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(315) 279-5000
Your friendly blogmeister has been troubled lately with a serious case of writer’s block. If you aren’t familiar with this problem, it is when you just can’t seem to find anything to put down on paper (or onscreen) even though you may need to write up an assignment. It feels awful, and it’s easy to imagine that it’ll go on forever—but it won’t, and here are some steps that can help you overcome writer’s block if it ever happens to you.
1. Brainstorm
Take some time to think about all the things you could be writing about (or how many different ways you could approach a specific topic if one has been assigned). Jot all your thoughts down on paper—don’t bother about grammar, spelling, or any of the other conventions of standard English writing. Just let your ideas flow freely. Brainstorming, by the way, is a good way for several people to begin working on a group project.
2. Freewrite
This means sitting down and writing—but as with brainstorming, don’t pay attention to spelling, grammar, or other elements of English. You don’t even need to write complete sentences, as long as you get something down on paper. It’s a beginning, and as you begin to actually write something you’ll find that the words start to come more easily.
3. Do some research
Many of the writing assignments in college require some research, and starting to do this research (finding and reading the material) can provide some direction and ideas for your writing.
4. Relax.
Before you begin to panic about not being able to write, take a few minutes to engage in some meditative deep breathing—close your eyes, let your body relax, and focus on your breath. This is a calming activity, and it’s important because writer’s block can cause us to become anxious and afraid. First get calm, then re-approach the writing assignment.
5. Visit the ASK office
ASK counselors and tutors are trained to help you write effectively, and they are happy to do so. Don’t hesitate to come in to ASK without anything written: sometimes you just need a little assistance and guidance from an academic counselor to get going.
There are other ways to help unblock our writing, but these are some of the best—and best of all, they actually work! Give them a try the next time you feel blocked and see if one or all of them work for you. They should assist you in getting started with your writing.
The ASK office provides counseling and help for students with all stages of writing, from brainstorming for ideas to reviewing a final draft of a paper. Come see us and see why they say, “the smart people are already going to ASK.”
Submitted by: Jeffrey Carter, Academic Skills Counselor, Writing Tutor, ASK Office
There are certain words (known technically as homonyms) that sound the same although they have different meanings (and often different spellings). These homonyms can cause fledgling writers all sorts of troubles until they learn to distinguish among them. Here’s a short list of common homonyms for everyone’s edification:
It’s (contraction for it is)
Its (possessive form of the pronoun it)
Who’s (contraction of who is)
Whose (possessive form of who)
They’re (contraction of they are)
There (in that place)
Their (possessive form of they)
Than (in comparison with; besides)
Then (at that time; next; therefore)
Lay (place or put something somewhere; needs a direct object)
Lie (recline; does not need a direct object)
Lie (to tell an untruth)
Affect (influence; a verb)
Effect (result; a noun)
Principal (foremost; head of school)
Principle (moral conviction; basic truth)
You’re (contraction of you are)
Your (possessive form of you)
Cite (point out; document)
Sight (vision)
Site (a place)
Accept (receive)
Except (with the exclusion of)
All ready (fully prepared)
Already (by this time)
Learning the difference among these homonyms will improve any student’s writing.
Do you want to learn about how to use words correctly? Could you use some assistance with your writing generally? Then come see us at ASK, where we can help with writing, time management, and general study skills. Call us at 279-5636 or just drop by Hegeman 301 to schedule an appointment. We can’t wait to see you!
Submitted by: Jeffrey Carter, Academic Skills Counselor, Writing Tutor, ASK Office
We all have our difficulties with spelling, one way and another. Many of these difficulties occur because we are not exposed to enough words through reading—this is why reading extensively is often noted as an indispensible practice for learning the language. Spelling issues can often be alleviated through a more strenuous reading schedule. But some spelling problems exist for other reasons: two of these are the polyglot nature of English and the development of printing. Let’s examine these two reasons more closely.
British English really began as a mixed-tongue language, being gradually built up from Anglo-Saxon, Germanic, Norman French, Latin, and native British languages. We can see this combination through, for example, the word beef (boeuf) from the Norman and the word cattle from the British/Germanic—the animal itself was known by its British/Germanic name; when it appeared at the Norman nobles’ table it changed to the Norman French word. Thus the British peasants raised cattle; the Norman aristocrats ate beef.
Likewise, the British empire was known for exploring and colonizing throughout the world from the 15th century on. Along the way, the British appropriated not only raw materials and natural resources but also words from the areas they visited or conquered. Many of these words were incorporated into British English and then into American English. Boomerang and succotash are two such words, taken from Australian aborigines and Native Americans, respectively. There are thousands of other ‘borrowed’ words in English: an Internet search can easily find great multitudes of them.
Printing, too, had a tremendous impact on English spelling. Until the advent of the printing press, writers spelled words as they chose, since there was no written guide for how to spell. But once books and, later, dictionaries began to be printed, there was a model for how to spell words—and their various spellings gradually became ‘fixed’ or standardized. However, a dissonance began to occur as spoken pronunciation of words changed while spelling of them did not: so that, for instance, the word knight (originally pronounced like it was spelled—knickt, pronouncing both hard k’s) came to be pronounced nite, even though the original spelling remained the same. Many of our spelling difficulties today result from archaic spellings of words being vastly different from how we currently pronounce them—and we also tend to spell words the way they sound when spoken: hence the mistaken spelling could of instead of the correct could have.
Does all this mean that we should just throw up our hands and give up on ever hoping to spell words correctly? Of course not. What it means is that there is generally a (fairly) good reason why many English words are spelled oddly—and that we really, truly need to read a lot and learn to use a dictionary efficiently if we want to be good spellers.
But wait! What about that all-purpose rescuer, the automatic spellchecker built into our word-processing programs? Isn’t that enough to insure that we are not misspelling words?
Well, the short answer is ‘no’. Spellchecker is fine for some uses, and it generally has a vocabulary large enough to encompass most words we regularly use, even in college writing. There are two significant problems with spellchecker, however. First, it doesn’t recognize a good many words, especially specialized vernacular, leaving us to either take our best guess or turn to a specialized dictionary. Second, spellchecker doesn’t consider the context in which a word is used—all it cares about is that the word is in its dictionary. So, for example, if we meant to write ‘the knight rode off to battle’ but actually wrote ‘the night road off to battle’, spellchecker won’t find anything wrong with the second sentence; the words are spelled correctly, even though they are not the words we meant to use. This alone should be sufficient reason not to place all our faith in a spellchecker.
In the end, we could expend lots of time writing about spelling, but we seem to have made our point already: we need to read as much as possible and use a dictionary to become good spellers. And we need to remember, too, that spelling errors are among the most-noticed mistakes made in writing—most people will recognize a misspelled word, and will interpret it as a lack of competence or interest in the writer. We certainly don’t want our writing dismissed as thoughtless, do we? So learning to spell correctly becomes one of the most important aspects of learning to write effectively, despite its occasional troublesome difficulty.
And with that, to all our readers, a good knight!
Do you want to learn to spell better? Are you finding writing for your college courses to be a greater challenge than you expected? Then come make an appointment at the Academic Success at Keuka (ASK) office with either a professional counselor or a peer tutor. You can make an appointment by calling 279-5636 or by dropping by the office at 301 Hegeman Hall. We look forward to working with you!
Submitted by: Jeffrey Carter, Academic Skills Counselor, Writing Tutor, ASK Office
Although we’re often not aware of it, our language changes constantly—otherwise we’d be speaking and writing as people did in Shakespeare’s time, or in Chaucer’s.
Always, spoken language leads the way in change; written words, because they’re written, put down into dictionaries, and regarded as “formal language” tend to change much more slowly than “street language,” which is constantly evolving to meet the needs of its users. We need only consider the abbreviations commonly used in texting today to see that this is true.
We can see some of the changes that occur in language, however, if we pay attention to how words, grammar, and even punctuation are used. For example, when this writer was growing up in the 1960s, we were taught to use far more commas than students are told to use today—this difference over time often results in confusion or even red-pencil marks on student papers. A good grammar manual can help with this, but we need to be careful about when its last edition was published—if it’s more than 30 years old it may not indicate contemporary usage.
It’s also possible, by visiting several grammar sites online or by perusing various dictionaries, to find somewhat contradictory rules for some grammar and word usage: for example, if we look up the difference between farther and further in a few reference works we’ll find that some indicate discrete differences between the two (one is used for physical distance, the other for metaphorical distance); some use them interchangeably; and British usage barely even mentions farther, preferring further for almost all purposes.
And we were probably all taught not to end a sentence with a preposition; however, because common usage changes even the venerable Oxford English Dictionary grudgingly permits this in its current edition. So, do we blithely go forth and ask “where’s the library at?” Probably not, if we want to be known as educated people, but even in 1940s England Winston Churchill could mock this dictum by commenting that it was something “up with which we will not put”—just to show how silly an inflexible language rule could be.
Does this mean that we can ignore the rules of language usage completely? Not a bit of it! This is likewise no excuse for our not learning and using the rules of standard English in our writing and (when appropriate and necessary) our speaking. It means only that it’s sometimes difficult to find exact agreement as to what correct usage is (it also means that effective language use is still in large part an art form, not an exact science). When that happens, we can only do our best to choose our words wisely, based on the most reliable and up-to-date information we can discover—and maybe bring the word or words in question to our English class for what will doubtless be a lively language discussion.
Do you want to use words, grammar, and punctuation more correctly? Are you passionate about making your writing (and speaking) as effective as possible? Then come visit us at ASK, the Academic Success at Keuka office, where we delight in working with the language to make it work well for you. Call us at 279-5636 or stop by our office at 301 Hegeman Hall to make an appointment with a professional counselor or peer tutor.
Submitted by: Jeffrey Carter, Academic Skills Counselor, Writing Tutor, ASK Office
Effective writing doesn’t just happen—it is the end result of a series of steps that lead to the creation of clear, correct, and concise prose. Chief among these steps is being able to read and understand the texts that are almost invariably a part of the writing experience. In short, effective reading precedes effective writing, so today we’ll take a look at how to read for college-level comprehension.
Understanding what we read is a complicated and sophisticated process: first we have to recognize and be able to define the words we’re reading, then we have to put these words together to form a coherent and correct interpretation of the meaning of the written material. There are many different models for how to read for meaning; we’re going to look at one of the better-known ones, known as SQ4R.
SQ4R stands for ‘Survey, Question, Read, Record, Recite, and Reflect’. It’s a way of apprehending what we read through interrogating the text from several perspectives. Here’s how the Questa College (San Luis Obispo County Community College District) Academic Support website presents this reading structure:
SURVEY
QUESTION
READ
RECORD
RECITE
REFLECT
This method of reading sounds like a lot of work, but in fact it is, to one degree or another, very much what many of us do unconsciously when we read anyway—this simply breaks the reading process down into its individual components. And it’s important to remember that reading effectively—especially doing so with complex college material—is a lot of work. Discovering the meaning(s) of a text can be very difficult, but this method helps to streamline the situation considerably, making it easier to understand what we read so that we can write about it correctly and effectively.
Here is some additional information (again, from Questa College) concerning reading college texts purposefully:
PLAN: Pre-Reading Strategies
Establish a good physical environment
Relax and set a positive attitude
Review instructions
Review lecture notes
Set your purpose
Preview the assignment
Organize your thoughts
Determine what you want to know when you finish reading
DO: Reading Strategies
Be actively involved
Check your comprehension as you read
Restate ideas in your own words
Form mental pictures
Compare what you are reading to what you know
Answer the questions you developed during pre-reading
Fix-up your comprehension when needed
Define unfamiliar words
Keep problem on hold and hope it will clarify itself
Re-read a portion of the text
Compare information with notes or another source
Ask someone for help
REVIEW: Post-Reading Strategies
Consolidate and integrate information
Answer questions
Test yourself
Participate in a study group
Space review over time
Decide what else you need to know
As we mentioned above, these are just a couple of the many methods for developing reading comprehension, but SQ4R is particularly well-known and respected. Using the SQ4R style of approaching a text, along with the reading strategies, will definitely help in mastering texts and other reading materials.
Do college texts mystify and/or overwhelm you? Do you want to learn how to read with better comprehension so that you can analyze texts and respond to them meaningfully? Then contact us here at the Academic Success at Keuka (ASK) office—we’ll be pleased to assist you, and our services are always free of charge.
Just stop by our office at 301 Hegeman Hall, or call us at 279-5636, to make an appointment with a professional Academic Skills Counselor or a student (peer) tutor.
Remember—the smart students are already using ASK; come join us!
Submitted by: Jeffrey Carter, Academic Support Counsler, Writing Tutor, ASK Office
Virtually every professor in every subject area has some—this may be particularly so for professors in the Humanities, especially English.
We’re talking about ‘pet peeves’ in writing: those little (or sometimes not so little) errors that students habitually make and that drive professors crazy. Listed below are a few of these:
There are doubtless lots more pet peeves out there—these are but a few of the most notable. And since we can’t ever tell which of these may particularly annoy one professor or another, we’d be better off learning how to correct these errors now, before the annoyance takes place.
Do you have questions about some of the items in the list above? Are you uncertain about whether you’re using English correctly when you write? Then stop by the ASK office (301 Hegeman Hall) and make an appointment with one of our professional counselors or student writing tutors. Just drop by the office, or call our office manager, Ms. Webber, at 279-5636, or email her at pwebber@keuka.edu.
Remember: the smart students are already going to ASK!
Submitted by: Jeffrey Carter, Academic Skills Counselor, Writing Tutor, ASK Office
We’ve written before in this blogspot about punctuation, and we’ve noted how pesky and problematic these various little marks can be for writers. Well, we’re going to talk a bit more about punctuation today, but this time we’re writing a brief, somewhat theoretical piece on the subject. We hope you enjoy this temporary excursion into the slightly more esoteric elements of writing theory.
Punctuation, as we have likely all discovered at one time or another, can be pretty darned mysterious. Heavily rule bound, yet extraordinarily flexible at times (consider the comma), punctuation serves a variety of valuable purposes in writing—from indicating a brief pause to creating a turning point in the entire meaning of a sentence—yet how we actually learn it, and whence it derives, is open to question.
Dr. Nancy Mann, in “Point Counterpoint: Teaching Punctuation As Information Management” (2003), suggests that there is good reason for this mystery—the system of punctuation that we use might very well derive not from conscious thought and cultural design—as does written language—but from an unconscious source. Perhaps punctuation might hail from the same sort of unconscious mental module (or maybe the same module) as that from which spoken language emerges. The implications are intriguing. Mann observes, for example, that “the abstract logic of the punctuation system reeks of design, yet we know that nobody designed it. We simply evolved it—collectively, and yet unconsciously” (361). (A classic Jungian would certainly embrace this concept as yet another example of the collective unconscious.)
Punctuation to Mann, therefore, bridges the gap between “conscious and unconscious processes,” blurring the line that separates “individual cognition and social communication” (361). Perhaps punctuation even provides a sort of seamless continuity between the elements of written language and the constructions of spoken language—it does, after all, perform many of the same functions as the tones, inflections, pauses, and emphases of speech.
Functionally, punctuation serves to segment and arrange information in the sentence in one or more of several ways, indicating relationships among parts of the text in such a fashion as to make the overall meaning clear to us. On the simplest level, for example, the use of a period shows that a unit of thought is complete, that it is ready for our consumption on an integrated, multi-word level. Therefore, punctuation serves to determine (perhaps to overdetermine, considering its emphasis on strict interpretation) how the reader understands the written text. Thus, Mann notes (citing Geoffrey Nunberg in “The Linguistics of Punctuation, 1990) that “punctuation is a norm system for remote-controlling reader interpretation” (363). Hence Mann’s call for it to be taught as a variety of information management, since that is arguably its foundational purpose.
Mann’s primary point is to suggest that we teach punctuation as a series of algorithms—utilizing information technology as the model. Her most intriguing notion in this article is not related to teaching, exactly, though, but to how punctuation functions, how it sets the copestone of the arch between conscious and unconscious minds in terms of written language use. Its absolute necessity as final arbiter of meaning in written communication indicates that it derives, as Mann suggests, from a powerful and deep source—not from a simple (or even complicated) set of consciously evolved rules.
And the further suggestion (courtesy of Nunberg again) that there is only really one universal punctuation system lends credence to the notion that the system is unconsciously rather than consciously produced. Written language grows, changes, adapts itself to particular regional or cultural situations; punctuation, these authors imply, remains the constant and (at least relatively) unalterable bedrock–the foundation upon which written language can cavort with ease and flexibility, confident that even its most complex meanings will not be lost in the motility of the dance that is human language.
Works Cited
Nunberg, Geoffrey. The Linguistics of Punctuation. Stanford, CA: Center for the
Study of Linguistic Information, 1990.
Do you want to learn how to use punctuation effectively and correctly? Would you like to make your writing more punctuationally interesting? Or do you need help with other aspects of your writing?
Then come see us at Academic Success at Keuka (ASK). We can be reached at 279-5636 or at pwebber@keuka.edu–or just stop by the office M-F 8:00-5:00 to make an appointment to see a professional counselor. We’re here all summer, too.
submitted by; Jeffrey Carter, Academic Skill Counselor, Writing Tutor, ASK office
The origins of spoken language are lost in the distant past of our species: all we know for certain is that sometime in the past million years or so we began to use our unique vocal apparatus to produce sounds that came to have symbolic meaning. Those sounds eventually came to be represented by written marks on stone, bone, tanned skins or hides, papyrus and, finally, modern paper. Along the way, spoken and written language came to have a variety of uses beyond simple communication—one of these was the use of language to supernaturally control nature and human beings; in short, magic.
Notable in the panoply of magical elements is the ‘magic spell’. This is often spoken, although it can be written, too. In either instance, the idea is that a carefully constructed set of words—spoken or written in the correct way—can give the spellcaster power over the victim(s) of the spell. The right words give one control over others.
Today, of course, most of us no longer believe in magic spells; however, the concept that using the correct words carefully gives us power over others is as true in the 21st century as it was in the times when sympathetic magic was regarded as real. When we consider that we use written or spoken words to influence, sometimes to powerfully influence, other people, we begin to realize that it’s really true—words, used properly, do give us power over others.
Just look at the control that some of our national politicians have over great masses of people—simply through their use of carefully constructed rhetoric. Look at the control Adolf Hitler exercised over Germany, principally by use of his demagogic speeches. Language does give us tremendous power over other people, and this can be as true of a paper written or a speech delivered by a Keuka College student as of a ‘magic spell’ spoken by an old witch on a blasted heath. Effective language use always grants us power.
Do you want to learn how to produce writing that influences or persuades others effectively? Do you want to know how to craft a speech that successfully motivates your audience to take action? Do you simply need some help getting started with or finishing up a paper or essay? Then come see us at ASK, in 301 Hegeman Hall, or give us a call at 279-5636 to make an appointment with one of our professional counselors or peer content tutors. We can also be reached by email at pwebber@keuka.edu. We hope to hear from you soon—remember, successful students ASK for help!
Submitted by: Jeffrey Carter, Academic Skills Counselor, Writing Tutor, ASK Office
Human language began as spoken only; tens of thousands of years passed before humans discovered the art of writing. And it’s believed by most psychologists that spoken language is hard-wired into our brains—that is, the predilection for learning spoken language is inherent in our cerebral genetic structure. Meanwhile, written language, as generations of weary students will testify, has to be painstakingly learned in school. Grammar, punctuation, parts of speech, verb tenses, and so on have to be consciously learned; they aren’t picked up casually through association with native speakers of the language.
Speech is the basis for written words, of course—it’s our spoken words that are the models for our writing. Most of the time that’s just fine, but there are occasions when the slippage from how we speak to how we write can be problematic. Mainly this happens because we tend to slur our speech, to round the edges off crisp, clear words, so that “how are you?” morphs into “howrya?” or “what do you want?” slurs into “whaddyawan?” This becomes, by the way, a major difficulty for ESL students who try to learn spoken English; we can easily see why.
This slippage from spoken to written words can be seen in many ways—one of the most significant has to do with contractions: when we use the contraction of ‘should have’ in speaking—‘should’ve’—we tend to pronounce it like ‘should of’. Then, if we’re not sure how to spell it we wind up trying to spell it like it sounds, and we consequently write ‘should of’ instead of ‘should have’. The same holds true for ‘would of’ (would’ve), ‘could of’ (could’ve), and so on.
Can you think of other examples of slippage from spoken to written English that cause us to misspell words? If so, just send them along to jbcarter@keuka.edu; if we collect enough we’ll run another blog highlighting your responses.
Do you want to learn more about how to communicate effectively in writing? Are you interested in becoming better at managing your time, studying, or taking tests? Then stop by the ASK office (301 Hegeman) or call us at 279-5636 to make an appointment with one of our professional counselors or peer content-area tutors. We’re eager to help you maximize your success at Keuka College.
Submitted by: Jeffrey Carter, Academic Skills Counselor, Writing Tutor, (ASK)
How often do we worry, fret, regret, fear, and otherwise torment ourselves about concerns from the past or events that will take place in the future? How many times do we set ourselves up for failure by dwelling upon past mistakes or by assuring ourselves that we won’t do well in upcoming situations? How often does this happen to us in college, during studying, testing, or any other activity related to academic performance?
Fears, worries, and existential angst affect us all, and they probably affect us more of the time than we even know. And one very negative element of these psychological forces is that they keep us from living in the present moment. Maybe that sounds odd, but it’s true. Regrets, resentments, angers, worries, projections, self-defeating thoughts—these keep us living in the unchangeable past and fearfully anticipating the unknowable future. Consequently we miss out on the immediate present—the only real space of time we possess, and the only one we can influence.
Maybe we didn’t perform well once on a statistics test in high school or earlier this semester; maybe we’re a little afraid of this professor because she’s got a reputation for being a tough grader; maybe we’ve got some personal issue upcoming that’s keeping us distracted. Whatever the reason, we often find ourselves unable to focus on the here and now—the present moment, which is where we need to be, especially in a collegiate environment. But there are techniques designed to help us with this problem, and the good news is that they’re free and they work remarkably well. What we’re going to talk about today are two of the simplest of these techniques, and arguably two of the most effective: deep breathing and positive visualization.
These are just what they sound like: deep breathing is a fundamental relaxation technique, while positive visualization is a method of focusing on success and capability. Here they are:
These relaxation techniques have been used successfully for millennia, and they continue to be used throughout the world today. Any good book or article on dealing with stress and/or test anxiety will mention them glowingly. They are free to be tried anytime; they require no extensive or expensive training; and they are proven to work. What could be better?
Do you want to learn techniques for improving study skills, time management, writing, or content-area work? Then come on down to the Academic Support at Keuka (ASK) office and sign up for a professional Academic Skills Counselor or peer tutor to discuss your academic needs with you. Once more—it’s free and it works!
Contact ASK at 279-5636 to schedule an appointment, or email us at pwebber@keuka.edu.
Submitted by: Jeffrey Carter, Academic Skills Counsler,Writing Tuor, (ASK Office)