cases mentioned here may be unintentional, it is still problematic. Walden’s plagiarism policy, like that of most academic institutions, involves disciplinary measures. Learning to cite properly and use sources judiciously is part of the challenge of becoming an academic writer. If your instructor or writing tutor points out plagiarism during a paper review, try not to be offended. There is a broad range of mistakes that fall under that term, which can include the unintentional plagiarism mentioned above. Your reviewer’s job is to call your attention to anything suspect, and your job is to learn quickly, making the avoidance of academic integrity violations your top priority.
If you’re ever feeling unsure about your citation format, you may want to send your paper through the Writing Center’s Turnitin dropbox. See the orange Turnitin bar on the Writing Center home page to access this tool. Turnitin will help you identify any material that matches other documents in its database, and you can then adjust any citation format as needed. Once you’re in the habit of thorough and proper citation, however, you won’t need this tool again.

Tutor or Editor?

2010-06-08T18:34:00.000-07:00

By Jamie Patterson
One question we get a lot from new students is who in the writing center they should be working with: the writing tutors or the dissertation editors. The answer is dependent on what course a student is enrolled in, but for most students as soon as the dissertation or doctoral study process begins the shift from tutors to editors happens. The services between the two writing center groups do not overlap. On the Student Guide page of our website you will find a clear explanation of when to move from working with the tutors to working with the editors.
We tutors have gone through some title changes over the last couple of years: we began as tutors, became writing consultants, then graduate writing consultants, then writing specialists, now we’re back to being tutors. It is a title I am pleased with because when I tell strangers I am a writing tutor the title explains exactly what I do: I teach writing.
The best way to utilize the writing center services is to take advantage of meeting with a writing tutor every week while you’re in your course work. Tutors can work with you to develop your academic writing skills and we can share our APA style knowledge. By the time you begin your dissertation or doctoral study you’ll have mastered the elements of academic writing that will make writing a dissertation-length document a little less painful.
The dissertation editors work with students who have completed their courses and, in so doing, have reached a certain level of academic writing mastery. Unlike working with the writing tutors where students get ongoing suggestions for revision the editors do exactly what their title suggests: they edit. Their goal is to help you publish the best possible document that you, and Walden, will be proud of.
Take the time to get to know your writing center staff and know that we, both tutors and editors, are all here for only one purpose: to help you achieve your higher education goals.

Writing is Hard

2010-05-03T11:58:00.000-07:00

By Brian Timmerman, Manager of Writing Specialist and Tutor Services

No one really ever told me that before either. I had to learn it. While I’ve toiled away, wrestling with a word or struggling to figure out a transition from Sentence A to Sentence B, I just figured everyone else was really good at it. It somehow came naturally for them.

Oddly enough (and perhaps sadly enough), It wasn’t until I taught freshman English when I realized that this wasn’t the case.

“Man, I just sat down and wrote the thing. Took me about 2 hours,” I’d overhear a student saying.

And initially I was impressed too. Two hours? Maybe she’s got this whole writing thing figured out.

But I can tell you now: She didn’t. Her paper was a mess. Because writing is hard and time intensive.

Now, I say this to you too realizing that I’m not offering any solutions here. You can find plenty of helpful advice on this blog, on our website, or from your peers on our discussion board. But still, I think it’s important to take 5 minutes and acknowledge this one truth, if only for our own sanity: Writing is hard.

Show and Tell

2010-04-01T09:10:00.000-07:00

By Amber Cook, Senior Writing Specialist

A lot of student writers hesitate when asked to discuss their own experiences. Afraid of misstating an idea or veering too far into opinion, they tend to do more telling than showing, resulting in an inoffensive but unconvincing paper.

Here’s what I mean. Let’s say that a student (we’ll use a female student for this example), using her own classroom as a case study, is attempting to argue the validity of Knowles’s adult learning theory. (Bear in mind that this sort of experience-based information isn’t appropriate for every paper, but it is often required in reflections, KAM Applications, and other assignments.) Here’s the kind of discussion I often see:

Knowles (1968) asserted that adult learners bring more experience to the classroom than do their younger peers, which impacts their learning. Frederick (2006) also reported that adult learners’ experiences affect their academic success. In my classroom, the adult learners show a wide range of experience, which affects their learning. Many of these learners bring many different kinds of experiences to the classroom.

What’s good here is that the writer presents her thoughts clearly and has supported those thoughts with evidence. The problem is that each sentence says essentially the same thing: Prior experience affects adult learning. Also, the writer’s main goal of viewing Knowles’s theory through the lens of her classroom didn’t go deep enough. The writer’s observation could apply to any classroom in any school setting. She has told us rather than shown us.

Here’s an example of how she could work her classroom in a bit more meaningfully:

…experienced than young students. A student in my classroom, for instance, has 30 years of experience in neonatal care. This experience has made her knowledgeable about infant care, so she is a valuable asset during class discussion. However, her background has also tended to close her mind to emerging research in this field. As Knowles (1968) predicted, this student’s prior experience is deeply affecting her education.

This detail demonstrates how the Knowles assertion plays out in the writer’s classroom setting, which was the task of the assignment. It is more convincing than the original and, from a reader’s perspective, it is also more engaging.

This showing versus telling advice also applies to research-based writing. In the original excerpt, the reporting of research was a bit weak as well. Here’s an example of using the research to show rather than tell:

Knowles (1968) asserted that adult learners bring more experience to the classroom than do their younger peers, which impacts their learning. This assumption is supported by Frederick (2006), who studied the effectiveness of several teaching methods in multigenerational classrooms. Frederick found that educators who drew upon the experiences of the adult learners during simulation exercises had higher pass rates on those exercises, as well as higher student satisfaction rates, than those who did not acknowledge the adult learners’ experience.

Again here, the detail makes this reference to the literature more convincing and more memorable. If you’re someone who shies away from using detail, writing this way may feel a bit risky and unfamiliar. However, it will give your writing depth and conviction missing from more surface-level argument. Take the risk!

I sometimes wonder: When did writing become WRITING

2010-03-15T11:57:00.000-07:00

By Brian Timmerman, Senior Writing Specialist

The strength of any piece of writing (fiction or non) is dependent on the strength of its narrative. Plain and simple. I might even have that put on my tombstone: “Here lies Brian Timmerman: The strength of any piece of writing (fiction or non) is dependent on the strength of its narrative.” Seriously.

And keep in mind, this is not just me telling you this. It’s smart people too. As Mark Turner (2001) concluded in The Literary Mind: The Origins of Thought and Language, story (the same lowly technique used by, yes, schlock writers like Danielle Steele) is still the primary mode in which our brains organize information. To use any other method to organize a paper, any paper, he argued, would be ridiculous, counterintuitive to the way we process information (Turner, 2001).

So, a DDP should read like a story?

Yes.

A Praxis?

Story.

Even a KAM?

Yup.

What about a CRS-7?

You made that up didn’t you?

Yes, as simple as it sounds, everything you write needs to have a beginning, a middle, and an end. It needs to, as our own Iris Yob (2007) pointed out, tell a story, and “you...need to follow that story line from beginning to end” (p. 24). It needs to introduce characters (typically a specific demographic that you think is in trouble), and have a plot (a way to get your reader to understand some sort of solution for the characters). And for God’s sake, it needs to have some sort of moral (i.e. “Revoke NCLB,” “We should be less reliant on corn-based products”).

And remember: The strength of any piece of writing (fiction or non) is dependent on the strength of its narrative.

Books for the Inner Grammar Nerd

2010-03-04T05:52:00.000-08:00

By Jeff Zuckerman, Writing Center Director

Students occasionally ask the writing staff about our favorite books on writing. I hesitate to recommend books to students: To me reading about writing can be another excuse not to write.

But because you asked, here goes:

For grammar help the leading contenders are (no surprise here) The Elements of Style by Strunk and White, and Eats, Shoots and Leaves by Lynne Truss—but do get the American version. A couple others are Comma Sense Richard Lederer and John Stone, and, as far as I’m concerned, the best grammar book around because it’s the funniest: Woe Is I by Patricia O’Conner. Dr. Laurel Walsh on our staff recommends Grammar Sucks by Joann Kimes, which Laurel says is adult-themed and offensive. Now there’s a grammar book for a snowy night.

If you’re looking for a couple of great books on writing style, Senior Dissertation Editor Martha King recommends William Zinsser’s classic On Writing Well, while Editor Jen Johnson has enjoyed Style: The Basics of Clarity and Grace. The author is one of my heroes, Joseph Williams, at the University of Chicago, and I’ve used that book when I’ve taught a graduate editing course.

Senior Writing Specialist Amber Cook offered this endorsement of Anne Lamott's Bird by Bird: “The focus is on the process of writing (revisions, motivation, that kind of thing), and it's super readable.” Amber added the caveat that Ms. Lamott swears a lot.

Two other books that popped to mind were The Craft of Research, recommended by Dissertation Editor Tim McIndoo, an excellent book at one time required of all MSEd students at Walden, and The Literary Mind: The Origins of Thought and Language by Mark Turner, and recommended by Senior Writing Specialist Brian Timmerman. I skimmed the first chapter online, “Bedtime With Shahrazad,” and immediately saw its entertaining, readable, and thoughtful way of discussing storytelling as a powerful means of expository writing.

As for me? My new favorite book is Death Sentences: The Decay of Public Language by an Australian writer, Don Watson. Thirty doctoral students learned about Mr. Watson’s rant during my most recent “Politics and the Junk English” presentation at the Dallas residency. (And say? If you found the copy that I left on a Delta flight, I’d be grateful if you mailed it to me.)

My next read will be Past Dark. Jen told me author Bonnie Friedman addresses topics that affect writers of all stripes, including writer’s block and (ah-hem) procrastination.

I mean it. I’ll read it when I get around to it. I really will.

Email Etiquette: Because We Live in Litigious Times

2010-02-15T14:12:00.000-08:00

By M. Laurel Walsh, Writing Center Faculty
The problem with human communication is that fully flawed humans are doing it. One person’s constructive feedback is another person’s flagellation. It is easy to see how individual interaction can become protracted miscommunication when emails sent to large numbers of people are available to be misinterpreted by any or all of the recipients. Mind the ever tempting blind carbon copy. It is the siren call of the email communication and must be used sparingly. You do not want information that an individual couldn’t possibly know (unless it had secretly been also sent to them) being discussed where you are not.
Anything that is sent from a work computer has implications for work. Professional communication requires rigid and inflexible guidelines regarding what is permitted. Any company can pay a forensic computer detective to look at what employees have been sending from the office and what has been sent to those individuals. Unprofessional communication is not just a bad idea; it has resulted in litigation that was not even physically possible twenty years ago.
It is important to really double check to be sure of who you scroll down and click in your To: section. A Human Resource manager at a St. Paul healthcare company recently discovered that she was sending hilarious furry animal photos to Steven Mitchell (colleague) and not to her intended Stephen Mitchell (cousin). Spelling is everything, so make sure to carefully survey all of the subheadings and body of an email before sending. Spell check is not just a good idea; it is a must. Even then, reading your email quickly out loud before you press the send button is a vital revision tool that can catch things that scanning with your eyes would not. If no one is around to hear you, read with verve; if you are in a crowded office, mutter inaudibly but make sure that important messages are carefully reviewed. The good news is that many of the most egregious email offences are easily avoided. We at the Walden Writing Center hold these e-truths to be self-evident:
1. Civility can quickly erode in the absence of face-to-face interaction. Save to drafts any email communication you compose in haste after experiencing a strong emotional response to a professional email.
2. Email is to letter as Instant Messaging (IMing) is to texting. Do not be impatient if you do not get an immediate response to an email. Text or IM a person if you need an instant reaction.
3. Use salutations. It takes two seconds to write a person’s name at the top of the email, and it will increase the warmth level exponentially. Use an exit tag line before your name. Consider the email as part of the letter family of correspondence and remember to sign off. (Never sign off on a text; always sign off on an email.)
4. Recognize your client or colleague more formally in email correspondence than they do you. If they begin to use your first name, use their full name one last time. If they twice send their first name as an exit line, then switch from “Mr. Smith” to “Stuart”. Email is the place to take the higher ground and resist the temptation to become more casual than the previous email response.
5. People in offices across the hall from each other have created havoc via email. When it is not going to be too physically difficult (your boss is not in Hong Kong), speak to actual humans regarding tricky or unpleasant situations. Such conversations do not leave a permanent trail across a computer’s hard drive.
6. Never respond to professional emails if you’ve been to Friday night happy hour. (It seems to go without saying, but I’m still blushing from emails I’ve been exposed to that turn out to be written by less-than-sober individuals.) Would you answer a call from the boss in a compromised situation? The same logic should apply, but for some unfathomable reason does not when it comes to email.
7. Don’t just avoid all contact with a problematic piece of communication. One client admitted to stacking a folder with increasingly frantic emails from a colleague, so that the problem had at least become “out of sight”, but it was clearly not mitigated. Dealing with a difficult email is like ripping off a band-aid; it’s best done quickly and kindly.
8. Forwards should never be sent to professional colleagues under penalty of death. If you feel you should send a message to your entire address book, resist the urge. (Having said that, some people have great taste in forwards and amuse us, we call these people our friends. Make sure to open those emails at home and never leave evidence of your casual communication on work devices if possible. One man’s funny joke is another man’s discrimination lawsuit.)
9. NEVER USE ALL CAPS. This is another seemingly obvious thing that repeatedly comes up in email gaffe escalations that spiral into full blown feuds. Caps used even as one word looks like it is yelling at the reader. Avoid the caps lock email at all cost. It does not look assertive; it looks like you need Anger Management for Dummies.
10. Subject lines rock. Use them with precision, and a lot of your fellow e-citizens will welcome you to their inboxes (and as an added bonus, these folks will be able to find you in their searches of the trash/sent folders of their web accounts if you get accidently placed in the trash or marked as spam).

Fixing the Ugly

2010-02-02T07:40:00.000-08:00

By Kari Wold, Writing Specialist

We have all written The Ugly Paper. Yes, I’ll admit it. I was a journalism major, I’ve been teaching writing for years, and I’m working on my PhD, but I still mess up. I have acute, painful memories of clutching poorly-written papers to my chest and sobbing in bewilderment over why these papers weren’t loved in offices of uncomfortable-looking professors.

The thing is, though, sometimes papers can be train wrecks. We may or may not know the reasons behind the Ugly, either. At times, we write Ugly because we’re just busy. I get it: I’m in a full-time doctorate program with an assistantship and work as a writing specialist. Or at times, life emergencies force us to just do the best we can to cope and have to dash off some Ugly in the process. Other times, we pour our hearts into a paper and get feedback deeming it Ugly while we’re left cocking our heads in bewilderment with a vague mandate to improve.

No matter the reason, summoning the will to fix these rejected papers can be tough. But because fixing the Ugly papers in our lives is an important step in showcasing our credibility as scholars, I’ve gathered some road-tested ways that show how I and many others have gotten through this process:

1. Psych yourself up. Look, you’ll need to go into some mental trickery here. Make yourself love your topic, fix your mind on an end goal, and check your attitude to make sure it’s at least vaguely positive. Your attitude will creep into what you’re putting on the page, so it’s important you’re engaged in what you’re writing. Additionally, this fixing the Ugly process will go much more quickly if you’re at least faking excitement.

2. Remind yourself text is not precious. Yes, it’s tough to change or to even delete the text you initially wrote. But you need to change the Ugly in order to improve it, and in general, pieces drastically improve with some good revision. I promise! What helps me emotionally in this process is creating a separate MS Word document where I can paste all my “deleted” text. It makes me feel a bit better to know that I’m not really deleting it…

Another trick to get yourself removed from your own work is to make your work look like someone else’s, as it’s so much easier to edit someone else’s piece. Put your piece in a different font, a different size, or a different color. Not only is it amusing (and a great procrastination method), it will help you be more effective when tearing into the Ugly.

3. Sit. Stay! Use your time wisely. My house is never cleaner than when I need to fix a paper, and when a deadline is looming, there is no greater draw than the Internet. But we all know our high-energy mental hours, and those high-energy mental hours need to be spent in front of academic work. You’ll thank yourself later.

4. Make checklists. To be an effective editor, you need to know what you’re reading for when you go through a piece before you can hope to change the Ugly. Think about what your professors or your friendly neighborhood writing folks keep mentioning. List those in an MS Word document and group them into APA, writing, and content categories. You can then go through your work once for APA, once for writing, and once for content, looking at each checklist in tweaking the Ugly. It’s actually fun for me, but because I’m a huge nerd, you might have to psych yourself up for this.

5. Let it cool. When you’re done fixing the Ugly, it’s tempting to send off the assignment and forget it ever existed. The temptation is strong, I know! But if you have time, let the assignment cool a bit. Go off and do something completely different. Move your body around; you’ve earned a bit of a breather. Then, come back and read your work again. Read your work out loud. You’ll surprise yourself by what you find.

You may well be rolling your eyes by now as what I described above isn’t exactly a picnic of a process. But hey: The reaction is understandable because summoning the will to fix the Ugly is tough for everyone. But once we actually stop fussing, sit down, and start working, we might very well come up with something much less Ugly than before. In fact, we might come up with something quite Beautiful.

Writing Like a Doctor: Scientific but not Boring

2010-01-13T04:20:00.000-08:00

By Sarah Matthey

I was recently at the Lansdowne residency and while talking to students, I found that we discussed the same daunting writing issue in seminars, advising sessions, and in the labyrinth halls of the National Conference Center. Our discussions centered around the use of the scholarly voice. Many students were frustrated by trying to attain what they viewed as unattainable: the graduate-level academic style of writing. We writing specialists (nerds, grammar-obsessed, otherwise unemployable English majors, you can pick) talk all the time about the importance of the scholarly voice. We use that catchy phrase in our presentations and when providing feedback to students (not when writing blogs—this is clearly in the informal voice). But, what does this phrase really mean? How does one describe the scholarly voice? Defining this concept was more difficult than I thought it was going to be. However, after much internal debate (and internal monologue), I think I came up with a quantifiable list of what it means to write in the scholarly voice.

The first component of writing in the scholarly voice concerns vocabulary usage and word choice. One way to help determine what kind of language you should use is to consider your audience. When writing in a graduate community, the writer is addressing a formal audience. This means that casual forms of speech like slang (dang), metaphors (my heart is a lonely hunter of articles and the library is an emptied forest), similes (the due date is looming like a storm cloud), or cliché phrases (those researcher’s findings were as clear as mud) should be avoided. These types of speech not only detract from your academic voice, but they may also be confusing to the reader. A metaphor or a cliché phrase may mean something different to everyone who reads it. Along those same lines, contractions (won’t, shouldn’t, can’t, etc) should also be avoided because they are casual forms of speech. Eliminating informal language from your paper will not only make you sound more professional, but it will also make your language more clear and concise.

In addition to removing casual language from your paper, you should also consider removing unnecessary pronouns. Some pronouns to avoid include the personal you (as in, you are reading this blog), the editorial we (we all know this or that to be true), and the over reliance on the personal I (I know how much you must enjoy reading what I wrote and I would appreciate you telling my boss). When a writer uses the personal you, they appear to be speaking directly to the reader (like I am doing now. See? It’s distracting), as if they are having a personal conversation with them. This is too personal for a scholarly paper.

APA 3.09 states that broad uses of the word we may leave readers confused about who the we encompasses (p. 69). For example, if a student wrote “We need to exercise greater self-control,” the reader is not sure whom the plural we might encompass. Does it apply to the reader or to some unseen other person? Try to use the proper noun whenever possible.

Finally, while some assignments require that the personal I be used (like reflection papers, assignments that require a personal example, or when the writer has conducted research himself or herself), academic papers require the third person voice to be used. Use of the third person is objective and will sound more scientific. Although personal feelings and experiences are valid, they can be difficult or even impossible to support with the literature and may not be understood by a reader. It is best to try to use nouns instead of pronouns in academic writing.

The final component of scholarly writing is the use of unbiased language. As a social scientist, everything you say must be objective and supported by evidence. APA 3.07 states that arguments should be presented “in a professional, noncombative manner” (p.66). Writing using unbiased and neutral/noncombative language can be tricky. Be on the lookout for making broad generalizations; avoid using over-sweeping adjectives (outstanding, obvious), adverbs (really, clearly), and qualifiers (some, many, a bit), in particular, always and never. Qualifiers lead to generalizations, which can be demonstrative of bias. Try to avoid using emotional (I am deeply moved by Sarah’s comments) or inflammatory (I am sick and tired of APA) language. Instead of saying that Smith’s findings were terrible, embarrassing, horrific, and so on, state that Smith’s findings were questionable.

Be sure that everything you say is supported by evidence. If you make an assertion, be sure that a citation is nearby. Try to think of a Writing Specialist sitting on your shoulder say, “Oh yeah? Can you prove it?” Using unbiased language and supporting your assertions will show that you are an effective, scientific researcher, and that you are serious about contributing to the scholarship in your field.

Writing as at the graduate level is different from writing at an undergraduate level. Mastering the unbiased voice and supporting everything with evidence is challenging. However, like everything else, it will get easier with practice. So as you sit down tonight (or whenever, this is an asynchronous program) to craft that literature review, remember to challenge yourself to be the best social scientist you can be and that graduate-level, scholarly writing is not unattainable.

Dog-Tired of Hyphenation Rules

2009-12-01T08:07:00.000-08:00

By Jeff Zuckerman, Writing Center Director

It was the dog days of August. I sat my dog Toby down to discuss hyphens. Again.
Hyphens! he barked. Quit dogging the real problems!
Toby said he was dog-tired of the dog food that he said I buy dog-cheap. Even those doggy bones, he whined, that I had brought home in the doggy bag from the fast-food joint had a crummy hot-dog taste.
Well, that’s a dog’s life for you, I said.
Just a doggone minute, Toby said. I’m dog-sick of those invisible dog fences. And don’t tell me it’s a dog-eat-dog world. It’s a dog-eat-squirrel world.
Yes, I said, the world has sure gone to the dogs. Now can we talk about hyphens?
Bow-wow, Toby replied, and retired to his doghouse for a dognap.
Well, here’s the lesson we would have discussed.
Toby Principle 1: Look it up in a good dictionary, especially Merriam-Webster’s. The phrase dog days is two words. A doghouse is one word. Dog-tired is listed as hyphenated, despite Principle 3 below.
APA Style Principle 2: Use a hyphen if a compound adjective expresses a single thought. A hot dog taste could be read as a very warm taste of fresh dog. A hot-dog taste would be the taste of a hot dog.
So be careful: An invisible-dog fence would enclose an invisible dog. An invisible dog fence is a fence you can’t see.
APA Style Principle 3: Most compound adjectives are hyphenated only before the noun they modify. A short-legged corgi, but the corgi was short legged. A hyphen-challenged fox terrier, but the fox terrier was hyphen challenged. A canine-cleaning brush, but a brush made for canine cleaning. A dog-eat-dog world, but a world in which it’s every man or woman for himself or herself.
APA Style Principle 4: Most words formed with prefixes are one word: antihero, bipolar, codependent, megalomania, metacognition, pretest, unreliable.
Toby Principle 5: Adverbs ending in –ly plus a participle or adjective are generally not hyphenated: doggedly tired Scottie, utterly useless cat.
Toby Principle 6: Hyphenate a number combined with an adjective before a noun. A 9-year-old cockapoo, but a cockapoo that is 9 years old. A 300-page APA manual, but the manual is 300 pages long.
Questions about hyphenation or APA style? Visit Walden’s online writing center for APA style tutorials. Questions about prairie dog grammar? Check out the work of Dr. Constantine Slobodchikoff of Northern Arizona University.

Caution: Self-Editor at Work

2009-11-05T07:25:00.001-08:00

By Jeff Zuckerman, Writing Center Director

I have always said that even experienced editors need editors.
I know that’s true because I’ve been editing for about 25 years and somehow still manage at least once a day to goof up a spelling in an email message. I do my best to model good writing habits but I know somewhere out there is a student who read a Word document of mine with a balloon comment reading, “Be carful with your spelling.”
* * *
It’s true, you know. Even good editors need editors.
I’ve been editing for 25 years and still manage at least once a day to goof up a spelling. I do my best to model good writing habits, but somewhere out there is a student who read a Word document with a balloon comment reading, “Carful with your spelling.”
* * *
Even good editors need editors.
I’ve been editing for 25 years, and at least once a day I screw up a spelling in an email message. I try to model good writing habits, but somewhere out there an author has read a balloon comment of mine reading, “Carful with your spelling.”
* * *
Even editors need editors.
I’ve been editing for 25 years. Writing and revising even a simple paragraph can be painful. Yesterday I sent off a manuscript with this balloon comment: “See how cutting 10 needless words improved readability? Also, use your spelchecker.”

Bad Grammar is Bad for Business

2009-10-14T08:37:00.000-07:00

By Amber Cook, Senior Writing Specialist

There’s a gym not far from my house. The gym’s marquee last week read like this:

NO CONTRACT MEMBERSHIPS
AVAILABLE

Now, it’s certainly possible that this gym has run out of contract memberships: Perhaps they had memberships that require a contract, and there are no more available. If you’ve ever been to a gym, though, you probably know that contracts are pretty much always available. Just TRY to join a gym without signing one.

It’s probably safe to assume, then, that this gym intended to advertise no-contract memberships (memberships that do not require a contract). Here, that teeny-tiny missing hyphen means the difference between turning customers away and inviting them to try a new type of membership.

Granted, not every driver passing that sign last week was a grammar nerd like me. Maybe most readers made the same assumption I did, mentally supplying the needed hyphen. In communicating, though, one goal is to reach as many people as possible with the clearest possible message. Even if only 20% of the readers were confused by the missing hyphen, that’s still a significant loss of potential customers.

The next time you’re passing by the marquee in front of your workplace (or any other public written work that represents your company), try to see it from the perspective of your potential consumer. Perhaps you can catch an error that will lead to more business. Who knew good grammar could be so profitable?

Accessible Grammar

2009-10-06T07:02:00.001-07:00

By Jamie Patterson, Writing Specialist

One of my favorite residency sessions is a 90 minute grammar class that includes a lot of references to pop culture. At the end of the session we include a picture quiz where we ask students to identify the incorrect grammar on a store sign, on a billboard, or in a song. Sometimes we even use celebrity messages to their fans. Is it completely fair to apply grammar and APA rules outside of the classroom? Maybe not. But there are advantages to recognizing the dissonance between the writing standards expected here at Walden and what you are exposed to in your life outside of the university.

Many of the points we go over in this grammar class are meant to be friendly reminders of rules we’ve been learning since our grade school years. In fact, many EdD students leave this grammar class and comment that they’d like to use the same presentation in their own elementary school classrooms. Should it be alarming to you, as graduate students, that material we’re teaching at the graduate level is relevant at your local grade school? I hope not.

Grammar rules are much like APA rules: many of them should be accessible to the earliest level of learners. After all, including a serial comma was never meant to be rocket science. It was, however, meant to ensure clarity and accessibility to thought. This becomes increasingly more important as you take on multidimensional and complicated research to affect social change.

Considering the accessibility of grammar rules, why is it that even your local grocery store has signs that say “10 items or less” when less should be replaced with fewer? Why are there signs posted that say “no pets, shirts & shoes required” (Better: No pets. Shirts & shoes required)? Why would Christina Aguilera tell fans “Today is a joyful and special day for Jordan and I” (should be Jordan and me)?

We might have been exposed to many of these grammar rules at an early age but there are as many grammar rules as there are words. Pop culture and our everyday environment certainly don’t help us in our struggle to understand the nuances of language rules. For those of us who have dedicated our professional, academic, and personal lives to the craft of writing there is still something new to learn every day. Take advantage of our expertise and drop in on one of our classes at an upcoming residency or email us with questions: writingsupport@waldenu.edu . I’ll tell you now what we tell the students at the end of our residency session on grammar: being a grammarian is being aware of the details that surround us on a daily basis. Being aware of details is bound to make you a better student, a better researcher, and (our hope) a better writer.

Thoughts From a Writing Specialist: Prewriting

2009-09-30T13:58:00.000-07:00

by Brian Timmerman, Senior Writing Specialist

For me, writing is really all about prep work. In fact, I’m guessing that I’ve spent more time preparing to write than I actually have writing. Have a look at my prewriting rituals below and give ‘em a shot. I think they’ll save you some time and anguish.

Take Careful Notes

While reading, make sure that you’re taking copious notes on what interests you. I find it helpful to group these notes by subject as well. This way, I’ll be able to physically see the connections I’m making between the materials I’ve read.
I’d also suggest that you provide a citation (author, year, page number) for every note that you take. This way, returning to the text won’t entirely interrupt the writing process.

Synthesize

Next, you’ll want to synthesize all the literature you’ve read. If you grouped your notes together, this should be easy. What does each individual grouping suggest? Write down a sentence for each. You’ll then want to synthesize again. What is the collective suggestion once you’ve combined all the grouped sentences? Remember too that you don’t have to include everything you’ve learned during this process. There’s nothing wrong with abandoning some of your reading if you find that it doesn’t contribute to a collective whole.

Construct a Thesis

Once you have a good idea of what the literature says (you should have discovered this during the synthesis process), you should be able to construct a thesis, essentially an argument that’s grounded in literature.

Organize the Paper

You’re almost there. To ensure that you’ll have a tightly focused paper, go ahead and outline it before you begin writing it. Start with the thesis in the first paragraph (Point A), the conclusion (Point B) in the last, and then organize your grouped notes to most logically get from Point A to Point B.

Listen to our most recent webinar!

2009-09-18T06:37:00.000-07:00

Thoughts From a Writing Specialist: Writer’s Block

2009-09-08T13:00:00.000-07:00

By Brian Timmerman, Senior Writing Specialist
Finding yourself stuck, staring at a blank page? I’ve been there. Really. I shed tears on a paper once, an essay about Robert Bage’s novel, Hermsprong: Or Man as He is Not. Real tears. And I was 25. A 25-year-old man shedding tears over a 200-year-old book. No joke.
What I learned from that experience, though, was invaluable. It wasn’t so much that I had forgotten how to write, but I simply hadn’t thought about what I was writing. I was too focused on the blank page knowing that this thing, this paper, was supposed to grow to at least 25 pages plus. What I needed to do was to step away from the computer and just think about the material. What was my argument? What was the purpose of my paper? Why was I writing it (you know, aside from the fact that it was assigned to me)? How was I interacting with the text? Instead, I had jumped in foolishly focusing on the logistics (I need to have a 25-page paper completed by next Tuesday), as opposed to the real task at hand: taking the time to think about what I was going to say about the material I had read. I had put the cart before the horse.
Below are a few things I learned about writing over the years, most of which have helped me overcome writer’s block at some point in time or another.

1. A blank page does not mean that you’re searching for the right word or words to begin your essay. It means you literally have no idea what to say or why you’re saying it (aside from the fact that it’s been assigned). Take the 20-minutes of prep time and construct a thesis. The rest of the paper is then written with that thesis in mind, giving it direction. Trust me. Spend 20 minutes doing the prep work or spend an hour and a half staring at a flashing cursor wondering why nothing’s coming out.

2. If you find yourself stuck midway through your paper (or literally saying, “What the heck am I doing?”), go back to your introduction and make sure that you’re not confusing a thesis with a subject. A thesis is an argument; you can structure a paper around that. A subject on the other hand is a topic, something that has no beginning, no opportunity for narrative, and no way of getting to a reasonable conclusion (thus causing the block). If you find that you have a subject, there’s a good chance you’ll have to go back to the drawing board (which still should be less time consuming than trying to make what you have “fits” into a coherent paper).

3. If you’re stuck, there’s also a chance that you haven’t taken the time to think about what your research means to your essay. In this instance, remove yourself from the paper and return to the literature. As you reread, think of what this information means in the context of your essay’s purpose as well as in the context of the other material you’ve read. You may find that you’ve been trying to write about something that isn’t necessary. You may also discover something new that will jump start the writing process for you.

4. Don’t get caught up in the way your paper sounds. If you find yourself reading and rereading what you do have, listening for the ways that the words dance on page, stop, take a breath, and move on. If you don’t, you’re going to lose sight of the bigger picture (the essay as a whole). You can always address issues of precision during the revision process.
5. If after three or four paragraphs you find yourself stuck, take inventory of what you do have by jotting down a one-sentence purpose statement for each paragraph. This way, by getting a brief synopsis of what you’ve written so far, you’ll know where you are in the argument and what’s needed next.

6. Remember that you’re not working with stone tablets. You can commit anything to paper and delete it later. Go ahead and write something, anything, even if you know it’s a placeholder. You can always go back and change, delete, or revise what you’ve written. At the very least, this’ll keep the process moving. It might even help in just getting a few ideas on the page.

7. It sounds silly, but you might even want to consider using a voice recorder. Some writers are simply more comfortable expressing thoughts orally than through the written word. Once you’ve recorded those ideas, you should be able to fine tune them on the page.