The ETSU community, especially current MALS students and alumn, are invited to attend the mini-conference, which will be held this Tuesday, December 6th, from 6:00 to 9:00 PM in the East Tennessee Room of the D.P. Culp University Center.
Come and learn about the interdisciplinary topics our newest MALS students are exploring. Refreshments will be served! For more information, please contact me at malswritingconsultant@gmail.com or Dr. Jill LeRoy-Frazier at leroyfra@etsu.edu. You may also see the flyer by clicking here.
I look forward to seeing you there!
December 4, 2011
December 2, 2011
Repetition
Yesterday I went for a mountain bike ride. During my fourth attempt to clear a rather technical section of trail, I realized something important as my bike stubbornly decided to stop on a short hill, the front wheel wedged between two rocks and the rear nestled in a pool of mud. While it's probably a bit melodramatic to call it an "epiphany," (I think it best to reserve that label for the really important moments, such as the day I came to know the wonders of wool socks), I can definitely say that a light bulb went off. You see, on my first attempt of this obstacle, I just sort of stopped right before encountering the muddy rock trap. Knowing that I had broken the cardinal rule of mountain biking - "keep pedaling, stupid!" - I turned around to repeat the section, only this time I pedaled like a madwoman. Well, I still didn't make it; the mud was just too thick for my weary legs to power out of going uphill. Ditto on the third try. As I crashed the fourth time, I realized that, while I had yet to clear this obstacle, I was in fact succeeding.
What dawned on me yesterday as I stood in three inches of mud is that success both is and results from repetition of good habits. I was succeeding because I was repeating with emphasis on what I was doing correctly. I realized that when we employ the patience, perseverance, and wisdom to repeatedly practice good habits, we are in fact succeeding, even when we do not achieve our desired results immediately.
The key is to not place all the value on the achievement itself. Equally important, I believe, are the many, repetitive attempts you must necessarily make that gradually move you toward the achievement. Only by repeating a task, while concentrating on repeating the good habits, will those good habits become more natural to you.
The more I think about it, the more I believe that this philosophy applies to everything we do, whether it be mountain biking, eating well, nurturing relationships, or writing. The writing process is nothing more or less than this repetition of good habits. While the first several attempts at any writing project might seem like they're getting you nowhere, the truth is that each brainstorming session, draft revision, and proofread help you become a better writer. Just as the most important part of training for a marathon is not the last 22 miler before the race, but the dozens of shorter runs you complete in the months before that final long run, the most important part of your development as a writer is the process leading up to your final draft.
Consciously practice good habits, whether it's in mastering Turabian documentation style, overcoming comma confusion, or adopting a mindset of identifying and integrating sources and ideas from multiple disciplines to approach questions in your academic and professional career. More importantly, be confident that this practice and repetition is success in and of itself.
Now go work on that draft!
What dawned on me yesterday as I stood in three inches of mud is that success both is and results from repetition of good habits. I was succeeding because I was repeating with emphasis on what I was doing correctly. I realized that when we employ the patience, perseverance, and wisdom to repeatedly practice good habits, we are in fact succeeding, even when we do not achieve our desired results immediately.
The key is to not place all the value on the achievement itself. Equally important, I believe, are the many, repetitive attempts you must necessarily make that gradually move you toward the achievement. Only by repeating a task, while concentrating on repeating the good habits, will those good habits become more natural to you.
The more I think about it, the more I believe that this philosophy applies to everything we do, whether it be mountain biking, eating well, nurturing relationships, or writing. The writing process is nothing more or less than this repetition of good habits. While the first several attempts at any writing project might seem like they're getting you nowhere, the truth is that each brainstorming session, draft revision, and proofread help you become a better writer. Just as the most important part of training for a marathon is not the last 22 miler before the race, but the dozens of shorter runs you complete in the months before that final long run, the most important part of your development as a writer is the process leading up to your final draft.
Consciously practice good habits, whether it's in mastering Turabian documentation style, overcoming comma confusion, or adopting a mindset of identifying and integrating sources and ideas from multiple disciplines to approach questions in your academic and professional career. More importantly, be confident that this practice and repetition is success in and of itself.
Now go work on that draft!
November 29, 2011
Presenting....
If I remember correctly (and I'm sure that I do), during the next two weeks your schedules are not only packed with final exams and seminar papers, but also peppered with project presentations, mini-conferences, and other opportunities to share your work in front of an audience. It's no secret that the anxiety brought on by an upcoming presentation can rival that of the looming deadline for your 22-page research paper, particularly if you're presenting on a complex subject, theory, or concept that is relatively new to you (post-structuralism, anyone?).
While in no way do I claim to be the queen of the lectern, I do have a few tips to help you prepare for your next presentation with confidence and style.
1. Timing is Everything. Regardless of the reason or forum for your presentation, you will at the very least be given guidelines for the length of time you will be in the limelight. Use this timeframe as your starting point when planning and preparing your entire presentation, from your introduction to your power point slides. Especially when presenting a semester-long project, it's easy to get carried away in the details. The last thing you want is to create a gorgeous masterpiece of slides, video clips, and insightful quips only to be cut off before you get through 10% of your planned presentation. The last think your audience wants is to have a presenter drone on three times as long as necessary. Always tailor your presentation to the time allowed, making sure you hit all of your essential points.
2. Read Responsibly. For some presentations it's perfectly acceptable to read a prepared paper and/or speech. For example, this is usually the case for your MALS 5100 mini-conference presentations. That said, please don't just get up in front of the room, stare at your paper, and read us the words. Even when you have a script, you need to engage your audience. Make frequent eye contact throughout your presentation. Speak slowly, pause at appropriate intervals, and subtly inflect emotion into your voice to emphasize important points. Additionally, you may want to add examples, stories, or small bits of humor to your presentation that you won't necessarily include in the final version of your paper. Finally, if you're using PowerPoint, don't read your slides. Let them work for you, and elaborate on the points contained in each slide.
3. Grab your Audience. Not literally. But it is essential to capture your audience's attention immediately. Start off with an interesting story, statistic, or question that engages the audience and allows them to relate to your topic from the start. Please don't start your presentation with "Today I'm going to talk about....XYZ," and don't just dive into the details.
4. Dress the Part. Even when you can attend class all semester in your sneakers and sweats, you should approach presentations as more formal affairs. I liked to dress up a bit even if my professors did not specify a dress code. While I cannot offer concrete proof, I think that dressing well for presentations helps one feel more "professional" and therefore make a sharper, more credible presentation. You don't need to wear a tuxedo, but at least dress business-casual. Keep your hair neat and out of your face, and wear good but comfortable shoes.
5. Practice! This may sound like a no-brainer, but you'd be surprised how much stress and worry practicing washes away. Find a (captive) audience, such as a spouse, child, friend, or coworker, and practice your presentation with a timer. This is the only way you can be sure that you will make a complete, clear, and interesting presentation within the allotted timeframe. Ask for feedback not only on your content, but also about any visual glitches like garish or unreadable PowerPoint slides or distracting mannerisms such as toe-tapping or over-gesturing with your hands. At the very least, hearing yourself talk out loud for 10 minutes should help you become more comfortable with, well, talking out loud for 10 minutes.
6. As always, remember interdisciplinarity! Practice is especially important when making an interdisciplinary presentation, because you'll need to relate to audience members with different academic backgrounds and effectively draw from multiple disciplinary perspectives in a short period of time. As you're making your notes, adapting your paper, or making slides, remember to demonstrate the intersection of disciplines in your presentations. Make clear the disciplinary (or interdisciplinary) origins of each of your points, and clearly state any connections between disciplines. You don't have to go into the theory behind each concept, but do use language to acknowledge the merging of disciplines.
7. Go Old School. That is, use notecards. Even with Youtube, PowerPoint, and GoogleDocs available to liven up a presentation, I still recommend putting together a set of good, old-fashioned, 5x7 index cards outlining the points you need to make during your presentation. Why? Because technology sometimes fails. And because nerves can play tricks on you and make you forget what you stood up to say in the first place. A simple statement on a notecard can get you back on track and help keep you there. You might even go so far as to jot a time-frame down on each notecard to help you progress through your presentation at your practiced pace. Also, don't forget that a humble notecard gives you something to hold in your hand, providing a simple remedy for excessive hand gesturing.
8. Be ready for questions. During most conferences, class presentations, or symposia, you will have a brief Q & A period after your main speech. As you're preparing your presentation, try to anticipate some of these questions. Jot down potential answers, complete with examples, on a notecard. In the likely event that you receive a rather off-the-wall or challenging question, just relax and provide the best answer possible. Don't hesitate to ask for clarification of the question in a tactful manner. Also, monitor your answers to be sure you don't get off track too much and end up making a second presentation. Keep answers concise.
9. Remember, you're hardly alone. You have a class of peers who are making similar presentations all over campus. Nor are you the worst public speaker ever. I'm pretty sure my entire 8th-grade language arts class had that one covered. Try and enjoy this chance to share your research with your peers.
Good luck!
While in no way do I claim to be the queen of the lectern, I do have a few tips to help you prepare for your next presentation with confidence and style.
1. Timing is Everything. Regardless of the reason or forum for your presentation, you will at the very least be given guidelines for the length of time you will be in the limelight. Use this timeframe as your starting point when planning and preparing your entire presentation, from your introduction to your power point slides. Especially when presenting a semester-long project, it's easy to get carried away in the details. The last thing you want is to create a gorgeous masterpiece of slides, video clips, and insightful quips only to be cut off before you get through 10% of your planned presentation. The last think your audience wants is to have a presenter drone on three times as long as necessary. Always tailor your presentation to the time allowed, making sure you hit all of your essential points.
2. Read Responsibly. For some presentations it's perfectly acceptable to read a prepared paper and/or speech. For example, this is usually the case for your MALS 5100 mini-conference presentations. That said, please don't just get up in front of the room, stare at your paper, and read us the words. Even when you have a script, you need to engage your audience. Make frequent eye contact throughout your presentation. Speak slowly, pause at appropriate intervals, and subtly inflect emotion into your voice to emphasize important points. Additionally, you may want to add examples, stories, or small bits of humor to your presentation that you won't necessarily include in the final version of your paper. Finally, if you're using PowerPoint, don't read your slides. Let them work for you, and elaborate on the points contained in each slide.
3. Grab your Audience. Not literally. But it is essential to capture your audience's attention immediately. Start off with an interesting story, statistic, or question that engages the audience and allows them to relate to your topic from the start. Please don't start your presentation with "Today I'm going to talk about....XYZ," and don't just dive into the details.
4. Dress the Part. Even when you can attend class all semester in your sneakers and sweats, you should approach presentations as more formal affairs. I liked to dress up a bit even if my professors did not specify a dress code. While I cannot offer concrete proof, I think that dressing well for presentations helps one feel more "professional" and therefore make a sharper, more credible presentation. You don't need to wear a tuxedo, but at least dress business-casual. Keep your hair neat and out of your face, and wear good but comfortable shoes.
5. Practice! This may sound like a no-brainer, but you'd be surprised how much stress and worry practicing washes away. Find a (captive) audience, such as a spouse, child, friend, or coworker, and practice your presentation with a timer. This is the only way you can be sure that you will make a complete, clear, and interesting presentation within the allotted timeframe. Ask for feedback not only on your content, but also about any visual glitches like garish or unreadable PowerPoint slides or distracting mannerisms such as toe-tapping or over-gesturing with your hands. At the very least, hearing yourself talk out loud for 10 minutes should help you become more comfortable with, well, talking out loud for 10 minutes.
6. As always, remember interdisciplinarity! Practice is especially important when making an interdisciplinary presentation, because you'll need to relate to audience members with different academic backgrounds and effectively draw from multiple disciplinary perspectives in a short period of time. As you're making your notes, adapting your paper, or making slides, remember to demonstrate the intersection of disciplines in your presentations. Make clear the disciplinary (or interdisciplinary) origins of each of your points, and clearly state any connections between disciplines. You don't have to go into the theory behind each concept, but do use language to acknowledge the merging of disciplines.
7. Go Old School. That is, use notecards. Even with Youtube, PowerPoint, and GoogleDocs available to liven up a presentation, I still recommend putting together a set of good, old-fashioned, 5x7 index cards outlining the points you need to make during your presentation. Why? Because technology sometimes fails. And because nerves can play tricks on you and make you forget what you stood up to say in the first place. A simple statement on a notecard can get you back on track and help keep you there. You might even go so far as to jot a time-frame down on each notecard to help you progress through your presentation at your practiced pace. Also, don't forget that a humble notecard gives you something to hold in your hand, providing a simple remedy for excessive hand gesturing.
8. Be ready for questions. During most conferences, class presentations, or symposia, you will have a brief Q & A period after your main speech. As you're preparing your presentation, try to anticipate some of these questions. Jot down potential answers, complete with examples, on a notecard. In the likely event that you receive a rather off-the-wall or challenging question, just relax and provide the best answer possible. Don't hesitate to ask for clarification of the question in a tactful manner. Also, monitor your answers to be sure you don't get off track too much and end up making a second presentation. Keep answers concise.
9. Remember, you're hardly alone. You have a class of peers who are making similar presentations all over campus. Nor are you the worst public speaker ever. I'm pretty sure my entire 8th-grade language arts class had that one covered. Try and enjoy this chance to share your research with your peers.
Good luck!
November 7, 2011
Congratulations Dr. Tedesco!
I'm happy to share that Dr. Marie Tedesco, MALS program director, has been named one of the 2011 Notable Women of ETSU! With this year marking this annual award's 10th anniversary, Notable Women of ETSU are nominated by faculty colleagues based on their work and accomplishments in the field of women's studies and scholarship, and the women's studies department selects two nominees to win the award.
All MALS students, alumni, and friends are invited to attend the annual Notable Women of ETSU Colloquium on Wednesday, November 16th, in the East Tennessee Room of the D.P. Culp University Center. A reception with complimentary refreshments begins at 4:30 PM. The colloquium, featuring speeches by the award recipients, Dr. Tedesco and Kathleen Higginson Grover from Literature and Languages, will follow from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM.
Please make plans to attend this important celebration! For more information, please visit this link to the ETSU calendar or email me at malswritingconsultant@etsu.edu.
All MALS students, alumni, and friends are invited to attend the annual Notable Women of ETSU Colloquium on Wednesday, November 16th, in the East Tennessee Room of the D.P. Culp University Center. A reception with complimentary refreshments begins at 4:30 PM. The colloquium, featuring speeches by the award recipients, Dr. Tedesco and Kathleen Higginson Grover from Literature and Languages, will follow from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM.
Please make plans to attend this important celebration! For more information, please visit this link to the ETSU calendar or email me at malswritingconsultant@etsu.edu.
October 31, 2011
The Dig on Deadlines, Part II
Before Fall Break I shared with you my thoughts on how to deal with deadlines. In that post I promised to follow up with some ideas for dealing with a lack of deadlines. Well, anticipate no more.
While many of you have no shortage of deadlines coming in the next few weeks, most of you will arrive at a time when the deadlines all but disappear: when you are finished with your coursework but are working on your thesis or capstone project. For many students that gives about three years until your defense must be complete. This seems so far into the future that, for all practical purposes, this deadline is nonexistent.
Still, you probably want to go ahead and finish up. Yet when the work's going slowly and that thesis slides just a little lower down the priority list, it can be tempting to adopt the mantra of "I have three years to finish this...I'll get back to work next week," and, before you know it, you've missed a chance to go ahead and defend and graduate.
Don't let this happen to you! Instead, consider these four tips, which draw from my experiences during my no-deadline semester:
1. Work backwards from the time you want/need to finish your project. Determine the absolute last day you must have the work completed. If this is your date of defense, look at the graduate school calendar. I even suggest you make your final deadline a week earlier than this date - this allows you some breathing room to schedule a defense date that works for you and your committee. Then, set deadlines for your drafts, bibliography, prospectus, and any other milestone points, continuing to work backwards. For example, your self-imposed deadlines might look like this:
2. Declare your intended deadlines in writing to your committee member(s). If you tell your committee chair to expect a draft of your paper by a certain date, you are much more likely to meet your deadline. Again, she will likely understand if something compelling prevents you from meeting this deadline, but the sense of accountability you'll feel will do wonders for your motivation. Of all of the tips I'm giving you here, this was the most effective during my semester of project work.
3. Set up regular work hours every week. For me, this was Saturday afternoon. I would go for a run in the morning, then get a coffee and go to my "office" (really a private cubicle in Sherrod Library) and do some quality work. Knowing that I had 12-6PM carved out particularly for working on my research freed me from the distractions of home, work, and general laziness.
4. Visualize your defense and graduation. You might have heard of visualization as a technique athletes use to train their minds to succeed in competition. This works for grad school too. Spend a few minutes each day imagining the day you walk out of your defense, having just been told you did a fine job and passed. Imagine the senses of accomplishment and relief you will feel as you walk outside, take a breath of fresh air, and realize that you are DONE! Maybe this sounds cheesy, but believe me, it works.
If you find yourself with work to do but no deadline in the near future, try one or more of these tips, and get to work! Good luck!
While many of you have no shortage of deadlines coming in the next few weeks, most of you will arrive at a time when the deadlines all but disappear: when you are finished with your coursework but are working on your thesis or capstone project. For many students that gives about three years until your defense must be complete. This seems so far into the future that, for all practical purposes, this deadline is nonexistent.
Still, you probably want to go ahead and finish up. Yet when the work's going slowly and that thesis slides just a little lower down the priority list, it can be tempting to adopt the mantra of "I have three years to finish this...I'll get back to work next week," and, before you know it, you've missed a chance to go ahead and defend and graduate.
Don't let this happen to you! Instead, consider these four tips, which draw from my experiences during my no-deadline semester:
1. Work backwards from the time you want/need to finish your project. Determine the absolute last day you must have the work completed. If this is your date of defense, look at the graduate school calendar. I even suggest you make your final deadline a week earlier than this date - this allows you some breathing room to schedule a defense date that works for you and your committee. Then, set deadlines for your drafts, bibliography, prospectus, and any other milestone points, continuing to work backwards. For example, your self-imposed deadlines might look like this:
- Defense: week of April 20-27
- Final draft to committee (I'll give them a week to read, so....): April 14
- Preliminary draft (20 pages or so) to chair of committee: April 1
- Mid-semester committee meeting: March 10
- Well, since I have a meeting coming up, I'd better give them something to read, so....
- Initial rough draft with working thesis + annotated bibliography: March 3
- Outline so I can start drafting with a basic sense of organization: February 15
- File intent to graduate: January 25
- Oh, well, I have to file an intent to graduate, so I'd better have a research proposal together, so...
- Capstone Project Proposal: January 23
2. Declare your intended deadlines in writing to your committee member(s). If you tell your committee chair to expect a draft of your paper by a certain date, you are much more likely to meet your deadline. Again, she will likely understand if something compelling prevents you from meeting this deadline, but the sense of accountability you'll feel will do wonders for your motivation. Of all of the tips I'm giving you here, this was the most effective during my semester of project work.
3. Set up regular work hours every week. For me, this was Saturday afternoon. I would go for a run in the morning, then get a coffee and go to my "office" (really a private cubicle in Sherrod Library) and do some quality work. Knowing that I had 12-6PM carved out particularly for working on my research freed me from the distractions of home, work, and general laziness.
4. Visualize your defense and graduation. You might have heard of visualization as a technique athletes use to train their minds to succeed in competition. This works for grad school too. Spend a few minutes each day imagining the day you walk out of your defense, having just been told you did a fine job and passed. Imagine the senses of accomplishment and relief you will feel as you walk outside, take a breath of fresh air, and realize that you are DONE! Maybe this sounds cheesy, but believe me, it works.
If you find yourself with work to do but no deadline in the near future, try one or more of these tips, and get to work! Good luck!
October 16, 2011
Fall Break - Make Sure You Get Yours
Thank goodness for mid-semester breaks. A four-day weekend is nice - think of all of the work you can catch up on your upcoming papers and projects without having to read for class or make your way to campus each evening. Wait...what? What happened to the "break" part of fall break? Are you among those who look forward to fall break not as a mini-vacation but instead as a good chance to get some work done? Welcome to the club. For many grad students, "breaks" take on an ironic purpose.
Before you spend the next several days holed up in the library with the Cultural Studies Reader and a can of Red Bull, remember that adequate rest is just as important as hard work in any activity, school included. I encourage you to designate one full day for rest and relaxation. Sleep in, go for a bike ride, watch reruns of Seinfeld all day. What you do does not matter - just don't even think about schoolwork for at least one day. "No time for that," you say? "I need to catch up!" Of course you do. But...
As a MALS student, I quickly learned that rest days were vital to my success. Sure, I might have risked setting myself up for a heavier workload the next day, but in the end, I was more productive during my study if I periodically took a "mental health day." Otherwise, I'd just get burned out and resent my work - getting much less done in the long run.
I know what some of you are thinking - isn't this just procrastination? Not really. Planned rest to rejuvenate your mind is not the same thing as putting off work because you don't want to do it. The key is to plan these breaks ahead of time - schedule a break the day after you turn in a paper, the day you have a family event, or even during this fall break.
Before you spend the next several days holed up in the library with the Cultural Studies Reader and a can of Red Bull, remember that adequate rest is just as important as hard work in any activity, school included. I encourage you to designate one full day for rest and relaxation. Sleep in, go for a bike ride, watch reruns of Seinfeld all day. What you do does not matter - just don't even think about schoolwork for at least one day. "No time for that," you say? "I need to catch up!" Of course you do. But...
As a MALS student, I quickly learned that rest days were vital to my success. Sure, I might have risked setting myself up for a heavier workload the next day, but in the end, I was more productive during my study if I periodically took a "mental health day." Otherwise, I'd just get burned out and resent my work - getting much less done in the long run.
I know what some of you are thinking - isn't this just procrastination? Not really. Planned rest to rejuvenate your mind is not the same thing as putting off work because you don't want to do it. The key is to plan these breaks ahead of time - schedule a break the day after you turn in a paper, the day you have a family event, or even during this fall break.
October 10, 2011
The Dig on Deadlines, Part I:
Are all the deadlines killing you? If I recall my graduate school days correctly, all of my papers for all of my classes were due within a 24 hour period. Usually, this unified front of deadlines also fell on a week when I had a plumbing emergency or income taxes due.
Panic would ensue, followed by a marathon of maniacal study during which I became "that guy" who made the coffee shop my personal office space until the barista was practically running the vacuum cleaner over my feet. I'd meet the deadlines, celebrate by watching South Park and Seinfeld (the only programs I could pick up at 12:30 AM in those pre-digital-converter-box days), and start the cycle all over again. As soon as I (barely) survived one swarm of deadlines, I found myself smack in the face of another.
If this sounds at all familiar to you, first let me say that I feel for you. Second, believe me when I say that you WILL get through it. Hey, I'm living, blogging proof that it is possible not only to meet those deadlines but to meet them so well that you (almost) look forward to them. A 20-page paper due Monday, a book review and analysis due Tuesday, a presentation plus an essay test on Thursday? Bring. It. On.
Before you dismiss me as a weirdo exception to the rule who had no life outside of school, hear me out. I will tell you how I approached deadlines and learned to make them work for me instead of against me. Keep these points in mind and see if you don't cope a wee bit better:
1. Deadlines don't really sneak up on you. Sure, people use this as an excuse all the time. But it's not really true. With rare exceptions, you know about your deadlines well in advance. Due dates are on your course syllabi for each assignment. Sure, we all get distracted and forget about deadlines temporarily, but they don't hide for months and leap out at you at the last minute. Usually they're in plain writing. Keep this in mind, and stay proactive in your planning.
2. Deadlines can be like holidays! Really! It's all about perspective. A deadline in grad school is like a mini last day of school. Say your seminar paper is due November 30. Instead of fretting over how the weeks are flying by as you get close to your deadline, think of November 30 as the last day you have to deal with this seminar paper! Afterwards, you're free! Complete your assignments on time, and your deadline days are happy days. This positive mindset can help you stay focused on your tasks and motivated to tackle your assignments well ahead of time.
3. Go ahead and panic - but keep it short and sweet. I discovered that a well-timed freak-out in an appropriate setting was actually quite healthy. My poor husband and cats more than once had to endure a 10 to 15 minute tirade over the injustices put upon me by MALS, Roland Barthes, Julie Thompson Klein, etc.; but, more often than not these panic sessions ended in laughter. Laughter mixed with a sense of futility (I still had to do the work, after all), but laughter nonetheless. The moral of the story here is that my tirades left me relaxed and in better spirits than I would have been had I simply kept my nose to the grindstone. And in this happier state, on with my work I went. So panic, but then relax.
4. Accept that graduate school probably won't let up. As I've said before, grad school is hard. It's supposed to be hard. Not only are you trying to comprehend complex theories of French philosophers and scholarly vocabulary you could swear the authors made up just to sound good, but you're also expected to read and write about these in what seems like record time. Yep, it's going to drive you nuts from time to time. The sooner you can get over the fact that as soon as you finish one difficult task you'll be in the midst of another, the better. This pill's a little easier to swallow if you keep in mind the following.
5. You're not the only one in graduate school. Heck, you're not the only one in MALS. Remember, at any given time there are approximately 40 other students in MALS at ETSU who are going through the same thing you are. If you notice, none of them are keeling over. You'll live too. And while it's true that an interdisciplinary program of study presents unique challenges, I don't think the other 2,000 or so students in the School of Graduate Studies are enjoying a cake walk either.
6. Your professors won't give you impossible deadlines. They want you to succeed. Yes, they want to challenge you, push you to grow stronger as a scholar, but they will not set you up for failure. They have a lot on their plates too - they don't assign work just to be mean. Even for the 20-pagers, your professors don't expect a hardcover manifesto that extinguishes the quest for all knowledge. In other words, there's a reason you have page limits on your papers.
7. Remember why you are in MALS. You are here because you have a goal. You are here because you enjoy learning and are drawn to learn more about a part of our culture, history, society, or geography that is too complex to approach with only one discipline. You are taking the initiative to take an interdisciplinary approach. How cool is that? As you meet your deadlines, remember that each assignment you complete is a step toward creating new knowledge about something that interests you.
I hope these seven gems of wisdom help you meet your next deadline with confidence and satisfaction. Stay tuned for the next installment on the deadline dilemma, when I'll reveal some tips for working in situations where deadlines are all but nonexistent.
Panic would ensue, followed by a marathon of maniacal study during which I became "that guy" who made the coffee shop my personal office space until the barista was practically running the vacuum cleaner over my feet. I'd meet the deadlines, celebrate by watching South Park and Seinfeld (the only programs I could pick up at 12:30 AM in those pre-digital-converter-box days), and start the cycle all over again. As soon as I (barely) survived one swarm of deadlines, I found myself smack in the face of another.
If this sounds at all familiar to you, first let me say that I feel for you. Second, believe me when I say that you WILL get through it. Hey, I'm living, blogging proof that it is possible not only to meet those deadlines but to meet them so well that you (almost) look forward to them. A 20-page paper due Monday, a book review and analysis due Tuesday, a presentation plus an essay test on Thursday? Bring. It. On.
Before you dismiss me as a weirdo exception to the rule who had no life outside of school, hear me out. I will tell you how I approached deadlines and learned to make them work for me instead of against me. Keep these points in mind and see if you don't cope a wee bit better:
1. Deadlines don't really sneak up on you. Sure, people use this as an excuse all the time. But it's not really true. With rare exceptions, you know about your deadlines well in advance. Due dates are on your course syllabi for each assignment. Sure, we all get distracted and forget about deadlines temporarily, but they don't hide for months and leap out at you at the last minute. Usually they're in plain writing. Keep this in mind, and stay proactive in your planning.
2. Deadlines can be like holidays! Really! It's all about perspective. A deadline in grad school is like a mini last day of school. Say your seminar paper is due November 30. Instead of fretting over how the weeks are flying by as you get close to your deadline, think of November 30 as the last day you have to deal with this seminar paper! Afterwards, you're free! Complete your assignments on time, and your deadline days are happy days. This positive mindset can help you stay focused on your tasks and motivated to tackle your assignments well ahead of time.
3. Go ahead and panic - but keep it short and sweet. I discovered that a well-timed freak-out in an appropriate setting was actually quite healthy. My poor husband and cats more than once had to endure a 10 to 15 minute tirade over the injustices put upon me by MALS, Roland Barthes, Julie Thompson Klein, etc.; but, more often than not these panic sessions ended in laughter. Laughter mixed with a sense of futility (I still had to do the work, after all), but laughter nonetheless. The moral of the story here is that my tirades left me relaxed and in better spirits than I would have been had I simply kept my nose to the grindstone. And in this happier state, on with my work I went. So panic, but then relax.
4. Accept that graduate school probably won't let up. As I've said before, grad school is hard. It's supposed to be hard. Not only are you trying to comprehend complex theories of French philosophers and scholarly vocabulary you could swear the authors made up just to sound good, but you're also expected to read and write about these in what seems like record time. Yep, it's going to drive you nuts from time to time. The sooner you can get over the fact that as soon as you finish one difficult task you'll be in the midst of another, the better. This pill's a little easier to swallow if you keep in mind the following.
5. You're not the only one in graduate school. Heck, you're not the only one in MALS. Remember, at any given time there are approximately 40 other students in MALS at ETSU who are going through the same thing you are. If you notice, none of them are keeling over. You'll live too. And while it's true that an interdisciplinary program of study presents unique challenges, I don't think the other 2,000 or so students in the School of Graduate Studies are enjoying a cake walk either.
6. Your professors won't give you impossible deadlines. They want you to succeed. Yes, they want to challenge you, push you to grow stronger as a scholar, but they will not set you up for failure. They have a lot on their plates too - they don't assign work just to be mean. Even for the 20-pagers, your professors don't expect a hardcover manifesto that extinguishes the quest for all knowledge. In other words, there's a reason you have page limits on your papers.
7. Remember why you are in MALS. You are here because you have a goal. You are here because you enjoy learning and are drawn to learn more about a part of our culture, history, society, or geography that is too complex to approach with only one discipline. You are taking the initiative to take an interdisciplinary approach. How cool is that? As you meet your deadlines, remember that each assignment you complete is a step toward creating new knowledge about something that interests you.
I hope these seven gems of wisdom help you meet your next deadline with confidence and satisfaction. Stay tuned for the next installment on the deadline dilemma, when I'll reveal some tips for working in situations where deadlines are all but nonexistent.
September 29, 2011
Contextualizing the Comma or, "Commas Are Not Confetti"
Oh, the dreaded comma. How infuriating is it that a tiny shrimp-like mark can cause so much grief for writers? It's no secret that commas mystify many of us, even if we're otherwise confident in our writing skills. In fact, you might not even have realized your misuse of commas until you got that first returned paper this semester. You know, the one that was so full of red ink (or red sidebar comments) that you could dip it in ketchup and see no real difference? "I've used commas like this for years," you may be thinking, "and no one ever said anything." That's probably because everyone else who read your work gave up on mastering the comma years ago.
There are good reasons that commas are confusing. Part of the problem, I think, is that several myths about the comma have somehow permeated our brains. How about this one: "Insert a comma wherever there's a pause." Well, not necessarily. What are semi-colons and periods - chopped liver? Another common misconception: if a sentence is really long, just throw some commas in to break it up a bit. Well, that's not only a comma disaster waiting to happen, but this line of thinking also tends to ignore sentences that ramble on without clarity. Sprinkling in a few commas here and there sure won't fix it.
So, how do you master the comma? The short answer is, "by learning the rules." (Rule #1: "Commas are not Confetti." Watch the video below to find out what this means.) However, rules regarding comma usage can seem numerous and complicated - until you learn why, not just where, you need to use a comma.
As MALS students, you appreciate the need to understand the context behind complex problems in order to better understand them. Writing is a complex art, so why not provide a little context for it? Knowing why the comma was developed in the first place might help you remember its purpose in your writing today.
So, before you develop an eternal grudge for this important, yet most misused, punctuation mark, watch this video. It's a little on the cheesy side, but it gives the comma a little context, and that's why it's my pick for the (first ever) punctuation link of the week!
There are good reasons that commas are confusing. Part of the problem, I think, is that several myths about the comma have somehow permeated our brains. How about this one: "Insert a comma wherever there's a pause." Well, not necessarily. What are semi-colons and periods - chopped liver? Another common misconception: if a sentence is really long, just throw some commas in to break it up a bit. Well, that's not only a comma disaster waiting to happen, but this line of thinking also tends to ignore sentences that ramble on without clarity. Sprinkling in a few commas here and there sure won't fix it.
So, how do you master the comma? The short answer is, "by learning the rules." (Rule #1: "Commas are not Confetti." Watch the video below to find out what this means.) However, rules regarding comma usage can seem numerous and complicated - until you learn why, not just where, you need to use a comma.
As MALS students, you appreciate the need to understand the context behind complex problems in order to better understand them. Writing is a complex art, so why not provide a little context for it? Knowing why the comma was developed in the first place might help you remember its purpose in your writing today.
So, before you develop an eternal grudge for this important, yet most misused, punctuation mark, watch this video. It's a little on the cheesy side, but it gives the comma a little context, and that's why it's my pick for the (first ever) punctuation link of the week!
September 5, 2011
Welcome New MALS Students - Get Ready to Change Your Mind
Good Evening MALS Students! Welcome to the program, welcome to ETSU, and for those of you who are in town just for graduate school, welcome to the Tri-Cities! First of all, thank you for reading my blog! As I close in on one year as your MALS Online Writing Consultant, I aim to make this blog more relevant, useful, and entertaining as you begin or continue with your graduate studies.
For those of you who are new to MALS, let me tell you a bit about myself. I am a 2010 graduate of the MALS program. With an undergraduate degree is in business administration and the bulk of my work experience in the hospitality industry, I started MALS at square one when it came to learning the principles of interdisciplinary scholarship and expressing these principles in my writing. As I have experienced (and survived) many of the same challenges, questions, frustrations, and triumphs you will encounter during your time in MALS, I can offer the valuable perspective of a peer.
In fact, I will begin sharing that perspective right now, so please read on.
When I look back at my MALS portfolio and compare my first piece of writing - a reflective essay for MALS 5100 - to my capstone support paper, the difference is impressive. It's almost like a separate person wrote each essay. In a way, I suppose that's true. As cliche as this will sound, the woman who began her MALS program on a freezing, windy January day is not the one who stood in front of her committee, dressed in a brand new pinstripe suit and dreadfully uncomfortable shoes to defend her capstone project over two years later. Not only was the prose in that final paper significantly more organized, professional, and grammatically correct, but my outlook on the world had changed. I still had the same personality, the same interests, and the same friends, but my work in MALS had reshaped the way I think about the circumstances, events, people, and places of the world around me.
I learned to make connections between theories and real-life practices that I never could have made without an interdisciplinary approach. I learned that there is no simple explanation for the state of society, much less a simple set of answers to society's problems. More importantly, I learned to embrace the complexity rather than try to "fix" it. I maintained my beliefs and my convictions, but I learned to acknowledge challenges to these beliefs rather than to ignore them. I learned that pulling an all-nighter at 30 is far more difficult that it was at 19. I learned that I can read, write, re-read, and re-write more in a week than I would have thought possible to do in a year. I learned to accept criticism from my professors as their way of caring; likewise, I learned that what at first seemed like a (rather frustrating) refusal on their part to answer a question was more often than not their vote of confidence in my ability to answer that question myself. All in all, my time in MALS was more transformative than I could ever have imagined. Yet, at the same time, the interdisciplinary, self-designed nature of the degree allowed me to stay true to my own goals, interests, and style. I know you'll have your own lists of "I learned" soon enough, and I wish you the best as you begin your semester.
So welcome to MALS, and get ready to change your mind!
For those of you who are new to MALS, let me tell you a bit about myself. I am a 2010 graduate of the MALS program. With an undergraduate degree is in business administration and the bulk of my work experience in the hospitality industry, I started MALS at square one when it came to learning the principles of interdisciplinary scholarship and expressing these principles in my writing. As I have experienced (and survived) many of the same challenges, questions, frustrations, and triumphs you will encounter during your time in MALS, I can offer the valuable perspective of a peer.
In fact, I will begin sharing that perspective right now, so please read on.
When I look back at my MALS portfolio and compare my first piece of writing - a reflective essay for MALS 5100 - to my capstone support paper, the difference is impressive. It's almost like a separate person wrote each essay. In a way, I suppose that's true. As cliche as this will sound, the woman who began her MALS program on a freezing, windy January day is not the one who stood in front of her committee, dressed in a brand new pinstripe suit and dreadfully uncomfortable shoes to defend her capstone project over two years later. Not only was the prose in that final paper significantly more organized, professional, and grammatically correct, but my outlook on the world had changed. I still had the same personality, the same interests, and the same friends, but my work in MALS had reshaped the way I think about the circumstances, events, people, and places of the world around me.
I learned to make connections between theories and real-life practices that I never could have made without an interdisciplinary approach. I learned that there is no simple explanation for the state of society, much less a simple set of answers to society's problems. More importantly, I learned to embrace the complexity rather than try to "fix" it. I maintained my beliefs and my convictions, but I learned to acknowledge challenges to these beliefs rather than to ignore them. I learned that pulling an all-nighter at 30 is far more difficult that it was at 19. I learned that I can read, write, re-read, and re-write more in a week than I would have thought possible to do in a year. I learned to accept criticism from my professors as their way of caring; likewise, I learned that what at first seemed like a (rather frustrating) refusal on their part to answer a question was more often than not their vote of confidence in my ability to answer that question myself. All in all, my time in MALS was more transformative than I could ever have imagined. Yet, at the same time, the interdisciplinary, self-designed nature of the degree allowed me to stay true to my own goals, interests, and style. I know you'll have your own lists of "I learned" soon enough, and I wish you the best as you begin your semester.
So welcome to MALS, and get ready to change your mind!
May 17, 2011
Taking Summer Courses? Your Writing Consultant's Here for You!
While many of you MALS students are taking the summer off from coursework, I know a handful of you are enrolled in summer courses. In many respects, summer sessions are fairly relaxed, with smaller classes, fewer students crowding the library, and a general contentedness that comes with sunshine and warm breezes.
But summer classes can be intense! With half the time you'd have during a full semester to finish the course (or less with a pre-summer course), you'll burn through topics and discussions at lightning speed. You may feel overwhelmed and rushed, especially when it comes to writing assignments.
If you're a MALS student taking summer courses or working on your thesis or capstone project, don't forget that you have a resourceful and supportive Online Writing Consultant! Don't worry that you're not taking a MALS core course - I regularly consult with students on papers for subject-field electives and independent studies too. I'll be online for office hours each Tuesday from 6 to 10 PM throughout the summer, or I'm available by appointment.
If you're not enrolled in courses this summer, but have questions about writing or interdisciplinary study in general, feel free to contact me too! I'll do my best to help you out.
So what are you waiting for? Get started on your summer!
(And don't forget to wear sunscreen)
Your MALS Online Writing Consultant,
Kit
But summer classes can be intense! With half the time you'd have during a full semester to finish the course (or less with a pre-summer course), you'll burn through topics and discussions at lightning speed. You may feel overwhelmed and rushed, especially when it comes to writing assignments.
If you're a MALS student taking summer courses or working on your thesis or capstone project, don't forget that you have a resourceful and supportive Online Writing Consultant! Don't worry that you're not taking a MALS core course - I regularly consult with students on papers for subject-field electives and independent studies too. I'll be online for office hours each Tuesday from 6 to 10 PM throughout the summer, or I'm available by appointment.
If you're not enrolled in courses this summer, but have questions about writing or interdisciplinary study in general, feel free to contact me too! I'll do my best to help you out.
So what are you waiting for? Get started on your summer!
(And don't forget to wear sunscreen)
Your MALS Online Writing Consultant,
Kit
April 29, 2011
Pesky Passivity
"Mistakes were made."
Since it's not practical to list every single study about the effect of caffeine on children, we'll sometimes use passive voice in an attempt to generalize the subject of the sentence.
So, how can you avoid passive voice but still get your point across? First, think critically about what you need to say. Then, start rearranging the words.
Solving the First Person Problem:
"The ways Americans use coffee to build a sense of community will be discussed."
Into this: "Americans use coffee to build a sense of community." We might follow up by listing the ways in which they do so. We've avoided both first person AND passive voice. Remember, your reader knows you are the voice behind the paper - you don't need to announce it in writing.
Identifying the Specific Subject:
"It has been shown that coffee is actually healthy to drink."
Identify who conducted the research; that person(s) should be your subject: "A 2005 study by Dr. Jane Smith at Hawaii State College shows that coffee actually has health benefits." or "Smith, in her 2005 study, states that coffee is a healthy part of one's diet."
What if you cannot identify the specific studies? Well, you probably shouldn't include in your paper evidence that you cannot document specifically.
Getting Over Generalizations:
"Much has been done to study the effects of caffeine on children."
In this situation, you need to be creative with your writing and think in terms of more than one sentence. Since you cannot possibly list all of the caffeine studies, you need to be selective and thoughtful in your phrasing. For example:
As you see, we might need a paragraph to stay in the active voice. While active voice often results in more concise language, in this case using active voice compels us to provide an example that strengthens our argument. In short, the active voice prevents us from over-generalizing our writing.
As you complete your seminar papers this week, devote a proofreading session to identifying passive voice in your draft and converting instances of passive into active. Your paper will be clearer, more concise, and more convincing. Here are some more resources on passive voice that might help you as a you work:
Purdue OWL's Handout - This short handout lists examples of passive verb tenses. Continue to the next handout to see examples of active voice.
Passive Voice from The Writing Center at UNC-Chapel Hill - this is an excellent and thorough resource that defines the passive voice, clears confusion about the passive voice, explains why passive voice is often unsuitable for academic papers, and offers plenty of good examples.
Thank you for reading, and happy writing!
How often have we heard this statement from politicians, celebrities, and business figures? Did you not find these admissions of wrongdoing at least slightly irritating? If so, have you stopped to think why that may be? The statement, "mistakes were made," gives the impression that an apology is hiding in there, but we can't really figure out who's owning up to these "mistakes." Who made the mistakes? Gnomes? Probably not. Mistakes were made by someone. Someone made mistakes.
The above is one example of the often problematic passive voice. At its worst, we use the passive voice, either consciously or inadvertently, to avoid assigning or taking responsibility for an action. More often, however, especially in academic writing, we find ourselves using passive voice in the following situations:
- We need to avoid using first person:
"The ways Americans use coffee to build a sense of community will be discussed."As you well know, the academic world generally frowns upon the use of first person in research papers, particularly in history and other social science fields. As a result, that pesky passive voice creeps in when you are communicating your actions.
- We're not really sure what or whom is the subject of the sentence:
"It has been shown that coffee is actually healthy to drink."This sentence is sneaky - we might not notice the passive voice because the "meat" of the sentence - the part that tells us coffee is healthy - distracts us from the passive voice. This use of passive is problematic not only because the subject is vague but also because it refers to evidence. If you do not clearly identify the source of that evidence, you diminish the validity of your argument.
- We're stating generalizations:
Since it's not practical to list every single study about the effect of caffeine on children, we'll sometimes use passive voice in an attempt to generalize the subject of the sentence.
So, how can you avoid passive voice but still get your point across? First, think critically about what you need to say. Then, start rearranging the words.
Solving the First Person Problem:
"The ways Americans use coffee to build a sense of community will be discussed."
Into this: "Americans use coffee to build a sense of community." We might follow up by listing the ways in which they do so. We've avoided both first person AND passive voice. Remember, your reader knows you are the voice behind the paper - you don't need to announce it in writing.
Identifying the Specific Subject:
"It has been shown that coffee is actually healthy to drink."
Identify who conducted the research; that person(s) should be your subject: "A 2005 study by Dr. Jane Smith at Hawaii State College shows that coffee actually has health benefits." or "Smith, in her 2005 study, states that coffee is a healthy part of one's diet."
What if you cannot identify the specific studies? Well, you probably shouldn't include in your paper evidence that you cannot document specifically.
Getting Over Generalizations:
"Much has been done to study the effects of caffeine on children."
In this situation, you need to be creative with your writing and think in terms of more than one sentence. Since you cannot possibly list all of the caffeine studies, you need to be selective and thoughtful in your phrasing. For example:
"Numerous studies indicate caffeine's effects on children. For example, in his 1998 study at the University of the World, Dr. Schmoo found that children whose caffeine intake equals that of two cups of coffee actually performed better on standardized math tests than those who avoided caffeine altogether."
As you see, we might need a paragraph to stay in the active voice. While active voice often results in more concise language, in this case using active voice compels us to provide an example that strengthens our argument. In short, the active voice prevents us from over-generalizing our writing.
As you complete your seminar papers this week, devote a proofreading session to identifying passive voice in your draft and converting instances of passive into active. Your paper will be clearer, more concise, and more convincing. Here are some more resources on passive voice that might help you as a you work:
Purdue OWL's Handout - This short handout lists examples of passive verb tenses. Continue to the next handout to see examples of active voice.
Passive Voice from The Writing Center at UNC-Chapel Hill - this is an excellent and thorough resource that defines the passive voice, clears confusion about the passive voice, explains why passive voice is often unsuitable for academic papers, and offers plenty of good examples.
Thank you for reading, and happy writing!
April 18, 2011
Present Your Current Research Project at the MALS Mini-Conference and Social!
You may remember participating in a mini-conference during your time in MALS 5100. This semester, we are inviting all currently enrolled MALS students to present research! This is a fantastic opportunity to give your papers a "test drive" in front of an audience of your peers. Not only will you gain experience speaking publicly about your work, but you will also field questions from the audience that could prove invaluable as you complete your research and revise the final draft of your paper.
This semester's mini-conference will take place on Tuesday, April 26, 2011 at 6:00 PM in in the D.P. Culp Center, Meeting Room 1.
If you would like to present research, here's what to do next:
So, get cracking on those presentations, and I look forward to seeing you there! Refreshments will be served!
This semester's mini-conference will take place on Tuesday, April 26, 2011 at 6:00 PM in in the D.P. Culp Center, Meeting Room 1.
- Contact Dr. LeRoy-Frazier for complete presentation guidelines and to register for a slot no later than 5:00 PM, Friday, April 22.
- Prepare a 20 minute presentation of your current interdisicplinary research project (about 7-9 written pages). This can be a portion of your thesis or capstone project support paper, your MALS 5400 research paper, or your paper for another core courses or a guided elective.
- Practice reading your selection, and get ready to present!
So, get cracking on those presentations, and I look forward to seeing you there! Refreshments will be served!
April 10, 2011
The MALS Writing Consultant is Now on Facebook!
In an effort to keep you informed on writing-related issues in a convenient manner, I've created a fan page on Facebook. If you have a Facebook account, you can choose to "like" this page and receive notifications about my office hours, links to interesting information about writing and interdisciplinary scholarship, and updates on happenings in the world of MALS. You can also leave comments and questions and share helpful writing links you've come across during your own writing experiences!
Visit my Facebook page now by clicking here! at this address:
Happy Writing!
Kit
Visit my Facebook page now by clicking here! at this address:
Happy Writing!
Kit
April 4, 2011
Seedy Thoughts
It's April, and most of you are in the early stages of drafting this semester's biggie paper. It's time to take all of that research, reading, and planning and transform your efforts into a masterpiece of interdisciplinary scholarship. Okay, maybe not a masterpiece, but certainly you intend to write an organized, fully-developed analysis and/or argument.
If writer's block is ever going to rear its ugly head, it's probably now. You know you're ready to start writing cohesive paragraphs that will eventually come together into a whole paper. Except that you're not. The ideas are in your head, but you just can't seem to get them on paper.
But, if you wait until you have a great sentence in your head before you start writing, you'll be waiting a long time. Why? Because complete, compelling, and cohesive thoughts almost never go straight from your brain to your fingertips. Instead, even the best ideas first get to paper in an immature form, much like a prize-winning tomato plant first hits the soil as a tiny seed. You have to plant this "seedy thought" before you can fully develop on paper the idea that you know is floating around in your head.
As Michael C. Munger states in his essay 10 Tips on How to Write Less Badly, "Don't worry that what you write is not very good and isn't immediately usable. You get ideas when you write; you don't just write down ideas." Your first few rounds of writing might be ugly, but they are essential phases in the learning process. In short, you have to write first to articulate your thoughts to yourself and only after that can you effectively write to communicate your ideas to others.
So, if you're struggling to write anything because you can't even seem to form an intelligible sentence, perhaps the problem is that you're waiting until you have a complete thought before putting anything on the page. No matter how incomplete, grammatically incorrect, or unintelligible that thought may currently be, jot down whatever you can get out at the time - that seed of thought will be there, ready to cultivate into a strong point to communicate to your reader, once you've had a chance to fully articulate your idea to yourself.
If writer's block is ever going to rear its ugly head, it's probably now. You know you're ready to start writing cohesive paragraphs that will eventually come together into a whole paper. Except that you're not. The ideas are in your head, but you just can't seem to get them on paper.
But, if you wait until you have a great sentence in your head before you start writing, you'll be waiting a long time. Why? Because complete, compelling, and cohesive thoughts almost never go straight from your brain to your fingertips. Instead, even the best ideas first get to paper in an immature form, much like a prize-winning tomato plant first hits the soil as a tiny seed. You have to plant this "seedy thought" before you can fully develop on paper the idea that you know is floating around in your head.
As Michael C. Munger states in his essay 10 Tips on How to Write Less Badly, "Don't worry that what you write is not very good and isn't immediately usable. You get ideas when you write; you don't just write down ideas." Your first few rounds of writing might be ugly, but they are essential phases in the learning process. In short, you have to write first to articulate your thoughts to yourself and only after that can you effectively write to communicate your ideas to others.
So, if you're struggling to write anything because you can't even seem to form an intelligible sentence, perhaps the problem is that you're waiting until you have a complete thought before putting anything on the page. No matter how incomplete, grammatically incorrect, or unintelligible that thought may currently be, jot down whatever you can get out at the time - that seed of thought will be there, ready to cultivate into a strong point to communicate to your reader, once you've had a chance to fully articulate your idea to yourself.
March 13, 2011
Daylight Savings?
Well, here it is, about 7:30 PM and dusk is only just setting in. I would feel comfortable driving with no headlights. I'm still, after four years, not used to daylight savings time beginning in mid-March, but here we are, meeting the first big milestone on the road to spring (if you don't count Groundhog Day, but really - who does?).
We always lament our "lost" hour of sleep when we spring forward. But how many of us actually lose an hour of sleep? I would bet my life savings and maybe a few cats that I am not the only one who simply woke up today an hour later than I normally would on a Sunday. If I lost an hour, I didn't notice while passed out in my cozy bed.
In fact, I prefer to look at the transition to daylight savings time as a the day I sleep in an extra hour.
Which brings me to my point for today's post: let's all try and go against the grain in our outlook a little more often. Instead of assuming a conventional, predictable view on a topic, force yourself to refocus your mental lens. When we allow ourselves to be creative with our perspectives, we have a greater opportunity to discover new things about an issue and a better chance of finding solutions to a problem.
In liberal studies, we place a lot of value in learning how to learn; one way we do that is by realizing the potential of a fresh perspective.
We always lament our "lost" hour of sleep when we spring forward. But how many of us actually lose an hour of sleep? I would bet my life savings and maybe a few cats that I am not the only one who simply woke up today an hour later than I normally would on a Sunday. If I lost an hour, I didn't notice while passed out in my cozy bed.
In fact, I prefer to look at the transition to daylight savings time as a the day I sleep in an extra hour.
Which brings me to my point for today's post: let's all try and go against the grain in our outlook a little more often. Instead of assuming a conventional, predictable view on a topic, force yourself to refocus your mental lens. When we allow ourselves to be creative with our perspectives, we have a greater opportunity to discover new things about an issue and a better chance of finding solutions to a problem.
In liberal studies, we place a lot of value in learning how to learn; one way we do that is by realizing the potential of a fresh perspective.
March 4, 2011
Hanging the Picture, Part II
I finished Hanging the Picture, Part I by stating that you, as an interdisciplinary writer, need to choose a topic narrow enough to analyze and discuss thoroughly without digging yourself into a disciplinary hole. In other words, it's important to balance focus with interdisciplinarity in your writing. If this sounds difficult, don't worry - even the most specific topic can benefit from an interdisciplinary approach. It just takes some strategic planning. Fortunately, there are two elements of the writing process that will help you out here: the working thesis and the research prospectus.
As stated in the accessible and handy MALS Writing Center, a working thesis "is a proposed answer to a focused research question" and "the main point of your argument that you develop throughout your paper." A working thesis is like the captain of your paper: you should refer to it frequently to make sure you're on the right track for your mission. It guides your decisions for choosing evidence from the appropriate disciplines and articulating your stance on an issue, which makes it helpful (if not vital) for developing an outline and identifying holes in your argument. A good working thesis not only answers the "So What ?" question but also provides you with direction and focus.
The other essential tool for keeping you in an interdisciplinary frame of mind is the research prospectus. A prospectus is something like a business plan for your paper, and should include the following:
If the thought of writing a paper about your paper - especially when you have three seminar papers, a job, a house to clean, etc. - makes you want to reach through the screen and give me a noogie, I can understand. But TRUST me - forcing yourself to think about these things listed above early in the writing process will prevent you from wasting time and energy later!
With a solid working thesis and a thoughtful research prospectus, you'll be well on your way to an insightful, interdisciplinary discussion of even the most complex topic. That's what makes MALS so fun - you get to examine (or reexamine) topics in a whole new way. The trick is to always remain aware of the direction you are taking in your writing and research.
As stated in the accessible and handy MALS Writing Center, a working thesis "is a proposed answer to a focused research question" and "the main point of your argument that you develop throughout your paper." A working thesis is like the captain of your paper: you should refer to it frequently to make sure you're on the right track for your mission. It guides your decisions for choosing evidence from the appropriate disciplines and articulating your stance on an issue, which makes it helpful (if not vital) for developing an outline and identifying holes in your argument. A good working thesis not only answers the "So What ?" question but also provides you with direction and focus.
The other essential tool for keeping you in an interdisciplinary frame of mind is the research prospectus. A prospectus is something like a business plan for your paper, and should include the following:
- A brief description and introduction of your topic
- A paragraph or two stating what you already know about your topic
- Your primary research question; that is, what question are you answering with your....
- Working thesis - a tentative answer to your research question
- An outline of the evidence and types of evidence you plan to use to develop your thesis, including:
- A description of specific preselected sources containing the evidence including the disciplinary (or interdisciplinary) approach these sources represent
- A statement of other types of sources you plan to consult to develop your thesis
- A description of sources that present a dissenting or anomalous argument to your working thesis
- Acknowledgment of any known or foreseen counter-arguments or anomalies to your argument
- Justification of your proposed argument's significance (a.k.a. the "So What?" test)- explain why your working thesis is interesting and helpful to your scholarly community.
If the thought of writing a paper about your paper - especially when you have three seminar papers, a job, a house to clean, etc. - makes you want to reach through the screen and give me a noogie, I can understand. But TRUST me - forcing yourself to think about these things listed above early in the writing process will prevent you from wasting time and energy later!
With a solid working thesis and a thoughtful research prospectus, you'll be well on your way to an insightful, interdisciplinary discussion of even the most complex topic. That's what makes MALS so fun - you get to examine (or reexamine) topics in a whole new way. The trick is to always remain aware of the direction you are taking in your writing and research.
February 14, 2011
Hanging the Picture, Part I
Last time I wrote about finding ideas for interdisciplinary writing topics by seeking out in complex problems those questions that have the potential to spark a worthwhile discussion, or "finding the studs."
Let's go back to the literal wall for a second. Say you've found the studs and chosen the general area of the wall where you want to hang your picture. What now? Well, you need some more information, right? You'll certainly want to consider the weight of the picture. If it's relatively light, you can use only one stud. If it's a particularly large or heavy picture, you may need to use two or more studs to hang your picture well. Underestimate the weight and your picture might fall off the wall. Overestimate and you've just poked unnecessary holes in the wall.
As writers, we need to remain conscious of the scope of a project when we choose a topic. It's important to make sure that your topic allows you to develop a working thesis that you can effectively argue in a single paper. If you choose too broad a topic, your paper will lack direction and you'll be so busy trying to cover the issue that you end up writing a whole lot that actually argues very little. Narrow your topic too much for the assignment, and you'll struggle to find adequate evidence to flesh out an argument.
You are in MALS because you are interested in an issue that is enormously complex, hence the interdisciplinary approach. Chances are you don't have trouble keeping your topic broad enough, even if you're working on your project or thesis. More than likely, you repeatedly try to tackle too much in a single paper.
This is understandable. But don't let the complexity of a problem bully you into thinking that you have to address every layer of it in one paper. Instead, center your working thesis around one or two points that you can argue well. By offering some insight about one segment of a highly complex, systematic problem, you will benefit yourself and other scholars by providing a building block in the efforts to understand and address the issue as a whole.
So don't worry that you haven't hit every single point! You wouldn't expect to have the time, patience, or lack of sanity to take away the drywall, trace every single wire to its source, and analyze each square inch of a wall before hanging a picture, would you?
It's better to discuss a specific problem thoroughly than to discuss a generalized topic weakly.
Here's another way this can get tricky, though: you need to narrow your topic without digging yourself into a disciplinary hole. Hanging the Picture: Part II will offer tips for balancing focus with interdisciplinarity in your writing, with particular emphasis on developing a working thesis.
Oh, and Happy Valentines Day!
Kit
Let's go back to the literal wall for a second. Say you've found the studs and chosen the general area of the wall where you want to hang your picture. What now? Well, you need some more information, right? You'll certainly want to consider the weight of the picture. If it's relatively light, you can use only one stud. If it's a particularly large or heavy picture, you may need to use two or more studs to hang your picture well. Underestimate the weight and your picture might fall off the wall. Overestimate and you've just poked unnecessary holes in the wall.
As writers, we need to remain conscious of the scope of a project when we choose a topic. It's important to make sure that your topic allows you to develop a working thesis that you can effectively argue in a single paper. If you choose too broad a topic, your paper will lack direction and you'll be so busy trying to cover the issue that you end up writing a whole lot that actually argues very little. Narrow your topic too much for the assignment, and you'll struggle to find adequate evidence to flesh out an argument.
You are in MALS because you are interested in an issue that is enormously complex, hence the interdisciplinary approach. Chances are you don't have trouble keeping your topic broad enough, even if you're working on your project or thesis. More than likely, you repeatedly try to tackle too much in a single paper.
This is understandable. But don't let the complexity of a problem bully you into thinking that you have to address every layer of it in one paper. Instead, center your working thesis around one or two points that you can argue well. By offering some insight about one segment of a highly complex, systematic problem, you will benefit yourself and other scholars by providing a building block in the efforts to understand and address the issue as a whole.
So don't worry that you haven't hit every single point! You wouldn't expect to have the time, patience, or lack of sanity to take away the drywall, trace every single wire to its source, and analyze each square inch of a wall before hanging a picture, would you?
It's better to discuss a specific problem thoroughly than to discuss a generalized topic weakly.
Here's another way this can get tricky, though: you need to narrow your topic without digging yourself into a disciplinary hole. Hanging the Picture: Part II will offer tips for balancing focus with interdisciplinarity in your writing, with particular emphasis on developing a working thesis.
Oh, and Happy Valentines Day!
Kit
January 28, 2011
Finding the Studs
Imagine, if you will, that you have just moved into a trendy refurbished loft in downtown wherever. The location is amazing - it's above a hip Canadian Fusion restaurant and next to the world-renowned Interactive Theremin Museum. It has a gorgeous view of a crystal clear river. The building is over 100 years old and, according to the landlord, it was once a speakeasy. On one side of the apartment, there is a large blank wall. You have a framed portrait of your grandmother that you need hang on this wall. The wall has clearly been re-coated with drywall, even though it backs up to the theremin museum, and the restaurant's hood vents behind the drywall create a couple of column-like protrusions.
As you stare at the wall, you remember your landlord warned you to be careful, because the wiring in the building is a little finicky and he's surprised no one's blown up the whole place, and that if you damage anything in the apartment you'll lose your $4,000 deposit.
You have a bit of a problem here, don't you? You have this picture to hang (and you must hang it up because Grandma Gertrude is visiting soon and she made it clear that your inheritance depended on the portrait's being in a prominent location of your home) but you don't have a clue where to mount it to the wall. So many factors intertwine to make this giant wall a system of complex wires, all with another unique system depending on their proper functioning. Some wires lead to a restaurant that needs them to power the stove and the flat screen TV at the bar, which they depend on to sell food and drink. Others lead to the Theremin museum, and still others lead to your baseboard heat (it's January).
You get the idea: this wall is actually the interface of an overwhelmingly complex system of physical, social, and even fiscal factors. Still, despite the unknown arrangement of the wires, you need to hang this picture. You have a few options:
This scenario characterizes many complex topics that interdisciplinary scholars address in their research. The complex relationships among many social, historical, and environmental conditions shape an topic (for example, downtown revitalization efforts). Similarly, the complex relationships between the wires that power the building and the conditions of several external influences (granny and the landlord) shape the system of our wall. If we want to hang the picture safely, we need to consider the building in its entirety and then look for the best area to mount the frame to the wall. If we want to move toward a successful downtown revitalization, we need to consider the system as a whole and then address the underlying relationships using multiple disciplinary perspectives.
That said, most issues are so complex that it's impossible to attempt to address every contributing factor in one program of study, much less one paper. While it's important to realize the complexity of your topic, it's equally important to find the points within the system where there's an opportunity to expand knowledge about part of the system - knowledge that can later serve to strengthen understanding of the system as a whole.
As you move forward in your program of study, look at complex problems not as impenetrable walls, but as multilayered systems presenting many opportunities for further study. Even with the most complex problems, there are relationships among complicating factors where you can find a solid opportunity to build an argument. By focusing on one or two elements of a complex problem and utilizing the multidisciplinary approaches best suited to each respective element, you can do two rather paradoxical things at once: effectively address a complex issue and generate a solid focus for your paper.
Find the studs, and start hanging that portrait.
Next time, I'll elaborate on ways to approach complexity as you begin the writing process.
As you stare at the wall, you remember your landlord warned you to be careful, because the wiring in the building is a little finicky and he's surprised no one's blown up the whole place, and that if you damage anything in the apartment you'll lose your $4,000 deposit.
You have a bit of a problem here, don't you? You have this picture to hang (and you must hang it up because Grandma Gertrude is visiting soon and she made it clear that your inheritance depended on the portrait's being in a prominent location of your home) but you don't have a clue where to mount it to the wall. So many factors intertwine to make this giant wall a system of complex wires, all with another unique system depending on their proper functioning. Some wires lead to a restaurant that needs them to power the stove and the flat screen TV at the bar, which they depend on to sell food and drink. Others lead to the Theremin museum, and still others lead to your baseboard heat (it's January).
You get the idea: this wall is actually the interface of an overwhelmingly complex system of physical, social, and even fiscal factors. Still, despite the unknown arrangement of the wires, you need to hang this picture. You have a few options:
- Assume the risk of nailing into the wall is too great and accept that your twerpy little brother will get your share of the inheritance
- Ignore the complexity, thinking, "It's too complicated to even think about! As long as the picture's up who cares what's attached to them?" (an hour later, the Theremin museum shuts down and the restaurant tosses 200 pounds of spoiled salmon)
- Find the studs - take the time to consider the impact of your picture-hanging and seek out those points on the wall that have the potential to hold the weight of Granny's portrait
This scenario characterizes many complex topics that interdisciplinary scholars address in their research. The complex relationships among many social, historical, and environmental conditions shape an topic (for example, downtown revitalization efforts). Similarly, the complex relationships between the wires that power the building and the conditions of several external influences (granny and the landlord) shape the system of our wall. If we want to hang the picture safely, we need to consider the building in its entirety and then look for the best area to mount the frame to the wall. If we want to move toward a successful downtown revitalization, we need to consider the system as a whole and then address the underlying relationships using multiple disciplinary perspectives.
That said, most issues are so complex that it's impossible to attempt to address every contributing factor in one program of study, much less one paper. While it's important to realize the complexity of your topic, it's equally important to find the points within the system where there's an opportunity to expand knowledge about part of the system - knowledge that can later serve to strengthen understanding of the system as a whole.
As you move forward in your program of study, look at complex problems not as impenetrable walls, but as multilayered systems presenting many opportunities for further study. Even with the most complex problems, there are relationships among complicating factors where you can find a solid opportunity to build an argument. By focusing on one or two elements of a complex problem and utilizing the multidisciplinary approaches best suited to each respective element, you can do two rather paradoxical things at once: effectively address a complex issue and generate a solid focus for your paper.
Find the studs, and start hanging that portrait.
Next time, I'll elaborate on ways to approach complexity as you begin the writing process.
January 10, 2011
One Word for Interdisciplinary Writing in 2011
Forgive me for stating the obvious, but here we are about a week into 2011. Over the past week, I have spent some time thinking about how to kick off the new year, blogospherically speaking. Given the nature of my blog - writing issues for MALS students - it has been a bit of a challenge. The event of a new calendar year does not carry the same symbolic sense of renewal for a graduate student as it may for the average person; your milestones are set and met in terms of papers finished and semesters completed.
That said, I'm going to adopt a New Year's-based theme to begin 2011 and take the "one word" challenge. I am borrowing this idea from Katie Pozzuoli, author of Within Reach (who, in full disclosure, happens to be my cousin). She writes of her resolution to choose "one word" that will carry a special significance during the upcoming year; the idea being that this word will shape the way she approaches her actions and decisions over the next year, in every aspect of her life.
It's an interesting and refreshing alternative to a New Years resolution, and as I read Pozzouli's post, I thought to myself, "How might this "One Word" idea apply to interdisciplinary writers? What word might I suggest to MALS students that could adequately inform the mighty task of writing across several disciplines?" At first I dismissed the idea of applying the One-Word challenge to this blog. Interdisciplinary scholarship seemed far too complex to risk oversimplifying with a one-word characterization. Then it dawned on me.....
Complex.
What word better describes a MALS program of study and reminds us of why an interdisciplinary approach to our chosen areas of scholarship is necessary? Is it not the complexity of our chosen subjects, coupled with a recognition that a single disciplinary approach might not adequately produce useful knowledge about them, that prompted us to become interdisciplinary scholars in the first place?
Learning to accept complexity as a positive condition of interdisciplinary scholarship is key to getting the most out of your MALS experience. In fact, learning to actively seek out complexities in situations that on the surface seem straightforward can lead to some pretty exciting research topics! Recognizing complexity in your chosen area of study and meeting it as a friendly challenge rather than a frustrating roadblock to understanding will free you to concentrate on creating new knowledge about your interests.
I'd like to devote the next few blog entries to a mini-serious about the condition of complexity in interdisciplinary writing. As you enjoy the last few days of winter break, take a few minutes to think about complexity in your program of study. What historical events, cultural influences, or geographic conditions have contributed to your area of interest? How have they worked together to shape how your subject exists or operates today? As you consider these factors, try not to let the layers of complexity snowball and overwhelm you; rather, concentrate on why you decided to pursue your program of study in the first place. Chances are your interest is a result of the fascinating complexities that make your subject worth studying.
Throughout January and part of February, I'll be writing about ways to approach the inherent complexity in interdisciplinary scholarship in terms of writing, so check the blog frequently. Even better, follow my blog! I also encourage you to post comments with questions about complexity in interdisciplinary writing.
Enjoy the remainder of winter break, and Happy New Year!!!
That said, I'm going to adopt a New Year's-based theme to begin 2011 and take the "one word" challenge. I am borrowing this idea from Katie Pozzuoli, author of Within Reach (who, in full disclosure, happens to be my cousin). She writes of her resolution to choose "one word" that will carry a special significance during the upcoming year; the idea being that this word will shape the way she approaches her actions and decisions over the next year, in every aspect of her life.
It's an interesting and refreshing alternative to a New Years resolution, and as I read Pozzouli's post, I thought to myself, "How might this "One Word" idea apply to interdisciplinary writers? What word might I suggest to MALS students that could adequately inform the mighty task of writing across several disciplines?" At first I dismissed the idea of applying the One-Word challenge to this blog. Interdisciplinary scholarship seemed far too complex to risk oversimplifying with a one-word characterization. Then it dawned on me.....
Complex.
What word better describes a MALS program of study and reminds us of why an interdisciplinary approach to our chosen areas of scholarship is necessary? Is it not the complexity of our chosen subjects, coupled with a recognition that a single disciplinary approach might not adequately produce useful knowledge about them, that prompted us to become interdisciplinary scholars in the first place?
Learning to accept complexity as a positive condition of interdisciplinary scholarship is key to getting the most out of your MALS experience. In fact, learning to actively seek out complexities in situations that on the surface seem straightforward can lead to some pretty exciting research topics! Recognizing complexity in your chosen area of study and meeting it as a friendly challenge rather than a frustrating roadblock to understanding will free you to concentrate on creating new knowledge about your interests.
I'd like to devote the next few blog entries to a mini-serious about the condition of complexity in interdisciplinary writing. As you enjoy the last few days of winter break, take a few minutes to think about complexity in your program of study. What historical events, cultural influences, or geographic conditions have contributed to your area of interest? How have they worked together to shape how your subject exists or operates today? As you consider these factors, try not to let the layers of complexity snowball and overwhelm you; rather, concentrate on why you decided to pursue your program of study in the first place. Chances are your interest is a result of the fascinating complexities that make your subject worth studying.
Throughout January and part of February, I'll be writing about ways to approach the inherent complexity in interdisciplinary scholarship in terms of writing, so check the blog frequently. Even better, follow my blog! I also encourage you to post comments with questions about complexity in interdisciplinary writing.
Enjoy the remainder of winter break, and Happy New Year!!!
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