Lessons from the Writing Lab

Greetings grammophiles! Today is my official last day as a graduate tutor in the Purdue Writing Lab. I am off to more literary pastures in the following school year (not "greener" just different). While all these experiences are still fresh in my mind, I wanted to pass along some of the lessons I've learned about writing and, maybe, life.

Be Persistent
For the vast majority of writers, the Romantic notion of genius-inspired creativity just doesn't apply. There are very few people who can sit down and write a perfect essay, poem, or report the first time. Good writing takes time, and it is the persistent writers, the ones who consistently revisit their ideas, who generally succeed in communicating something interesting. Writing can be frustrating. I see it in my clients' faces on almost a daily basis. Luckily, I have never had anyone cry during a consultation. There have been plenty of sighs and groans.

That frustration may not be a negative thing. Take it as a sign that you need to slow down and think about the topic a little more. I also notice that our repeat clients, particularly the ones who have poured hours into a document, tend to exhibit less and less frustration as they move along. I am also struggling through a personal statement at the moment, and I came across Mary Hale Tolar's (Executive Secretary, Truman Scholarship Foundation) suggestions for writing a personal statement. She suggests engaging in activities that keep your body busy but your mind free to wander. Some of my favorites: take a walk, weed the garden, take a shower (you would be surprised how many ideas come up in the shower!).

Get a Second Reader (and a Third and a Fourth)
The idea sounds simple. It can be a little intimidating to ask someone else to read your stuff. Strangers generally work better as second readers than friends or relatives. Strangers are more likely to give you an honest assessment. Since strangers are unfamiliar with your work, you may find that having to explain your ideas to someone else can actually be quite fruitful. You may see your project in a new light, or you might suddenly utter that perfect sentence you have been stuck on for two weeks. Just make sure to have paper and pencil (or computer) handy if you are talking informally about your writing. A few nights ago, I was walking with my wife and said something that would have been fantastic to put in my personal statement. But by the time I got home, the magic had vanished. If this happens to you, see above.

Seek Out Strategies Rather Than Fixes
Anyone can "fix" your paper, but if you passively sit by and do not participate in the revision process, chances are you will make that mistake again. Allowing someone else to correct what you did wrong means that you haven't learned anything. You will always need to have that other person's approval to make sure it is "right." That is why it is better to seek out "strategies" for writing and revising rather than quick fixes. Strategies serve as a guidelines for choices. Yes, think of writing as a series of choices to be made. Strategies should help you decide between active and passive constructions, simple and complex sentences, or even something simple as the verb "abscond" over "sneak out." If you have trouble with articles, seek out some guidelines for using "the/a/an" in your writing. You may be surprised that as your writing gets better, so too will your speaking.

There Is Always an Audience
You can help your writing immensely by finding an audience, even if it means you have to imagine one. "You" can also be your own audience, which works great for diary entries but can only get you so far with other types of writing. Audiences, imagined or otherwise, will help give your paper a focus as well as an argumentation style. Do you want to persuade, inform, or entertain your audience? What type of information will they appreciate (and recognize) the most? Having an audience may also help you bring your document to a close. If you know there is someone out there waiting to read your writing, you are more likely to finish it at some point.

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In closing, I just want to write a note of thanks to everyone in the Purdue Writing Lab. It has been a great place to work for the past two years, and I have learned more about writing and the process of writing than I ever would have otherwise. This, however, does not mean I'll be leaving the Grammar Gang. Good luck and keep typing away.

Brady Spangenberg

Does It Even Matter?

Today I want to address a fairly simple question with a not-so-straightforward answer. Why should we care at all about grammatical "correctness?" This post is dedicated to anyone who has ever thought grammar just seemed like one of those tools that over-bearing instructors use to harass unwitting students. Sure, many grammar rules seem trivial at best. For example, does it really matter if I end a sentence with a preposition? Do I really deserve a lower grade for inserting commas where (you say) they don't belong? By whose authority did knowing the difference between "that" and "which" become the standard for testing English competency? The short answer is both "no" and "yes." The most frustrating part for English speakers, both native and non-native alike, is that with no Academie Francaise (French) or Kultusministerium (German) to regulate spelling and grammar, the English language can truly seem like the wild frontier. Time to bring out your dueling pistols.

Instead of worrying about the business of right and wrong, let's think about grammar as a puzzle. Some pieces fit in particular places better than others. But the great part about language is that it is combinative, meaning that the puzzle can be put together many different ways. Particular pieces or words do not always have to go in certain spots. You can start a sentence with a noun, an adverb, or even a twenty-word phrase if you want. By moving things around, you can add emphasis, change direction, or even hide something.

In terms of "right" and "wrong," the most important factor to consider is audience. When you are chatting with friends or family, it matters very little whether you say "who" or "whom" in the appropriate places. They will understand you regardless and are probably more focused on the content of your speech rather than how you say it. In fact, there are some instances where using the grammatically correct word, like "whom," may draw unwanted attention. Your family might think you are trying to talk down to them or, even worse, making fun of them.

Grammar is a puzzle in two ways. You have to string together the words in a way that makes sense logically. But these words and phrases also need to be appropriate for your audience. Slang, contractions, and ungrammatical phrases are great for communicating with friends but not so great at a job interview (unless the job is working for your best friend--if that's the case you probably won't be sitting in a formal interview anyway). Audience awareness is almost just as important as grammar knowledge. In fact, the identity of your audience can even change the grammar rules you will use.

So, does it matter if you end your sentences with a preposition? The short answer is yes, if your audience cares. No, if your audience doesn't. See y'all at the OK Corral.

Brady Spangenberg

Nicer than the Nicest

Greetings grammophiles! It is summer in Indiana and time to relax, so I want to discuss something a little less mind-bending than "over-nominalization." About a year ago, we received an email question at the OWL about the comparative of the adjective "clever." Is it "cleverer" or "more clever?" The dictionary recommends "cleverer," but almost everyone I talk to about this hedges toward "more clever." I think it's because "cleverer" sounds like a car engine that doesn't want to start.

Anyway, most people have been reciting "good/better/best" since elementary school days, but I am interested in some of the more obscure comparatives and superlatives out there, like "cleverer." Here is a small list of adjectives that do not have an easy "gut feeling" answer. Ask yourself whether you would create a comparative by adding an "-(e)r" to the end of the word or placing a "more" in front of it.

calm
clever
common
obscure
sad
salty
sure
strict
stupid
unique
unsure

Well, if you're stumped, you aren't the only one. I have actually learned a lot from researching this post. I have given the "recommended" answers in the comments section--just to keep you from cheating. As always, additions, arguments, or anecdotes are welcome (how's that for alliteration?).

Regards,
Brady Spangenberg

The end of language, as we know it...

It's outrageous!

With all these young people SMS-ing and texting all over the place today, correct grammar is going out the window (Professor Cods-wallop)

Often, lecturers complain that emails from students contain SMS-speak and students are losing the ability to write cogent, formal sentences.

Is it the case that the use of SMS language will lead to the demise of correct English and grammar in writing - or is this pure speculation (ie a load of rubbish on the part of the stuffy establishment!)


Wot r yr views re txting? LOL!! BRB.

Style Tips: Avoiding Over-Nominalization

Hello grammophiles. With only four weeks left until final exams, the semester is coming to a close at Purdue. Many of my recent sessions with clients at the Writing Lab have touched on strategies for improving sentence structure. Sometimes, even if all of your sentences are grammatically correct, they can still read a little "clunky." It is as if the writer goes through a series of wordy gymnastics and still doesn't get his or her point across.

An overuse of nominalizations is one major cause of "clunkiness." Nominalizations are nouns that have been created from adjectives or verbs; some examples include,

-- influence, evaluation, understanding, clarity, or [my current favorite] receptivity

Though these words carry do much of the same work as verbs or adjectives, they must be handled as nouns. In practice, this often means that your sentences will feature many more prepositions, helping verbs, and passive constructions, all of which tend to slow down your sentences and confuse your readers. Here are two over-nominalized sentences:

--An evaluation was undertaken as an investigation of the process by which sentences are formed. (3 nominalizations: evaluation, investigation, and process)

--The impression left by the judge was stern in his call for strengthening the regulation and arbitration of workplace disputes. (5 nominalizations)

Revision Strategies
Fixing nominalizations can be a difficult process, especially when it seems like there is no other way to say what you mean. The best advice is to turn your nominalizations into verbs. Instead of saying, "an evaluation was undertaken," say "we evaluated." Instead of saying, "the impression left by the judge," why not write, "the judge sternly announced." If you are having trouble with this, you may want to ask yourself this question:

-- What is the main action of the sentence? What really happens?

If the answer to this question cannot be found in the verb of your sentence but rather in one of its nouns, then you have some work to do. My friend and OWL Coordinator Allen Brizee often refers to the Paramedic Method, which was first developed by Richard Lanham. This method directly addresses issues relating to nominalizations as well as inexpressive verbs (such as "be" -- see my last post). For more on the Paramedic Method, here is a link to the OWL:

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/635/01/

As always, good luck to all, and keep the interesting comments coming!

Brady Spangenberg

Summer time is over in Oz

Hi there!

Summer is over in Australia and on the first of April, we had our first day of 'autumn' (or 'fall', if you live in the States). In our regular Purdue/UniSA editorial meeting, the Grammar Gang was discussing the language used in different cultures to talk about the weather.

In Australia, summer is traditionally linked to long days on the beach. We often say that it is 'beach weather'.

If it's very hot: 'It's a stinker today'

Humid weather: 'It's muggy today'

If there is a shower: We are having a spot of rain. If it's heavy rainfall: 'It's raining cats and dogs' or 'good weather for ducks'

Please post your weather language and sayings and let us know on Earth you are from.
Susanna Carter
Learning Adviser, University of South Australia
Adelaide, South Australia

Writing Like a Native: More Quick Tips for ESL Writers

This second round of tips has less to do with specific strategies and more to do with developing habits. Like playing the piano or riding a bicycle, writing in a particular language requires practice. The more you do it, the better you will become. The question is, how do you know if you are practicing it the right way? You don't want to spend years reinforcing bad habits, so here are few ideas for developing positive, language-building habits.

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1) Involve as Many Senses as Possible

Just reading words on a page will only get you so far. If you really want to learn how to speak and write like a native speaker, you need to immerse yourself in the language as much as possible. In addition to reading English, you also need to speak it and, above all, hear it. If you do not live in a place where English is regularly spoken, the internet provides many alternatives. With news podcasts, live radio streaming, and even YouTube, you have a wide variety of opportunities to access real, spoken English. Listen to a news program or radio broadcast and then try to mimic the words they say.

Unlike reading, which requires a large amount of brain power and attention, listening to a radio simulcast requires much less of your direct attention. You can play it in the background while doing other things, such as cooking, eating, or even sleeping. That's right. When I was trying to learn German, I used put on a simulcast of German radio when I would lay down for an afternoon nap. Sometimes, this type of passive listening can help you with pronunciation, pitch, and vocabulary.

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2) Read a Newspaper, Especially the Living or Lifestyle Section

Newspapers are the single greatest source for interesting and up-to-date information in a target language. Newspapers also contain more idiomatic (colloquial) language than anything else. There was a woman who came to the Writing Lab Conversation Group every day with questions about the words used in the Purdue student newspaper. Just by reading the student interviews and profiles, she was able to gain quick and easy access to the linguistic world of native speakers. If there are no English-language newspapers in your area, newspapers also have great online content. Just Google your favorite newspaper, and you will generally find the same information as you would find in the print edition.

If you have limited extra time during your day, I suggest looking through the Lifestyle or Living section of a newspaper (the one filled with local profiles, cartoons, and advice columns). These sections generally contain the highest amout of easy-to-read language, and they are also the most interesting. Sometimes it is tough to concentrate on a news story discussing complex political or economic issues. It is much more easy to relate to a woman seeking advice about her nosy mother-in-law.

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3) Write Emails to a Native Speaker

Most composition work is now done on a computer, and so if you are looking to improve your English writing skills on the computer, you should do it in as many venues as possible. The easiest and most rewarding venue is email. Make it a habit to write at least one email per day to a native speaker of your target language. Don't limit yourself to conversational topics such as the weather. Try to discuss what you are learning in one of your classes, or try to tell them about recent political developments in your country. Once you find success composing emails to native friends, you may find that composing an essay in English has also become easier. Emails are high reward, low risk writing tasks. You won't receive a bad grade or failing test score for making a mistake.

If don't have any native speaker friends, there are plenty of places that will help you. Try posting something on someone's blog. You could even post something on this blog! Or try an international pen pal Web site like,

http://www.mylanguageexchange.com/penpals.asp

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As always, good luck, and I would love to hear from some of you out there about your own L2 (second language) composition strategies.

Brady Spangenberg

Writing Like a Native: Quick Tips for ESL Writers

Do you wish you could write like a native-speaker but feel like something always gets in the way? It may be just a missing article or the wrong preposition, but somehow your writing doesn't quite read like English. You may have had the frustrating experience of some instructor or reader muttering, "Well, you can't really say it THAT way." Unless you have the time and the money to go through an intensive immersion program, you may find it difficult to know exactly how to phrase it in English without some extra help. So here are a few quick tips that will help you check your how to say it in English.

1) Google + Quotation Marks
A quick Google search is the best way to check for the most appropriate ways to use prepositions and articles. For example, if you are not sure whether you should say "at Purdue," "in Purdue," or "on Purdue's campus," type each of these phrases, surrounded by quotation marks, into Google. The results will provide you with examples in context. You will not only get a sense of how people use the phrase, but you will also be able to judge how often people use the phrase. If your Google search turns up only 3 hits, you can be pretty sure that the phrase, "in Purdue's campus," is not a phrase that native English speakers often use.

Try these two phrases and see which one pops up the most and in which contexts. You may find that sites using more colloquial (spoken) language will favor one expression.

"at the house of my mother" vs. "at my mother's house"

Remember that for an accurate representation of which phrases people use and how, you need to enclose the phrase in quotation marks. That way, the search will only look for the phrase.

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2) Use a Thesaurus
Once you have established a working English vocabulary, a thesaurus (dictionary of synonyms) is one of the best tools for expanding it. You don't even need to have a printed version anymore. Most word processing programs, such as Microsoft Word, are already equipped with a thesaurus function. All you need to do is:

highlight the word and then hit "shift + f7."

The program will automatically bring up a list of synonyms and a few antonyms. Other resources include www.thesaurus.com. This strategy does not just apply to ESL writers. Even native writers can forget about words from time to time. Especially if you find yourself using the same verb, particularly a generic verb, over and over again, using a thesaurus can bring some great variety to your writing. You may also find that a more specific and expressive verb exists than the one currently stuck in your mind.

Here is a list of generic verbs that should be "thesaurus-ized."

make, do, say, talk (about), work, think, have, like
and any form of "to be" (is, are, was, were)

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3) Read it Aloud (Slowly)
Because many writers focus so intensely on creating the perfect sentence, they often overlook more general grammar principles, such as plurals, subject-verb agreement, and verb tense. I have found that writers can often recognize their own mistakes if they read their papers aloud and pay careful attention so that the words they say match the words on the page. Writers will often say the phrase correctly even though it is incorrect on the page. Here is an example:

"Yesterday, she walk to the store with three empty bag."

Attentive readers may notice that the word "yesterday" requires that the verb should be in the past tense (i.e. "walked). They may also notice that the number three means that "bag" should be in the plural.

If you find it difficult to read and edit or if you do not notice your mistakes, find a friend to read along with you. The friend should mark down any differences between what you say and what is on the page.

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Hope these tips help, and, as always, if anyone out there has any other tips, please share them.

Brady Spangenberg

A rose by any other name

Well, here in Australia, it's almost the start of the new academic year. I thought it would be a good time to review some of the topics on our Grammar Gang blog and because it's just 2 days until St Valentine's Day, I want to take a look at my favourite Shakespearean sonnet.

Sonnet 18

Shall I compare thee to a Summer's day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer's lease hath all too short a date:
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And oft' is his gold complexion dimm'd:
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance or nature's changing course untrimm'd:
But thy eternal Summer shall not fade
Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest;
Nor shall Death brag thou wanderest in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou growest:
So long as men can breath, or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee

Can you believe the length of this sentence? Does anyone want to 'have a go at' counting independent clauses? (Have a go at = attempt to, in Australian English usage.)

Of course, Shakespeare's use of punctuation is known as 'poetic licence' but I wonder if you all approve of his use of colons and semi-colons and if you would find it easier to read if he'd used more sentences with full-stops? (I know I would find it easier to read if he had.)

I asked my daughter to 'have a go at' writing the first 2 lines of the sonnet in her own words and this is what she came up with:

If I compared you with a day in summer, I'd have to say that you are even more beautiful and gentle'

She adds that this would be saying quite a lot, as she was born on December 1st, the first day of Summer which is also her favourite season!

I then asked a young guy who lives in our street for his interpretation of the first two lines which were:

You're dead gorgeous and really hot but not that extreme sort of hot that you get on a day in a heatwave'.

We'll, we'd love to hear your version of the first 2 lines or better still, of the whole poem so post away!

Virginia

The Two Minute Semicolon Lesson

Unlike the comma, which can take five minutes to explain, the semicolon is quite an easy punctuation mark. So that is why this post should only take two minutes to read. The semicolon has two main uses. They are used to join two independent clauses (minus the coordinating conjunction). They are also used to divide long or comma-laden elements in a series. Aside from its small role in bibliographic references, the semicolon has no other traditional function in English grammar.

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When you use a semicolon to combine independent clauses, make sure that both of the clauses share a direct and logical connection. The second clause should either restate or emphasize the first clause in some way.

Example
Professor Johnson believes that people should obey traffic laws at all times; the roadways, he says, are already dangerous enough.

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Semicolons can also be used to set off items in a complex series. A series is considered complex if it includes items with their own commas or lists with a conjunction in each item.

Simple example with conjunctions
He walks and talks; chews and thinks; and runs and stumbles.

Simple example with commas
For the European Cup, football matches were played in Vienna, Austria; Basel, Switzerland; and Salzburg, Austria.