LLRX.com -- Grammar Goddess: Defining Diction

The Grammar Goddess from LLRX.com weighs in with some good advice on diction. My heart thrilled when I read this advice:

If you want a simple rule guaranteed to improve your writing, try this: Avoid the words very, really, truly, quite, and thing. Rarely do these words contribute to a sentence.

I hope that recommendation sounds familiar to my students. Really, truly, very familiar. :-)

In truth, the Grammar Goddess's list seems completely manageable. Five little words to avoid in one's writing provides a workable starting place toward improving language.

MSNBC - My Turn: Why Revenge Isn't The Right Answer

This week's Newsweek magazine has an excellent example of personal narrative used for expostory purpose in its My Turn column. The author, who is a police officer in Los Angeles, comes from India, where his family was involved in the bloody warfare between Muslims and Hindus when Pakistan divided from India.

Without even mentioning any of the world's current hots spots (such as Iraq or Palestine), the author manages to develop his personal family history into a thesis that resonates in any culture that experiences revenge-based violence.

Reuters | Why My Brain Hates Your Mistakes

My head hurts during the last weeks of a semester, and now I know why.

According to Dutch researchers, watching someone else make a mistake "affects the same areas of the brain as when a person makes his or her own mistake."

FactCheck.org - Annenberg Political Fact Check

Here's a web site that would make George Orwell proud.

FactCheck.org is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization "that aims to reduce the level of deception and confusion in U.S. politics," by monitoring the speeches, ads, interviews, press releases, etc., of major political figures. Using the approaches of journalism and scholarship, FactCheck.org alerts readers to any inaccuracies in politicians' claims or evidence.

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but not their own facts." --Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan

Supported by The Annenberg Public Policy Center of The University of Pennsylvania.

JTLA: The Effect of Computers on Student Writing

Last year, The Journal of Technology, Learning, and Assessment (JTLA) published a meta-analysis of 26 studies of student writing (K-12) which were conducted between 1992-2002. Here's what the researchers concluded:

For educational leaders questioning whether computers should be used to help students develop writing skills, the results of the meta-analyses suggest that, on average, students who use computers when learning to write are not only more engaged and motivated in their writing, but they produce written work that is of greater length and higher quality. (my emphasis)

In fact, "on average students who use computers when learning to write produce written work that is about .4 standard deviations better than students who develop writing skills on paper." Apparently, students using computers revise their own writing more throughout the writing process, consult with their peers, and get earlier feedback from teachers. The result is better writing.

Keep using those computers, folks!

StudyStack - Memorization Tool

The Study Stack web site offers online memorization tools (flash cards, a matching game, work search, etc.) for numerous subjects (Geography, History, Languages, Math, Medical, Science, and Miscellaneous). The Languages index, for instance, includes tools on foreign languages, grammar, literary terms, authors, and more.

For an example, use the link above to test the table on states. Using a log on process, you can create and store a personalize set of learning tools.

Salon.com Life | I want to write

In Salon this morning, a would-be writer asks advice columnist Cary Tennis how to overcome a deep lack of motivation to write. In response, Cary shares his best yoga postures to energize writing. Enjoy!

Dear Ready,

I have this yoga posture that I use. You must be sitting at your desk with the computer on to do this posture. Close your eyes and put your elbows on your desk. Then bring your hands together so the little fingers are touching, and then bring your face into your hands and sit there with your chin in your palms and your fingertips over your eyelids. OK, now just sit there with your head in your hands. Breathe through your nose. Do you hear anything? Do you hear the birds? Do you hear the whining of the computer? Do your shoulders ache with tension? Ah, that's good. Let your head rest in your palms. Let the tension go out of your shoulders. You're yawning. That's good. Yawning is good. Do you feel sleepy? Me too. There's a couch over there. Go over to the couch and curl up in a little ball and go to sleep.

That's my favorite writing exercise. Whenever I find myself unable to write, I do that.

When you wake up, come back to the computer. Sit and stare at the screen. Do the "sitting up at the computer" posture: Sit straight in your chair and place your hands on the keyboard. Make sure the computer is turned on. Make the "opening a word-processing program" motion with your hands. Then stare at the screen. Make sure your back is straight and your hands are on the keyboard. If you start typing, don't worry. It's just your fingers moving over the keyboard. Pay attention to the screen. Did some words appear there? Good. That means you are writing. Don't worry what the words mean. Just keep making them appear on the screen. If you find yourself slumping over, tense your abdominal muscles to keep yourself sitting up straight. If your legs become uncomfortable, place one ankle under the opposite thigh on the chair. Alternate ankles. Breathe. Let the tension go out of your shoulders. Keep moving your fingers over the keyboard, making words appear on the screen.

You may experience intrusive thoughts. Observe those thoughts with interest. One thought I call the "cappuccino" thought. The image of a tall cup with foamy milk over espresso appears; sometimes I even seem to hear the sound the steamer makes. This is an intrusive thought, but it can also be a sign that it is time to perform the "ordering a cappuccino" posture. Other thoughts can be intrusive and detrimental to the writing process. Observe these thoughts with interest but do not fight them. Let them go. If some of these thoughts make you feel like a worthless piece of shit, observe that with interest, and let it go.

Keep doing these postures until you feel depressed, irritable, murderous, suicidal or find it hard to breathe. Then perform the face-in-hands posture as described above, with your elbows on the desk and your fingertips over your eyelids. When you begin to yawn, go back to the couch, curl up and go to sleep.

If you alternate between those two postures, the "face in hands" posture, and the "sitting up straight at the computer" posture, you should be able to spend enough time at the computer that the words will accumulate. Once you have accumulated many words, perform the "printing out my story" function. Look at your words and try to understand why they are there. Do they seem to have some purpose? Do they tell the truth? Look for places where the words do not seem to tell the truth, and when you find those places, draw a red or black line through those words. When you are done, see if you have any words left. If not, no big deal. Just repeat the "curling up on the couch" posture until you awake with renewed energy with which to tackle your seemingly hopeless task. Go to your computer. Turn it on. Place your hands on the keyboard, and begin.

Best search engine? A librarian

Here's a friendly reminder as students start researching those last papers of the semester:

"Librarians are the best search engine," said Carolyn Anthony, the [Skokie Public Library's] director.

A reference librarian can help you find information faster and more reliably than an Internet search. At Northwest College's Hinckley Library, go to Director Kay Carlson or Reference Librarian Diane Martin for help on your research. You won't regret it.

Best-Selling Books Database

From USAToday.com, search by author or title, or browse the top 150 sellers each week. Remember: Writers read . . . lots . . . all the time.

Plain English Campaign

As I thought about modern applications of George Orwell's advice in "Politics and the English Language," sweet serendipity led me to the Plain English Campaign, "an independent pressure group fighting for public information to be written in plain English."

The web site contains great information such as a recent press release on the world's most irritating phrase and a free guide on how to write plain English.

It's that free guide that has me most excited. Written in plain English (what else would you expect?), it covers eight topics:

• Keep your sentences short


• Prefer active verbs


• Use 'you' and 'we'


• Choose words appropriate for the reader


• Don't be afraid to give instructions


• Avoid nominalisations


• Use positive language


• Use lists where appropriate

For those of us practicing plain English, the web site offers the A to Z of alternative words--"plain English alternatives to the pompous words and phrases."

Wonderful!

AutoDave! The Automated Dave Barry Column Generator

This morning in my face-to-face class, we were talking about Dave Barry's distinctive writing style. Guess what? Other people have noticed this, too. In fact, AutoDave! allows you to fill in a few blanks, press "Click here to view your column!", and--voila!--you've got a ready-made column with all the earmarks of Dave Barry's style.

Yes, it's that easy.

AutoDave Lite! is at the top of the web page, so be sure to scroll down a little bit to the full-fledged AutoDave! Here's what I just created:

Recently in Powell (motto: "Excuse me, I hear your mommy calling you"), residents reported an outbreak of headmites. Perhaps you think there are no headmites in Powell. Perhaps you are an idiot.

As the French say, au contraire (literally: "Thou fusty elf-skinned malt-worm!"). I have here in my hands a copy of an Associated Press article sent in by alert reader Rob Koelling, whose name can be rearranged to spell "RGONBI LKLOE," although that is not my main point. "Rob Koelling," by the way, only has the letters "oKoellin" in in common with "Monica Lewinsky," so there is no other reason to mention Monica Lewinsky in this column.

According to a quote which I am not making up, from Powell Mayor Erasmus Engelkemeier (formally "Mayor Erasmus Engelkemeier" and informally "Bub"), headmites rank as a major crisis just behind apple pie, mom and America (insert your "Ford trucks" joke here), as evidenced by the following conversation between Powell government employees:

FIRST POWELL EMPLOYEE: "I always considered working here a philanthropic exercise, so I may as well keep doing it now."

SECOND POWELL EMPLOYEE: "Oh my, that wasn't very nice!"

FIRST POWELL EMPLOYEE: "Hey, bozo!"

Fortunately I have a suggestion for Mayor Bub, and that is: divorce George Steinbrenner's ass.

No, seriously, my suggestion does not involve George Steinbrenner's ass, although it might involve using harsh language on Tobacco Institute scientists. My suggestion is more along the lines of a coup de grace, from the French coup, meaning "reading", and de grace, meaning "lots of books and traveling". The procedure (you may want to write this down):

1. use garbage as a power source, like in Back to the Future
2. curse and then get out the plunger

But instead the Powell city council (motto: "We'll provide for the safety and welfare of their citizens when you pry the coffee cups out of our cold, dead fingers") thinks that they (the headmites) will invade your body's secret places soon, sending this message to the public, and to the world: "Don't tell my parents I work in the oil patch--they think I'm the piano-player in a whore house."

Speaking of which, "The Powell Headmites Outbreak" would be a great name for a rock band.

Seriously now, doesn't that sound familiar?

PC Magazine: Top 100 Web Sites You Didn't Know You Couldn't Live Without

PC Magazine's 2004 list of essential web sites in 12 categories: computing; Internet, wireless, & Security; consumer electronics & photograph; entertainment; fun & games; information; jobs & money; lifestyle; politics; reads; search & learn; and travel.

These really ARE good web sites.

Rotten Link for WX7: "To Be or Not To Be"

An alert student notified me that the link to the article "To Be or Not To Be: E-Prime as a Tool for Critical Thinking" in Writing Exercise no. 7 is broken. After exhaustive searching, I conclude that article is no longer available on the Internet.

For those of you who'd like to read more about E-Prime, here are some alternatives:

Kellogg, E. W., III, and D. David Bourand, Jr. "Working with E-Prime: Some Practical Notes." ETC: A Review of General Semantics 47.4 (1990-91): 376-93. Academic Search Premier. EBSCOhost. Hinckley Library, Northwest College, Powell, WY. 2 Apr. 2004 <http://www.epnet.com/>.

Ralph, Ruth S. "Getting Rid of the 'To Be' Crutch." ThisIsNotThat.com. Ed. Steve Stockdale. 2002. The Dallas-Fort Worth Center for General Semantics. 2 Apr. 2004 <http://thisisnotthat.com/sampler/ruth_eprime.html>.

Zimmerman, Daniel. "E-Prime as a Revision Strategy." Charles T. Low Web Site. 2003. 2 Apr. 2004 <http://www.ctlow.ca/E-Prime/zimmerman.html>.