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)