Category: Writing Advice

ATTENTION UNDERGRADUATES: A Few Tips on Preparing for Those Fierce 101 Papers

Lindsey Gilbert, Consultant

College is quite thrilling, but when classes begin to settle, you might feel overwhelmed. Tests and quizzes give you a studying routine, but what about your essay writing? As your English midterm paper quickly approaches, keep in mind that the writing process may take a little longer than you think, but don’t worry—it’s meant to. You can start your very own writing routine by keeping in mind the seven tips listed below. These tips will greatly help you in any future writing endeavors that you may tackle.

Don’t wait till the last minute to start your paper. Believe it or not, it is best to start your paper early. Reading the prompt thoroughly will help you understand what you are expected to do and allow you the time to think through paper topics. Then you can begin your writing, which will cause less stress overall as the due date approaches.
Your first idea may not be your final paper topic. Unfortunately, it’s true. At times you will begin researching a topic and discover that not enough information may be published about it. Not finding the information you want in order to write your paper is challenging, but that doesn’t mean you’ll fail. Turn to another topic and who knows—maybe it’ll work out better than you expected.
Brainstorm with anybody! Whether you want to talk with your peers, your teacher, or even a Writing Center consultant, brainstorming is the best way to tease out ideas for your paper. You never know what new ideas you will have after brainstorming with others, so give it a try!
Write a first draft, not just a final copy. Okay, so this one may be a challenge, especially since it appears easier to type up your ideas and call it a day; however, this can come back to hurt you (or your grade rather). Get out all of your ideas by writing them down, then go back and read what you wrote. Yes, you may find some grammar errors, but this will begin the constructing process of your paper. After you’ve read it through, you can tweak it to make your arguments stronger.
The five paragraph essay is a format, not your writing style’s way of life. For many of us, we come to college with the mindset that the five paragraph essay is the way to write an essay, but that’s not true. Secondary teachers will often use the technique of the five paragraph essay to demonstrate the format of a paper. This is beneficial for learning essay construction, but it doesn’t have to carry into your future work entirely. Use the foundation of this concept to structure your paper. Essays exhibit many variations for their essay structure based on the number of points and the amount of information provided on those points. Having four major points can make for four body paragraphs, whereas two extensive points may still make for four body paragraphs. As long as your essay structure is strong, your reader will understand the layout of your ideas and your overall paper.
Remember: Writing is a process. You may not receive the grade you want, but keep in mind that writing takes time to perfect. Most authors in the articles that you read for class are nowhere near your age, so remember that developing your writing takes time and dedication. Use your resources, such as your friendly Writing Center staff, to assist you in becoming a better and stronger writer for life.
Come visit the Writing Center! Familiarize yourself with our friendly Writing Center staff. Each consultant’s goal is to help you become a better writer, so if you have questions about an assignment or want a second opinion on your work, feel free to bring it in. With both you and the consultant wanting to strengthen your writing, these sessions will be of great value to you!

Keep these seven tips in mind as you begin working on your next English paper, among other potential subject papers. The task of writing may seem quite daunting, but just like any other subject, putting time and effort into your writing will help you become a better writer and, in return, help you write strong papers for your classes. Focusing on bettering your writing style now will only save you time down the road. I hope to see you at the Writing Center this year!

Five Tips for Overcoming Blank Screen Anxiety

Alex Wasson, Consultant

For many writers, the angry blinking cursor on a blank Microsoft Word document is one of the most intimidating barriers to overcome in the writing process. The flashing cursor is like the ticking of a clock, reminding writers of a deadline fast approaching. And the blank screen mocks what we writers fear most: that we have nothing to say.

Entering the drafting stage of writing a paper is a daunting challenge for even the most experienced writers, regardless of the length and the theme of the assignment. You are not alone if you have put off getting on the computer until the last possible minute, acutely aware of the blank document hovering on your screen. You are not alone if your writing is so burdened by the anxiety of self-doubt that starting the process seems impossible. If this difficulty with the beginning of the writing process is familiar to you, there is absolutely hope; our papers, more often than not, are completed and submitted. But how can we make the beginning stage of the drafting process a bit easier on ourselves?

As it is the time of the semester for blinking cursors and blank screens, here are five tips for overcoming the anxiety that often accompanies typing the first words in the drafting process.

Write Down Anything

Writing “chicken salad chicken salad chicken salad” or other non-related gibberish at the top of the Word document may be just the trick your mind needs to believe that you are making strides in the assignment. I always begin my drafting process by writing the complete heading on my first page so that I can see something on the screen other than white space. Sometimes I write a nonsensical story to fill up space (often about my dog) and unconsciously transition into writing that is more on-topic. Write down whatever comes to mind, and eventually you will find yourself in the “zone” and able to hone in on the topic at hand.

Begin with Pencil and Paper

Avoid the blank screen altogether by doodling and jotting down notes on a piece of paper. A piece of paper often seems less confrontational than a computer, and the ability to scribble in a nonlinear, abstract fashion may inspire an out-of-the-box introduction for your essay. Once you have something written down on paper, revisit the computer and type in your notes to get rid of that blank screen.

Talk to a Friend

Chatting about your topic with a friend can inspire new ideas and strategies for getting started on your assignment, especially if you are more comfortable speaking aloud than writing. If you are like me and forget immediately what you say aloud, record your conversation on your phone and then transcribe the conversation. The typed transcription will defeat the blank page and give you a good start on a draft. Can’t find anyone willing to have a conversation about 16^th century baroque architecture or the economic implications of raising minimum wage? The writing center is the perfect resource for you.

Write Everything You Know about Your Topic

For longer assignments, typing everything you know about your topic may not be feasible. But for the 3-5 page paper, a bullet point list of what you understand about your topic can provide a good sense of direction for a paper that seems impossible to begin. These points might just encompass the heart of your paper, and they also help you assess just how well you understand your topic in the first place.

Write it Backwards

Don’t know how to start a paper? It’s important to keep in mind that a paper does not have to be written in order from introduction to conclusion. It may be helpful to start at the end, what you want your audience to take away from your paper, and work your way back to the introduction. You may be very confident writing a particular section of the body paragraphs but unsure of how to get started with an introduction; if so, start writing where you are most comfortable and return to the introduction after you get a better understanding of where you want your paper to go. Beginning the drafting process in the section where you are most comfortable will build confidence and prepare you for the more difficult sections ahead.

Gender-Neutral Pronoun Usage in Academic Writing

Anthony Gross, Consultant

Pronouns are a part of speech that belong to a “closed class” of words, a class to which new words are rarely, if ever, added. Unlike those parts of speech that belong to the “open class,” such as nouns, verbs, and adjectives, pronouns in the English language are more stable. Since the 1970s, though, there has been a demand for less sexist and more gender-neutral language that has led to scrutiny of English’s gendered pronouns. This scrutiny is of interest particularly to those in the academy who must be aware of biases in their writing practices. As part of an academy comprised of men, women, and an increasing number of individuals who do not identity as either traditionally prescribed gender, it is important for student writers to be aware of gendered language and to avoid it (and, therefore, gender biases) when possible.

Perhaps the most blundersome use of gendered language in many students writers’ academic writing is the default to the masculine, third-person, singular pronoun he and the possessive his. In the past, the academy was comprised of mostly men, and despite the entrance and proliferation of women in academics, these masculinized parts of speech have remained the standard. This standard is most evident, and perhaps most problematic, in sentences where writers address hypothetical individuals. For example: “If a firefighter didn’t wear his protective gear, he would be risking serious injury.” In the previous sentence, the hypothetical firefighter is defaulted to being male. Though the writer avoided gender bias in the use of “firefighter” in place of “fireman,” the bias remained in the masculine pronouns. In this particular case, the writer may have defaulted to the masculine pronoun because, in American society, people tend to view firefighting as a masculine profession. This writer, and many others, may not even be aware of this tendency to use masculine pronouns to refer to individuals who hypothetically could be either male or female.

Even if writers are aware of their masculine pronoun usage, they may assume that readers understand the usage as hypothetical and not gender-determinative. However, there have been studies that evidence the masculine pronoun’s tendency to evoke masculine images in readers’ minds (see Gastil’s 1990 study “Generic Pronouns and Sexist Language: The Oxymoronic Character of Masculine Generics”). With the threat of such latent biases seeping through our writing into our readers’ minds, what are our options to make our writing more gender neutral?

While the answers to eliminating gender bias in your academic writing may be more complex than simply dropping the pronoun he from sentences with hypothetical persons, it’s a good place to start. One option writers may opt to use is replacing he with he or she. This addition is more gender-inclusive, but writers must be aware that some professors and general readers may find this option distracting because it can make sentences too convoluted (for example: “A dog owner should walk his or her dog at least twice a day so he or she won’t face accusations of being neglectful.”). Other options include combining the masculine and feminine third person singular to form “s/he” or alternating pronouns throughout a piece of writing. These options, once again, may be distracting, the former for readers’ inability to immediately recognize the combination and the latter for readers’ potential inability to quickly comprehend that the different pronouns are referring to similar hypothetical persons. All of these options also embody the issue that not everybody identifies with the traditional binary of male and female, and, therefore, pronouns involving different forms of he and she are not completely gender-inclusive.

An alternative to gendered pronouns that has gained increasing popularity is the use of singular they. In conversational English, it is not uncommon to use they as a singular pronoun in instances where a speaker has not provided gender information. For instance:

Speaker A: “I’ve really been wanting to try the new restaurant down the road.”
Speaker B: “I have a friend who went there last week.”
Speaker A: “What did they think of the food?”

Speaker B did not provide information about the gender of the friend in the conversation, so Speaker A used the singular third person gender-neutral they to refer to the friend. This usage of they makes sense because the gender of the friend is not important to the content of the dialogue. The use of singular they is not a novel idea but one that is already being adopted by notable institutions. The National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) recommends, in addition to the balanced use of he and she, using the singular they/their form, noting that the “construction is becoming increasingly acceptable.” Based on NCTE’s guidelines, The Writing Center Journal (WCJ) has also adopted the use of they as a singular pronoun in their submission guidelines. The University of Vermont is one of the first universities to adopt the gender-neutral pronoun, incorporating it into their campus information system. However, despite the shift some academic institutions are making in how they use gender, they’s adoption as a grammatically-acceptable, singular pronoun is still a point of contention. As NCTE warns, “classroom teachers need to be aware that state and/or national assessments may not regard this construction as correct,” and neither will many university instructors.

So what should student writers do until the issue of gendered pronouns is resolved? This writer suggests that context is key. If you are interested in using a gender-neutral pronoun like they in your writing, consult your professors to make sure they will accept the usage as correct. Likewise, if you find yourself submitting to an academic journal like WCJ, check its submission and style guidelines to see if such usage is acceptable. Style guides like The American Psychological Association (APA) have yet to accept the use of they in the proposed context, but APA does acknowledge the need to avoid gendered pronouns. The Purdue Owl Online Writing Lab lists some acceptable alternatives for those writing in APA, some of which were outlined above. From the Lab’s list of gender-neutral alternatives, the use of plural pronouns is perhaps easiest to incorporate when possible (for example: “the students like their writing” instead of “the student likes his writing”).

Whether you are a grammar-stickler or a pro-singular-they reformist, I offer you this bit of information: language is an ever-evolving and expanding entity, and though traditionally pronouns are a closed-class part of speech, English’s acceptance of they as a singular pronoun would not be the first shift of its kind. The second person pronoun you that is now used singularly—as noted by Dennis Baron, a linguist at the University of Illinois—once functioned as the accusatory plural of thou. If you once referred to a group of people, then why shouldn’t they function as a single person, especially given the demand for gender-neutral pronoun identities in a world that is becoming increasingly less defined by a gender binary?

How I Write: David Bell

Our “How I Write” series asks writers from the University of Louisville community and beyond to respond to five questions that provide insight into their writing processes and offer advice to other writers. Through this series, we promote the idea that learning to write is an ongoing, life-long process and that all writers, from first-year students to career professionals, benefit from discussing and collaborating on their work with thoughtful and respectful readers. Thanks to writing center consultant Jenny Kiefer for this week’s post.

Our featured writer this week is Dr. David Bell. Dr. Bell is the fiction professor at Western Kentucky University, where he has helped lead a new MFA program. An award-winning author of several horror/suspense novels, his most recent work is titled Somebody I Used to Know. Dr. Bell received his MA from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio and his PhD from the University of Cincinnati.

Dr. Bell will be hosting a discussion and book signing for Somebody I Used to Know this Saturday, September 12, at Barnes and Noble, located at 801 S. Hurstbourne Parkway. The discussion will begin at 1 P.M. and the book signing will begin at 2 P.M.

Location: Bowling Green, KY

Current project: Somebody I Used to Know

Currently reading: Cabal by Clive Barker

1. What type(s) of writing do you regularly engage in? I pretty much only write fiction. Novels and novellas. Unless you count Facebook posts and Tweets. Those are usually non-fiction.

2. When/where/how do you write?

I have to use a computer. My handwriting is so bad even I can’t read it. I mostly write at home, either at my desk or out on my back patio when the weather is nice.

3. What are your writing necessities—tools, accessories, music, spaces?

I can write in a lot of different places. In the summer and during the holidays I visit family so I write in their houses. I write in my office on campus. If there’s a deadline–and there usually is–I can work anywhere. I really can’t listen to music when I write because the music distracts me.

4. What is your best tip for getting started and/or for revision?

Don’t worry about how bad the first draft is. Revision can save a bad first draft. Just get it down and then figure out the problems later. No one has ever written a perfect book or story, so you don’t have to try to either.

5. What is the best writing advice you’ve received?

Write the kind of book you would like to read.

Rethink the New Semester Reset

Cassie Book, Associate Director

As the first two weeks of fall semester wound down on a hazy August Friday afternoon, I found a spare moment to reflect on the work already done in the University Writing Center. Typically, when I imagine writing situations early in the semester, I immediately think of getting started on class writing assignments. In fact, when I visit classes to speak about the University Writing Center, I suggest students visit at the beginning of their writing process, to brainstorm and plan. Yet, many of the writers we’ve met here in the past two weeks aren’t just getting started. What are they up to?

We’ve met writers with projects not limited by the semester timeline. Some were in the final stages of editing academic journal articles; the research likely began several years ago. Others spent the summer revising personal statements for graduate school applications and wanted more feedback before submission. Still others have returned to U of L as graduate students with a renewed commitment to improving their writing with each opportunity. These writers embrace writing as a lifelong process and practice. They haven’t pushed the “reset” button at the beginning of the semester like, I’ll admit, I tend to do.

What if you’re already in the mindset of resetting at the beginning of each semester? You’re not yet working on a personal statement for graduate school. You wouldn’t know where to start on research for a journal article. Relax. I’m not suggesting that you embark on a lengthy writing project. There are other ways to commit to building and bridging your writing skills from semester to semester. Instead of starting from scratch each semester, take stock of what you’ve already learned and know about writing and your writing process.

We learn best when we begin to integrate concepts from one class or experience with new experiences. Another way to think about it might be learning a sport, say, basketball. You first try it out—shoot hoops with friends or family. Then, you play casual one-on-one. Next, you add more players and basic guidelines, maybe parameters like a time clock or a referee. Eventually, you’ll advance to having a specialized role (guard, center, forward) and even breaking the general guidelines. Of course, the learning process is never so straightforward, structured, and sequenced. The point is you’re always learning because each game the context is slightly different. You’re constantly building on your skills, observing others, listening, and responding to the other players. Learning to write is a similar process, though the “rulebook” is much more flexible than a given sport’s.

When confronted with a “new” writing task, take a few moments to reflect on how it relates to the writing you’ve already done—any writing, for academic or personal reasons. Maybe the subject matter is different, but can you identify similarities in structure, purpose, or audience? What do you know about your process? How do your professors and peers typically respond to your writing? How do your Twitter followers respond to your writing? Though at first a writing task might seem unfamiliar, try to link it to what you’ve already accomplished. If you shift your approach and thinking now, you’ll be better prepared later to embark on more in-depth and high stakes writing with confidence.

Brainstorming: How to Avoid “Snowball” Writing

Kristin Hatten, Consultant

Learning to brainstorm is—in my humble opinion—one of the most important aspects of learning to write. This may seem obvious, but I think the further we progress into our writing careers, the more we tend to skip a good, solid brainstorming session. I, for one, am extremely guilty of this—especially since I started graduate school; I get overwhelmed with the project at hand, and, instead of proceeding calmly and strategically, I barrel forward into my paper, despite the fact that I know better. So, here, I want to outline some steps that I plan to walk myself through in order to avoid this “snowball-style” writing style, in hopes that they will be helpful to you as well!

First, freewrite! Freewriting is a great way to start a brainstorming session because you can do it however you want! Freewriting may consist of a rough outline, a chart, boxes with arrows pointing from one piece of information to another, or a typed or written page(s) of stream of consciousness commentary. Whatever it may be, it will only be helpful in getting you started on your paper.

Second, now that you have completed the freewriting stage, remove yourself a bit from the actual content of the project, and focus on the research methods that will be necessary. Here, list out some keywords you think may be useful to you during your process, and list any of the sources you may have already acquired. Also, poke around on the library’s online catalogue and make a list of possible sources from there. This will surely help you further organize your thoughts as well as help you flesh our your ideas. (Sometimes, depending on how deep you are into your project, this may be useful as step one!)

If you have trouble getting started with freewriting, try to talk out your ideas to a peer, a friend, a University Writing Center consultant (!!), or a professor. In some of the most effective brainstorming sessions I have had with clients, about 75% of the brainstorming session has consisted of the client talking through his/her ideas and me taking notes. In these instances, the client oftentimes realizes that his/her ideas were more organized and succinct than originally thought. So find a buddy and talk it out, y’all! It’ll help, I swear.

Finally, understand that brainstorming does not only happen before you write a paper. Allow yourself to brainstorm throughout your writing and research process. So, what does this look like? When you are reading and analyzing your research materials, respond directly to each source (right after you finish reading each) using your most effective freewriting method. Once you move into integrating these source materials and responses into your paper, it is to be expected that you may get stuck or need to re-organize your papers. These moments serve as yet another place where freewriting or reading and responding can come in handy.

In short, don’t panic! Sit down, get a cup of coffee, and write down what you know so you can figure out what you don’t know. Oh! And don’t forget, carry your brainstorming methods throughout the entire paper!

Actively Writing: Experimentation as a Way to Improve the Writing Process

As writers, we often struggle with what to do with a paper after we have finished saying all that we want to say. This stage can happen at any point in the writing process, from having 3 pages done and needing 5, to needing a conclusion, to just hitting a dead end with the paper. This moment, commonly referred to as writer’s block, is quite infuriating. However, one of the best ways to combat this moment is by redefining how you see writing.

Most people see writing as a solitary act, one where the writer is stoically sitting for hours on end in front of a computer, unmoving except for one’s fingers across the keyboard. There has been a new emphasis on collaboration as part of the process today, which makes writing slightly more active, but not by much. However, what I wish to propose with this piece is that writing can be a very active process, and some techniques can help rejuvenate new work.

The main goal of writing is to capture that which is innately human. We wish to persuade others, to encourage them, to communicate with them in an intriguing and interesting way. Writers do this visually, by using the words on the page, but we also share ideas through our other senses. For example, many people compose while listening to music because the combination of the various notes will put us in a specific mood and encourage certain words to come to mind. Other people feel the need to write in busy areas, like coffee shops, so that the flow of conversation is in our ears. In this regard, writing is listening.

Writing can also draw on physical activity to some degree. Research is a major component of any writing project, but some articles can be really difficult to understand. Often, in order to understand what I am writing, I have to act out what I have read in some way. If I have to read a description of what someone is doing, I mimic what is described on the page until I understand it. Other times, I draw a map or a flow chart to connect major ideas. Techniques like these help with reading comprehension and provide ways for writers to organize their reactions to various works.

Also, I have worked with many people who, when brainstorming, need a way to channel their stress. That is the moment where I bring out the Legos or Play-Doh! Doing something with your hands while talking about your writing can help the feeling of being fidgety, without adding the stress of needing to write something down. Although putting words on paper is a key component of the writing process, the most important step is finding something to say. For this, I highly recommend grabbing Legos, a slinky, or even a coloring book, and meeting up with a friend for a conversation about what you are working on. It allows writers to feel active and productive, without the paralyzing fear of not writing something down.

Another way to be active while writing is to grab a pen and paper and go for a walk. The fresh air helps foster creativity, while the exercise is just as industrious as writing. Walking also allows writers to observe their surroundings and generate new ways to add detail to a paper. It also helps me find new ways to add clarity to my paper. If I watch the different ways people run, I can determine which verb I want to use describe the same moment in my own paper—sometimes it’s a sprint, other times a jog, still others a quick dart.

Finally, my biggest recommendation for getting out of a writing rut is to experiment with the writing process. What are your strengths? How can you use them in your writing? If you can’t, can you use them to inspire your writing? And don’t give up hope. There have been many times that I have tried something new and it hasn’t worked. The great thing about experimentation is that you can always just try something else. In the words of the famous author E.M. Forster, “How can I tell what I think until I see what I say?”

Setting “Optimistic Accountability Markers”

It’s a week from spring break, and I know—one of my feet is already out the door, too. But even though we would rather focus our to-do lists around packing up our suitcases to go home or buying a new swimsuit to rush off to some actual sunny weather (what is this weather we’ve been having?!), let’s take a step back into this figurative door-frame and do ourselves a favor.

After spring break, it always seems like a sprint to the finish with all the assignments and papers and projects, yadda yadda yadda…but this semester, glorious spring 2015, let’s try to make it a little less stressful on ourselves. Let’s set some optimistic accountability markers (some may mistake these as self-deadlines, but that term is all too scary. These are much nicer). What do you say? This’ll take less than 10 minutes of time, and I promise, our future selves will thank us.

You need just a few things to get started: your syllabi for your classes (whether paper or on Blackboard—wherever the schedule for upcoming classes is laid out), a calendar/planner, potentially a pen (unless you’re going all techy on me with a digital calendar), and an optimistic but determined state of mind. Got ‘em? Great!

Now, the first step is the hardest, but necessary. So, deep breath. Ready? Let’s mark down in our calendars the due date of our bigger end-of-semester projects. I know this seems daunting, but it only gets easier from here, I promise! It’s just like jumping into a cold pool—it warms up after the initial chill. But take 2 minutes, go through each of the final weeks of your syllabi and put them all into that calendar, preferably marking them by class and assignment name.

Okay—you’ve made it this far, my friend. I know it looks like a lot to do in a short amount of time, but that’s where these next steps come in to make it a whole lot easier and actually doable.

Now zero in on one of your classes—whichever one, any one will do—and think about that final assignment. Is it a bigger paper? How many pages? Is it an accumulative exam? Whatever it is, think back to last semester. Did you have something like this before? Now be honest with yourself—to do well on this assignment, what are the steps you need to take? Jot down just a rough draft of the steps you think you’ll need to take to get there. Here’s an example:

Assignment: 5-7 page paper, using 5 sources, about such-and-such a topic.

Well, to be honest, it’s going to take me a while to gather those 5 sources. I might even need to schedule an appointment with a research librarian to make sure I’m on the right track.
And then, I need to read those 5 sources, highlighting parts that seem relevant to the such-and-such topic, so I actually know what I’m going to be writing about.
And then I need to brainstorm and mentally organize my paper a bit, before I sit down to start writing.
From that, I can probably put together a rough draft of about 3 pages.
Then I definitely want to come back to my draft with fresh eyes to revise, because my papers are always better when I revisit them and polish/clarify my ideas. And let’s say I get stuck at something like 4 pages—I’ll include a little buffer time to make a visit to the writing center (and I might as well make that appointment now and get ahead of schedule—I can always cancel it if I don’t need to use it, but it’ll just be another optimistic accountability marker to hopefully get where I want to be!)
Then I can work on adding the finishing touches. Done. Submit. Adios such-and-such paper!

So six steps? That’s totally doable, right? Better than one larger looming paper. And breaking it down like that can give you an idea of how long each step might take.

So the next step, after drafting that list—yours might only be a few words per step—write on/type in your calendar when you think you can doably complete steps 1 through [insert your own number here]. But remember, the key here is to be optimistic and a go-getter, but not unrealistic. We have 5 weeks left, and then finals week after spring break; I know it’ll fly by, but realistically, if we space out our mini-optimistic accountability marker steps, it’s completely doable! And you won’t be super stressed, I-am-only-surviving-on-caffeine during finals week!

Oh! And two nice things about these optimistic accountability markers? Checking them off on a to-do list feels super! AND they are revisable—if you realize you’ve been a bit too optimistic with one of your markers, reevaluate. They’re your markers, and they’re there to help out your future self (:

White & Gold? Black & Blue? The Dress: Read All Over

Chris Scheidler, Consultant

If you were on social media last week you probably noticed a thing or two about a dress that, to embrace the hyperbole, “broke the internet.” I’ll leave the dress debate to the designers and physicists but I would like to draw your attention to the act of interpretation; specifically, I’d like to focus on interpreting assignment prompts.

We often take interpretation for granted. We interpret every day. Sometimes interpretation is straightforward: for instance, when your friend says, “Pass the mustard.” Other times, interpretation requires a bit more navigation, such as when your parent asks, “Did you do the dishes?” A blunt “no,” if your family is anything like mine, is probably not an advisable answer. We interpret so often that we sometimes forget that we’re doing it. In many ways, we’ve all become experts at interpreting.

But if the dress debate demonstrates anything, it is that we occasionally get our interpretations wrong. Our ability to interpret is not infallible. When we’re reading assignment prompts, the context, our previous experiences, and other elements all shape the way we interpret the prompt. If a two-tone dress can break the internet, how can we agree on what our professor expects from our assignments?

Don’t fret! Interpretation can be tricky but there are at least four helpful strategies that I recommend.

1. Visit the University Writing Center. Whether you’re just beginning an assignment or further along in the process we’re here to help. We tutors have years of experience interpreting not only assignment prompts but also texts in general. Sometimes just talking it out with another person can help. Which is why, if you don’t have time for an appointment you can:

2. Reach out to other students. Your peers have likely asked themselves the same question about what the assignment means. Ask them how they’re interpreting the prompt and you might find that you all agree on an interpretation or that there is some difference in interpretations. If you, like the Internet on the dress, can’t reach a consensus you can always:

3. Examine the keywords in the prompt. Is the professor asking you to analyze, annotate, summarize, synthesize, or something entirely different? The University Writing Center has a wonderful blog post dedicated to deciphering keywords – check it out! If the keywords are giving you trouble you can always:

4. Speak with the professor. Ask the professor in class or consult with the syllabus to see how your professor prefers to be contacted. If you’re emailing the professor, begin with a professional salutation and end with a professional signoff. If you’re nervous about contacting your professor you can always stop in at the University Writing Center and we can help you compose an email.

Recognizing and Using Rhetorical Devices

Hannah Cunningham, Consultant

As students, we all have to do a fair amount of writing, in a variety of disciplines. And we’ve all sought for new and interesting ways to phrase our thoughts. The way we word our arguments has a massive impact on how our readers perceive not just our arguments, but also us as writers. Careful use of word choice or syntax can also help in making our words or arguments memorable, as well as persuasive. Clearly, how we state our thoughts is as important as the thoughts themselves. But how do we go about doing it well?

Part of the answer lies in rhetoric. “Rhetoric” refers to the art of making a persuasive argument, using specific (and sometimes very specialized) types of sentences, referred to as “rhetorical devices.” I know—this all sounds so vague and abstract. However, a look at popular culture reveals that many of these rhetorical devices are not only familiar, but are well-known pieces of our cultural heritage. Many of our favorite movies and television shows use rhetorical devices so often that we may not even notice. The list of rhetorical devices is immense, so I’ll offer a few of the more interesting ones, as well as examples that may be very familiar to you.

Anastrophe: This term seems formidable, but many people are familiar with the device itself. Anastrophe refers to inverting the standard order in which words are typically found in sentences. Anyone who has seen the Star Wars movies (or even people like me, who haven’t seen them but are familiar with them) has heard quite a bit of anastrophe from the little green guy—er, Yoda. The phrase “The chosen one the boy may be” is a prime example of anastrophe. Anastrophe is best used sparingly, but can make a topic sentence or a closing statement stand out.

Chiasmus: The root of this word means “cross,” and that’s what the device does. For this device to work successfully, you need a sentence with two clauses. The “crossing” occurs in the second clause, when you reverse the order of the elements in the first sentence. Confusing, I know, but it actually becomes pretty simple if you have an example. Bart Simpson of The Simpsons used chiasmus amusingly when he said “Priceless like a mother’s love, or the good kind of priceless?” He’s being a brat, but his use of chiasmus is spot-on. The word “priceless” begins the first clause, and occurs at the end of the second, while the opposing ideas “a mother’s love” and “the good kind” also switch places. Chiasmus can be very useful when making a persuasive argument, particularly a call to action; if you want to know just how effective, recall JFK saying, “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.”

Commoratio: I can’t tell you that I know how to pronounce this word, but its definition is pretty simple: repetition of an idea with different wording. It becomes absurd fairly quickly, so use it carefully, but it can be an effective device, particularly in an opening statement. The animated show Family Guy used commoratio when the peg-legged and –armed fisherman, Seamus, tells Peter, “If it’s fish you want, Pelican’s Reef is where you’ll find them. I’ve seen fish there. More fish than you could possibly imagine. Fish as far as the eye can see. Lots and lots of fish, I guess would be the main bullet point of this presentation.” Clearly, Family Guy is using commoratio to the point of absurdity, but you can use it carefully to gain your audience’s attention—or to make them laugh.

Epanelepsis: This device describes the act of beginning and ending a sentence or phrase with the same word. Viewers of the old Kevin Smith film Chasing Amy heard epanelepsis when Ben Affleck’s character, Holden McNeil, said, “Alyssa from last night Alyssa?” His use of epanelepsis even impressed his friend Hooper, who commented, “How do you begin and end a sentence with the same word like that? You got skills.” This device can be useful when emphasizing the repeated word, although it’s important to use this device sparingly so that your paper doesn’t become too repetitious.

Litotes: This is your basic understatement, usually with the word “not.” Dozens of easy examples exist, such as “He’s not unlike his father,” or “The weather lately has been not tropical.” But for many of us, the most memorable example may be the Sorting Hat in the first Harry Potter movie, Harry Potter and the Sorceror’s Stone. When the Sorting Hat is trying to decide in which house to place Harry, it says, “Hmm, difficult. VERY difficult. Plenty of courage, I see. Not a bad mind, either.” That last sentence proves that the Sorting Hat, in addition to thinking up each year’s opening song, also had time to study rhetorical devices such as litotes. Litotes can be useful when supporting an argument, but be wary of overusing it; it begins to sound sarcastic fairly quickly.

Metanoia: This is another one I can’t pronounce, but I hear it often in television shows. Metanoia refers to qualifying a statement mid-sentence to emphasize the sentence’s point. Barney Stinson, the loveable rogue on the show How I Met Your Mother, uses metanoia fairly frequently, particularly when making his over-the-top arguments. In this case, Barney uses metanoia to insist on receiving a fist bump: “Until my fist gets the respect it deserves – nay, demands – it will not yield. It. Will. NOT! Yield.” This rather powerful device is probably best used in a conclusion, to leave your audience with a strong statement at the end of your paper.

Polysyndeton: This weird-looking word actually just refers to having a conjunction before each item in a list. Usually, conjunctions (particularly “and”) only occur before the last item in a list. Viewers of The Simpsons have seen polysyndeton from the character of Professor Frink, the excitable mad scientist of Springfield. In one episode, Frink says, “Oh, sorry I’m late. There was trouble at the lab with the running and the exploding and the crying when the monkeys stole the glasses off my head.” The sentence is both comical, and a perfect example of polysyndeton. In your papers, you may not want to reference monkeys stealing your glasses, but you may very well use polysyndeton to emphasize every item in a list.

These are just a few of the hundreds of rhetorical devices available for your use. Take a glance through a website that lists rhetorical devices and then watch your favorite show or movie. See how many examples you can pick up.