The Writing Center is OPEN

The early bird catches the worm, so don't slack off this semester. Get your writing help TODAY !

Semester Hours: 
Monday        9:00 - 3:00
Tuesday       10:30 - 6:00
Wednesday  10:00 - 3:00
Thursday      10:30 - 4:00

Even Bigger News!

The writing center is open on Friday for finals "Exam Cram" Sessions !

Bonus Hours

Friday April 29 10:00-1:00
Monday May 2 10:00-4:00
Tuesday May 3 10:00-4:00

In addition to our regular hours.


Be here or Be square,
~Christine

Big News!

Another busy year at the writing center!

New hours for Spring 2011:

Monday 10:00 - 1:00
Tuesday 10:00 - 4:00
Wednesday 10:00 - 3:00
Thursday 10:00 - 4:30

Also:
Uconn's 6th Annual Conference on the Teaching of Writing is Friday, March 25th!

~ Christine

Extra Extra!

Extra Extra...read all about it! We have breaking news from the Writing Center that you won't want to miss. Bonus hours will be available Monday and Tuesday, May 3rd & 4th, from 10:00-3:30!

This might be your last chance to strengthen your thesis and sharpen your analysis. Share the news with your friends and sign up for a session today!

~Mary

Writing Warm-up

As the temperatures begin to rise outside, motivation begins to drop. Students find themselves in a sort of tug-of-war...taking a walk with friends or writing a research paper, playing frisbee or taking notes on an assigned reading, hanging out in the courtyard or holing up in the library. It's pretty obvious what the outcome will be. Mr. Sun defeats the competition with its powerful, blinding pull.

But wait! Your paper is due in a week and this might be one of your last chances to boost your grade before finals. Compromise. Brainstorm under an oak tree, draft on your deck, build your body paragraphs on a bench, type in the shade. Use the weather to your advantage. If you love the great outdoors, then this is your perfect writing season.

Finally, learn a lesson from this weather pattern. Don't forget to heat up your own writing. Put passion and fire into your essay. Make your argument so bright your readers will need shades! Craft your own literary heatwave.

~Mary

P.S. Sign up for an appointment at the Center to keep your writing forecast sunny!

Extreme Makeover: Blog Edition

You may have noticed that things look different around here. Over the past week or so, there has been a lot of construction going on, and I'm not just talking about our campus. A lot of work goes into construction, whether for a house, a blog, or even an essay.

Sometimes you have to do a complete overhaul. Maybe your thesis isn't supporting the body of your essay, maybe your web site isn't getting enough hits, maybe your house lacks major curb appeal. So, what to do? Put on your protective gloves, your hardhat and goggles, and get to work!

It can be daunting to start over, but maybe the foundation of your essay can be saved. You don't have to necessarily bulldoze what you've already written...work with it. If you like the quotes you've selected from a text, do some freewriting until you figure out what makes them important. Underline one sentence from each of your body paragraphs that you think sums up that paragraph's purpose.  Voila!  You've just constructed a new topic sentence.

So as you build your own writing, remember that the process will likely be labor intensive. As actress Lily Tomlin says, "The road to success is always under construction." Keep at it!

~Mary

The Science of Writing

There are all kinds of writing out there, from creative to analytical. When you think of writing, maybe a New York Times bestseller comes to mind or a revered classic. Here in the Writing Center, we often consult with students on academic exploratory essays. Whether or not the book's genre is American literature or British or Modern or Medieval, the students' writing itself is geared for analysis. After reviewing mostly English papers, it can be easy to overlook other types of writing, namely the scientific kind.

If you've ever taken a course in Biology, Chemistry, or Physics, then you know that there can be a lot of writing involved. This writing typically comes in the form of the lab report. Within the report, you will likely have multiple sections. First you would include an introduction followed by a section on methods and results. One of the most important sections would be the discussion where you interpret the experiment's results and argue why they are significant. Here, you reflect and interpret and provide evidence. Hmm...does this sound familiar? It is the discussion section which surprisingly looks a lot like a literary analysis.

Can writing be boiled down to a science? I'll argue...not quite. Writing can be fluid, free, and limitless. It does not need to follow a formula to be deemed acceptable. In fact it is often the avant garde writing that grabs our attention as well as acclaim. However, I think that a lot can be learned from both the sciences and the liberal arts. Enrolling in English courses may help you become a better scientist, and vice versa. It all comes down to analysis, whether it's of an experiment or a text.

So, as you get ready for your weekly Chem lab or Physics experiment, embrace the goggles and beakers and microscopes...they just might help you ace your English paper or pen the next great American novel.

~Mary

The Poetry Corner

When I Have Fears

When I have fears that I may cease to be
Before my pen has gleaned my teeming brain,
Before high-piled books, in charact'ry,
Hold like rich garners the full-ripened grain;
When I behold, upon the night's starred face,
Huge cloudy symbols of a high romance,
And think that I may never live to trace
Their shadows, with the magic hand of chance;
And when I feel, fair creature of an hour,
That I shall never look upon thee more,
Never have relish in the faery power
Of unreflecting love!--then on the shore
Of the wide world I stand alone, and think
Till Love and Fame to nothingness do sink.
-John Keats (1818)

• How do you deal with writing "fears?"
• What is it that you fear when you put pen to paper?
• Can there be positive aspects to fear?
• How do you overcome your fears or "shadows" (line 8)?

~Mary

Lessons from Lucy

Yes, it's official...the Writing Center is open! And now that the Center is back in business, so is the blog. It's definitely the "write" time of year.

To start things off here, I'm going to give you five good reasons why you should come to the Center....

1) Students who visit the WC for a session almost always achieve higher grades than they would without our help. If it could be the difference between a B+ and an A, why wouldn't you want to sign up for a session?

2) Unlike Lucy, we don't charge 5¢. The WC offers completely free, professional tutoring.

3) As they say, the early bird gets the worm. Here at the WC, the early student gets the greatest benefit. Signing up for sessions in the beginning of the semester and coming regularly helps you to make significant progress with your writing goals.

4) Writing sessions are nothing to stress about. Our writing associates are always happy to help, and we usually begin by asking open-ended questions about your project at hand. A session is a collaboration between the student and the tutor--your own dialogue and participation is essential to the session's success. Even though our friend Lucy may like to lecture Charlie Brown, I can assure you that the WC is much more friendly.

5) If you cannot make a session during our hours (M-Thu. 10-4, Tu. 10-6), we offer online tutoring. Just send us an email at hartfordwriting@gmail.com and include your name, the course, the instructor's name, and a preferred appointment date/time to follow-up with a brief session. You can attach your assignment as a Word document or paste it into the body of the email. Make sure that you provide questions for the tutor to consider (ex. clarity, paragraph development, textual analysis, etc.) as we will not edit or correct your paper. Expect a response within 36 hours.

So there you have it...five good reasons to come to the Writing Center. See you there!

~Mary
(Image courtesy of Flickr)

Making the Grade: The Big Picture

Has the pre-finals chaos set in yet? If you haven't witnessed some variation of the end of the semester panic attack, I can assure you that it's quickly approaching.

You see, students often feel that they know where they stand grade-wise in their classes. They assume that quiz, test, essay, and project averages put them at a ___ (fill in the predicted grade).

However, your prediction isn't necessarily accurate. Finals can play a critical role in determining your grade, but so can participation, revisions, and effort. Many grades are determined holistically, taking into consideration a variety of factors. Maybe you struggle with your writing, but you've had sessions at the Writing Center for every essay. That shows that you care. You made time outside of the classroom to actively work on your writing.

In my freshman year, I took a Calculus course. Let me just say that math, to me, is like a foreign language (and one that I'm not fluent in!). However, I made sure to see my professor during office hours, sign up for sessions at the Q Center, and participate in class even if that only included asking questions. Grade-wise, I was not optimistic. But I wasn't looking at the big picture. My professor saw the effort I put into the course and it paid off.

When you start making your end of the semester predictions just remember that it's not over until it's over. Put your best foot forward and relax already! You might be pleasantly surprised.

~Mary

P.S. The Writing Center will have Bonus Fall Exam Hours! We are open on Friday, December 11th from 10-1, Monday the 14th from 10-4, and Tuesday the 15th from 10-4. Hope to see you there.

The Beginning of the End

As the semester approaches its end, I think now would be a fitting time to discuss conclusions. Sometimes we don't know how a semester will wrap up. Will we ace our essays, quizzes, and projects only to struggle through finals? Will there be paper overloads? Will our Vera Bradley tote bags and Northface backpacks be stuffed to capacity? Or, will we float through finals week with the confidence that our hard work has paid off? Only time will tell.

Writing your paper's conclusion, whether in a research paper, literary analysis, or persuasive essay, may seem just as confusing and unpredictable as the end of a semester! And the thing is...that's okay. There is no secret recipe for creating a perfect conclusion. Yes, you'll likely want to address your paper's main points or argument, but it doesn't have to stop there. Maybe there's a current news story that relates to your topic, or a song lyric, or a quote. Maybe writing your paper made you think about something you didn't get a chance to explore.

In my spring American Lit. class I examined how Daisy and Gatsby in The Great Gatsby paralleled Adam and Eve. I clearly remember being stuck on my conclusion. Instead of resorting to summary, I ended my paper with the last sentence of the novel: "So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past." My intent was to show that society continuously repeats the original story of sin and betrayal. I wanted to conclude that holding onto paradise is an impossible task, one that withstands time. But I wanted to show, not tell, and I think that incorporating (and citing!) Fitzgerald's writing with my own achieved that effect.

In conclusion ;) ... as you wrap up your own papers, remember to explore your own creativity rather than haphazardly crossing the essay finish line.

~Mary

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

I cannot believe that Thanksgiving is right around the corner. I have preparations to make, ingredients to buy, recipes to master (and delegate), table settings to arrange...This holiday time of year can really sneak up on you!

Like the holidays, don't let your essay preparation wait until the last minute. Set a timeline for yourself. There are only two weeks of classes left after the break before finals roll around. That's not a lot of time, but it is better than, say, two days. So, here's what I'd like you to do. Take small steps and try not to procrastinate. You wouldn't want to burn the turkey or break a plate of fine china just as you wouldn't want to present some half-baked literary analysis. Stuffing in filler quotes will also likely lead to an unfulfilling read.

Plan ahead, manage your time, and if you're looking for some help with your writing, make sure you sign up in advance for a session at the Center. We will be open during the beginning of finals week (definite hours tba). One final note, if you would like to reserve your seat at the Writing Center table, sign up outside of room 303 soon. Hope to see you on the guest list!

In the meantime, enjoy your Thanksgiving break.

~Mary
(Image courtesy of Clipart)

Just for Fun

I admit that I hear myself spout nonsense from time to time, though always with the best of intentions. Here's a way to have fun with a bit of that academic jargon you sometimes hear from your professors. Check out this academic sentence generator!

The Power of Metaphor

Which metaphors do you use when you think about writing? Which do your professors use? What are the possibilities of trying out some new metaphors in thinking about your writing?

Metaphors shape the choices we make as we approach writing. For example, if you’re writing an “argument” paper, you might find that you represent positions other than your own with hostility, that you write defensively and perhaps even overstate your true position as a way of overwhelming your reader and/or any potential opposition. You might think of the act of writing as an act of creation or a task or a process or a conversation or an exploration or an act of building. Each of these different ways of imagining writing will inflect your reasoning and your understanding of audience.

I’m always trying on new metaphors – both as I come to terms with my own challenges as a writer and as I work with students new to the university. I feel like this helps me notice my practices and assumptions with a fresh eye and sometimes gives me insight into possibilities I had previously overlooked. What about writing as weaving? Writing as sculpture or architecture or cultivation or cartography? What if we imagine essays and papers as trees…or video games…or forms of transportation?

What are your preferred metaphors and how do they help you better understand the act of writing? I’m always looking for more ideas!
~Wendy

Hanging Out with Quotations

A common tendency for students is to introduce or conclude a paragraph with a quotation. This can be tricky. You cannot trust that your reader (including your professor) will understand the quotation's purpose in your essay, so, you should fully explain your reasoning behind a particular quotation. It really is a judgment call.

Opening a paragraph with a quote does leave you room to explore its significance, while concluding with a quote usually stops analysis in its tracks. A token of advice?

When it comes to quotations...don't leave them hanging!

-James, Mary

(Image courtesy of Clipart)

To Quote or Not to Quote

To quote or not to quote...that is the question. First, a distinction ought to be made between the need for quotations as opposed to the need for citations in an essay. Citations are simply crediting the work parenthetically after an idea is borrowed, without quoting. Quotations should be used more discriminatingly; as scholarly as these excerpts make your writing look, many of the author's ideas can be summed up in your own words and cited.

So, when is it appropriate to quote? One occasion is when the language of the text itself is a factor in your argument. For instance, if you were writing about Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn to showcase the racial barriers between characters, a summary of a line would simply not create the same effect as say quoting "'NOW, old Jim, you're a free man again, and I bet you won't ever be a slave no more.' 'En a mighty good job it wuz, too, Huck. It 'uz planned beautiful, en it 'uz done beautiful; en dey ain't NOBODY kin git up a plan dat's mo' mixed-up en splendid den what dat one was'" (38-39). Here, Jim, the runaway slave, is juxtaposed with the title character. Specifically, Twain's use of phonetic vernacular exemplifies the racial and cultural barriers between the two characters. In this case, you see, a summary of the line would simply not create the same effect.

Other times "to quote:"

• If the text holds historical value
  
• If a particular line or section jumps out at you
• If the line(s) is essential to the storyline, argument, character development, or context as explored in your essay

-James Morganti

Citing & Writing

Okay, so you've finished your three hundred page book and your professor recently assigned a lengthy argument-driven essay. Such is life as a college student, right? At this point, your stress level can either remain constant or rocket sky-high, depending on the steps you take. In an effort to keep your stress level at a minimum, these series of posts will explore the ins-and-outs of drawing from text in a persuasive essay.

Upon receiving an essay prompt, many students move to write a largely argument-driven draft, only returning to the heaving mass of text to grasp blindly for quotations. You should avoid this situation at all costs, as the excerpts chosen in this way are almost always repetitive or irrelevant. Don't reference the text just to make your essay longer, fulfill a prompted quota, generalize or summarize. Quotations and citations have a great deal of potential, serving a vital function in your writing.

How will you unluck their potential?

-James Morganti

Your Paper: A Great Debate

Now that you've introduced readers to your topic and thesis, it's time to delve into your analysis. Body paragraphs are critical to your paper as they support, build, and expand the scope of your thesis. Without quotes, your paper tends to lack authority. Where's the proof? Where's the evidence?

If you were to engage in a debate, you would choose a side and offer facts, legislation, arguments, research, etc. to back it up. The same can be said for writing, substituting quotes from the text as defense for your argument. If you were debating without relying on supporting research, your side could be so easily dismissed. Personal opinion is not a reputable source for an argument or an essay.

You want to sway your audience, make them see your side. Perhaps your topic is edgy, maybe it goes against the mold. Your task, therefore, is to convince readers that your thesis is valid. The best way to do that? As you would for a debate, provide ample confirming evidence.

In the coming weeks, I will be running several posts by former peer tutor James Morganti. He will further discuss strategies to consider when drawing quotations from a text. Hopefully, you will find our perspective beneficial as you construct your own great debate--your paper.

~Mary

Harvesttime Wandering

Students often come into the Writing Center intent on “getting started,” focused on achieving clear objectives like writing an introduction or listing their thesis and topic sentences. And we’re always happy to help with that – it’s what we do. But something we could all benefit from – whether we’re writing or going about our daily lives – is wandering a bit more, taking time away from the careful pursuit of mapped goals.

It’s harvest-time in Connecticut and the Farmer’s Markets are colorful with winter squashes, fresh sweet peppers, the final bulgy tomatoes of the season. The leaves are falling but it’s not yet cold enough to hurry your steps. People get out this time of year – they pick apples and admire the scarecrows in each other’s yards. We take time to notice, to appreciate, to gather, to wander.

Similarly, in writing the shortest distance between two points is not always the most useful (or enjoyable!) distance to cross. Sometimes it’s better to wander a bit – start off on an unfamiliar path, use your inner sense of direction without consulting the “map” of structured outlines and forms, close your eyes and jump without knowing where you will land. If you’re willing to take chances like this, you allow your mind to work in ways that may be richer and more complicated – if not always as easy to recognize immediately. But wandering offers you a chance to notice, appreciate, and gather ideas so that you move through the territory of your writing in a more intimate and observant fashion than you might if you had proceeded in a linear, purposefully directed approach from the beginning.

There are lots of ways to do this. You might read the assignment and take a walk while you think about it. In the Writing Center we often suggest that writers choose a part of the reading they’re working with – a quote they like or maybe one that confuses them – and use this as a starting place, doing some writing that makes use of the quote in a way that speaks to a part of the assignment – speculating, stretching, turning language around in order to approach it from different angles. Another wandering start may involve simply having a conversation exploring different points of entry into the assignment, marking up the paper and taking note of key language, drawing arrows, grouping ideas, asking “how” and “why” often. Yet another path to take might involve drawing a map or chart as you walk through your thoughts, for example listing key characters/quotes/ideas from one reading across one axis and down the other listing characters/quotes/ideas from another reading, marking points of intersection with your observations about the suggestive possibilities of these combinations.

We don’t always find it easy to value time spent wandering. It can seem “unproductive” or “inefficient,” but time spent exploring early in your writing allows you to accumulate a richer, more complicated cornucopia of material to which you can return throughout your drafting and revision process.

Happy Harvesting!

~Wendy

Opening Act

Now that you've finished the book, received the assignment sheet, and brainstormed, let's do some writing! Each week, I'm going to focus on a particular aspect of essay writing. However, by no means are these mandatory instructions or steps for writing the perfect essay (I wish I knew that one!). They are just my own thoughts and interpretations based on my tutoring and academic experience. Take from it what you will...

The Introduction

It's your moment, your first steps on stage. You may have some stage fright opening for the packed crowd. You want to impress, you want to wow, but most of all you want to rock! Now, are you going to sing in a monotone voice? Are you going to sing off key, play out of tune? No. You're going to engage that audience. You're going to get them on their feet singing along!

The same goes for writing. How do you want to open that paper? How do you want to enter the writing stage? If you bring energy and enthusiasm, then you most certainly will engage your audience. And guess what that audience wants to hear. Sure, they like the greatest hits, but they also like witnessing something new. Often times, artists will test the waters with an audience. They'll introduce songs from an upcoming album and gauge audience response. Now, although you may not be hearing a roar of applause as classmates and professors read your essay, I guarantee that you've piqued their interest. Repeating the same idea, theme, or argument is like hearing the same song on re-play. It gets old after a while!

So, when you put pen to paper and introduce the author and title of the text, just remember this...you are the opening act, you have an audience ready and waiting, and you are going to rock!

~Mary