This was published on a college instructor listserv today. What do you think?
Susan Schorn, a professor at the University of
Texas in Austin, worked with college composition instructors around the country
to create a list of “rules”/lore/myths about writing that students bring to
college with them, but which don’t necessarily serve them well in college.
Sometimes these are edicts handed down from teachers, sometimes they are
survival strategies students devise to keep themselves from violating obscure
expectations they don’t understand. Here is Professor Schorn's list, as well as some resources
she offered to counter the myths that don’t serve students well in college
writing:
Myths about student orientation to
authority/audience:
Just figure out what
the teacher wants and do it.
There are three
audiences in the world: Teacher, Peers, Everybody (aka, the "general
audience")
The way I speak or
write is not proper English.
Myths about word hygiene:
Never start a sentence
with "because."
Never start a sentence
with 'but,' 'and,' or 'or.'
Never start a sentence
with a conjunction!
Never split an
infinitive.
Never end a sentence
with a preposition.
Never say “you.”
Never use first
person.
Avoid using
"that."
Don't use be verbs (in
some cases, not even for conjugations like present progressive that require
them but aren't truly the linking verb.)
Circle all be-verbs
(be, been, being, am, is, was, were, etc.) and replace them with lexical verbs
or some other linking verb.
Some students report a
number of be-verbs that are "allowed" (like two per essay).
Myths about number and order:
A paragraph is 3-5
sentences.
Paragraphs shouldn't
be more than five sentences.
All long sentences are
run-ons, and all short sentences are to be avoided.
A one-sentence
paragraph isn’t a thing.
A fragment is never
appropriate. Ever.
Always use three
examples (i.e., five-paragraph format)
Mention a key point
from the prior paragraph in the next one they're working on to connect them.
Use "transition
words" to show how one sentence connects with another, and how paragraphs
connect.
The thesis MUST be the
last sentence of the introduction (possibly underlined) and/or should "list"
three things (which then correspond to three body paragraphs).
The introduction has
three sentences, and the conclusion mirrors it.
Repeat the thesis in
the conclusion but use different words, or summarize the essay in the
conclusion.
Always signal your
conclusion: In conclusion...
Myths about commas, the
Schrödinger's cat of punctuation:
Put a comma whenever
you take a breath.
Use a comma after
every eighth word.
Put a comma after and,
regardless of what it joins.
A sentence should
never have more than one comma in it
Myths about using sources/avoiding
plagiarism:
Find the quotes you
want to use and build the paper around them.
If you change every
third word, it’s not plagiarism.
To avoid plagiarism,
write your paper first, then go find sources that fit into it.
The most effective way
to begin a paper is by quoting Webster’s Dictionary.
Professor Schorn recommends these resources
and links:
Bad Ideas About
Writing: https://textbooks.lib.wvu.edu/badideas/
"Contradictory
Perceptions of Rules of Writing." College Composition and Communication,
vol. 30, no. 2, 1979, pp. 218-20.https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ204568
Invention and Craft: A
Guide to College Writing (McGraw-Hill 2016), Ronda L. Dively
The
"E-prime" model, proposed by D. David Bourland, Jr.
No comments:
Post a Comment