1 / 19

How to Benefit Most from a Writing Centre Appointment

How to Benefit Most from a Writing Centre Appointment. Adapted from the resources of Purdue University http://owl.english.purdue.edu/workshops/pp/index.html. What is a Writing Centre Appointment?. 45-minute one-to-one session with an Academic Skills Instructor Purpose

seven
Download Presentation

How to Benefit Most from a Writing Centre Appointment

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. How to Benefit Most from a Writing Centre Appointment Adapted from the resources of Purdue University http://owl.english.purdue.edu/workshops/pp/index.html The Writing Centre, StFX University 2005

  2. What is a Writing Centre Appointment? 45-minute one-to-one session with an Academic Skills Instructor Purpose • To help you become a better writer What Happens? • You ask questions. • We try to answer them. • We also ask you questions to help you approach the writing task. The Writing Centre, StFX University 2005

  3. An Instructor Can Help You at Every Stage of the Writing Process • Invention (brainstorming, outlining) • Research • Drafting • Revising • Editing (teaching you how to correct your own surface errors) The Writing Centre, StFX University 2005

  4. One Thing to Remember An instructor does NOT correct/proofread your paper because… that does not help you become a better writer. But the instructor can teach you HOW to proofread and edit. The Writing Centre, StFX University 2005

  5. “Dos” & “Don’ts” • Plan ahead: come when you start writing or with a first draft. • Before you come, set an agenda for the appointment • Do NOT come at the last minute because you will have little time for revision! • Do NOT expect to work on too many issues in one appointment. The Writing Centre, StFX University 2005

  6. Setting an Agenda What do you want to work on? Why is agenda-setting important? • Writing Centre appointments are different from tutorials in a classroom setting. We do not teach you subject -specific material (i.e., how to solve a Chemistry problem or identify the factors leading to the conflict between the French and the English in Canada). • You know your own writing best. • Be realistic about what can be done in one appointment and set priorities. The Writing Centre, StFX University 2005

  7. HOC and LOC • What are HOC (Higher Order Concerns)? • What are LOC (Lower Order Concerns)? The Writing Centre, StFX University 2005

  8. Higher Order Concerns • Focus/Thesis • Purpose • Audience/Readers • Organization • Development The Writing Centre, StFX University 2005

  9. Lower Order Concerns • Grammar • sentence structure • punctuation • prepositions • articles • verb tense • Word choice • Spelling The Writing Centre, StFX University 2005

  10. The Need to Prioritize If you want to work on both HOCs and LOCs with a writing instructor, we suggest you plan to work on HOCs first because: • We have limited time in an appointment. • Starting with LOCs may distract you from global issues (HOCs) you may need to address. • After your work on HOCs, you may delete/add some parts. The Writing Centre, StFX University 2005

  11. Five-Topic Agenda-Generator • Instructions for the assignment • Your familiarity with the writing task • Preferred textual patterns in the subject area • Development • Lower Order Concerns The Writing Centre, StFX University 2005

  12. Instructions for the Assignment • Is there an assignment sheet? • Do you have notes taken in class? • Do you have any questions about the instructions? The Writing Centre, StFX University 2005

  13. Lower Order Concerns • Grammar What are the patterns of grammatical errors I tend to make? • Word Choice What are the words I am using but uncertain about? Actually, there is a 24-7 teacher to help you with most of your lower order concerns. The Writing Centre, StFX University 2005

  14. Your Best 24-7 Teacher The right dictionary! • Tells you the part of speech of words • Gives you examples of word usage • Provides related/similar words • Provides usage notes The Writing Centre, StFX University 2005

  15. Recommended Dictionaries for Writers • The Canadian Oxford Dictionary • www.dictionary.com • Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English • Longman Web Dictionary www.longmanwebdict.com The Writing Centre, StFX University 2005

  16. Dictionary Use Basics • Take the time to browse through the dictionary. • build your vocabulary • Learn grammar: • parts of speech • Learn usage: • Synonyms • phrasal verbs • usage notes The Writing Centre, StFX University 2005

  17. Questions to Ask Yourself Regarding Grammar What are my grammar questions? • Can I find the answer in a good dictionary? If you cannot: • What exactly is my grammar question? Can I write it down? • Can I underline the parts I have questions about? Then take your questions and your paper with the underlined sections to your Writing Centre appointment. The Writing Centre, StFX University 2005

  18. We Have Covered • What a writing centre appointment is • What an instructor can help you with during your writing process • Dos and Don’ts • A Five-Topic agenda-generator We hope you have learned more about writing centre appointments and benefit more from them in the future! The Writing Centre, StFX University 2005

  19. For More Help with Writing • Call 867-5221 to schedule an appointment • Buy The Writing Guide at the campus bookstore • Attend the free Writing Centre workshops • Visit the StFX Writing Centre website at: http://www.stfx.ca/resources/writingcentre • Visit the Purdue Online Writing Lab at: http://owl.english.purdue.edu The Writing Centre, StFX University 2005

More Related