Milk Duds, Anticipation, and a Bleeding Thesis

The next installment in the MALS student guest blogger project comes from Kari Roueche. Kari, whose concentration is in Archival Studies, is finishing up her program this semester and is currently working hard on her culminating project, which features a Web site built around a family archive. Kari has become quite a prolific writer above and beyond her coursework, presenting a paper at the 2012 Regional Graduate Liberal Studies Conference, held here at ETSU last April, and documenting her archives practicum experience at the LDS Church History Library and Archives in Salt Lake City through her own blog Archiventures. Kari has been gracious enough to share some of the advice she’s received that has had the greatest impact on her as a writer:

The first good piece of writing advice I remember receiving was when I was still in high school, but it wasn’t from a teacher. My friend Kathy’s Mom had gone back to school to finish her bachelor’s degree in public relations. I had her read several of my essays and stories. When she returned one of them, I remember her saying that just when she was wondering about something in my story, the next paragraph answered her musing. She told me that the key to writing is anticipating your reader’s questions and answering them at the right time.

During my freshman year in college I had a graduate student for an English teacher. Her name was Ruth Ann Porter and I have never forgotten her. One of the things I learned from Ruth Ann about non-fiction writing was never to edit a quotation or passage in a way that supports your argument if it changes the original meaning. You want to gain your reader’s trust early on; not lose it. For fiction, she stressed writing for all of the senses so that your reader can imagine themselves in the character’s situation. How does something feel? How does it smell? If a situation was hard, what made it hard? Don’t just write that it was hard. Ruth Ann gave our class tools that we could use and that made writing enjoyable. Also, she loved Milk Duds.

The next piece of advice is advice I have given, rather than received. I noticed during my first semester of grad school, that every essay with a good grade had a margin note on it that said, “good intro” below the first or second paragraph. I learned from this that it is important to put your best writing upfront. If your introduction is interesting, your reader will stay interested. I used to tell myself that a day in which I wrote my title page, my reference list, and my introduction was a good writing day and I shared this tip whenever a classmate asked me for help.

The last piece of advice came to me through a talented writing consultant name Kit Hayes. When she was assisting me with my 5400 seminar paper she told me that I was bleeding little bits of thesis for pages into my essay. Having courage to state a thesis for a 7-8 page paper is hard enough, but boldly stating a thesis for a 20-plus page paper seriously takes guts. The real advice here is that it is worth having an impartial reader edit your paper to help you rustle up those wandering bits of thesis statement so that your argument can be clear and concise.

There you go! Advice from three experts and one well-meaning student. I hope some if it will be useful.

Oh, Kari, you flatter me so, but I think the moral of the story here is that we spend our whole lives becoming better writers, and we don’t do it alone. When we’re caught up in the thick of that 20-page seminar paper, it‘s important to remember our past moments of triumph. Recalling the words of those mentors who have contributed to our success as writers encourages us to keep pushing through. While perfection is impossible, progress is inevitable so long as we remember our achievements even as we learn from our mistakes.

A "National Punctuation Day"? (Who knew!)

Well, I hope you'll excuse this brief interlude between student guest posts.....but I cannot keep my blog-equivalent-of-a-mouth shut about this! Today is NATIONAL PUNCTUATION DAY!
I am elated to see punctuation getting the respect it deserves. After all, punctuation is as crucial to clear, effective, and professional writing as any word or phrase. We've all read something similar to this:

Source: Motifake,  http://www.motifake.com/image/demotivational-poster/1202/stop-clubbing-baby-seals-stop-clubbing-baby-seals-punctuatio-demotivational-posters-1328522015.jpg 

One misplaced, omitted, or superfluous punctuation mark can derail the meaning of an otherwise superb essay. So, I encourage to take a moment in your writing today to give a little love to the punctuation in your paper. If you, like many writers, struggle with comma usage, take a few minutes to review a good comma tutorial. Want to make an impact with your words? Learn when to use - but not overuse - the dash. Not sure whether to hyphenate "super-duper"? Remember that dictionaries do still exist.

Can't get enough of punctuation? You can enter this contest from the National Punctuation Day council. The challenge is to write a clever, three-sentence paragraph that correctly incorporates 13 different punctuation marks, and winners have some punctuation-related swag heading their way! (It's tougher than it looks... I'm trying this one myself!)

So, whether you're bidding for question-mark-shaped candy or revising that MALS 5100 essay, pay punctuation its due respect!

P.S. > I know you're just dying to know what tops my punctuation list. Well, the answer is oozing throughout the above post... I just love the exclamation point! Why? Because it always means something dramatic. Sure, at times writers overuse it and render their passage the literary equivalent of a used-car ad, but it's oh-so satisfying to conclude with that SHIFT+1 movement! Besides, who doesn't add a little flourish with the left hand when typing an "! "? Write on!!

No Such Thing as Useless Knowledge

Last week I addressed the demons of doubt we’ll all face sooner or later during our MALS careers.  This week I’ve asked current MALS student Valerie Bodell to share her thoughts on how interdisciplinary graduate study has proven valuable both to her topic of interest and her outlook on life. Valerie is in her third year in MALS, and she’s also a full-time ETSU employee. Her program of study concentrates on the role that comics, as a form of literature, play in forming cultural and personal identity. She has presented several papers at graduate liberal studies conferences during the last few years, and presented at The Graphic Novel Conference in Oxford, UK earlier this month:

Rabbit Race by Valerie Bodell

 A Few Interdisciplinary Thoughts

  First of all let me say that panic and confusion are normal.  In addition, elements that crop up throughout your interdisciplinary studies that seem crazy and not applicable to your situation will probably turn out to be the valuable tools, advice, or points of view you should keep in mind.  Also realize that we’re here to learn.  Since we don’t know everything - and some days it feels as if we don’t know much of anything - we’re going to make mistakes, lots of them.  That’s normal too. 

Another characteristic of interdisciplinary studies is that everything connects to everything else.  Therefore there can be no such thing as useless knowledge.  Now I want to take a moment to applaud my fellow students who are pursuing high ideals and socially conscious studies.  That recognition out of the way, I can tell you that my topic is creating a comics autobiography.  Is this a frivolous goal?  No.  If your topic interests you, go for it.  You’ll find that it connects to the larger picture of humanity sooner or later. For example, I learned that comics can help victims address trauma.  Further, as I consider identity in our modern, electronic world, incidents like the Colorado shooting at the Batman movie strike me as role playing fantasies gone wrong.   Can exploring the enduring allure of comics like the Dark Knight series, and fantasy in many online role playing games, illuminate how most people separate electronic realities from physical realities?  Is the Colorado shooting incident about male identity?
.... Valerie Bodell, MALS Student

Giraffe, Tree, Lion by Valerie Bodell

One of the greatest powers of interdisciplinary thinking is that it conditions you to make such connections. Interdisciplinary scholarship celebrates knowledge and recognizes the value in all forms of creativity, not just for their own sake but as tools to help us better understand both the natural world and the human experience. I encourage you to embrace your MALS journey and always to look for ways that your interests fit into to the big picture.

A Minute for MALS Students

For the past two years, the only voice in this blog has been that of yours truly, the esteemed MALS Online Writing Consultant. I am genuinely excited to say that that's about to change! During the coming weeks, a few current ETSU MALS students will be sharing their thoughts on graduate school, writing, and interdisciplinary scholarship. That's right - you'll get a break from my musings and hear from students you may know already.

I think you'll find their reflections to be interesting, helpful, and easy to identify with if you too are pursuing a degree in graduate liberal studies.

As much as I enjoy writing MALS in a Minute, I believe that when more of our peers enter the discussion, this blog can only become richer and more informative. It's simply the interdisciplinary thing to do. So, if you're a graduate liberal studies student at ETSU or otherwise, or if you are an alumn of a graduate liberal studies program, I'd love to hear from you too! Those interested in writing a guest post can contact me at malswritingconsultant@gmail.com.

Stay tuned - our first student's post will go up later this week!

Putting down the pen for a brief spell. 

How's This for an Answer?

For my Fall 2012 welcome post, I didn’t want to write another page on the beauties and challenges of interdisciplinary graduate study. I'm going to let my previous first-posts-of-the-semester do that. Instead, I wanted to address a situation (problem?) that I am willing to bet all of you have encountered at least once before, during, and, if you're a MALS graduate, after your time as a graduate liberal studies student. Here's how it goes: 

You: “Yes, I’m in grad school at ETSU. 

Family Member/Friend/Employer/Guy in Seat 4G  (Henceforth known as “Them”): “Oh, what are you studying?” 

You: (pause while you decide what to say) “I’m getting a Master of Arts in Liberal Studies.” 

Them: Confused, Inquisitive, or Raised-Eyebrow Facial Expression 

You: “It’s an interdisciplinary, self-designed degree, but what I’m really studying is (insert concentration or list two disciplines here)” 

Them: “Okay. What do you plan to do with that degree?” 

You: Explain your program of study, being sure to explain that the degree does not involve lying under trees, staring at the sun, and philosophizing all day. 

Them: “Sounds interesting. Good luck.” All the while looking ever more confused, skeptical, or (the worst) disinterested.

I think this might have been the worst part of being a MALS student, even worse than the gobs of reading I had to do, worse than learning to pronounce the names of French theorists like “Beaudrillard” and “Foucault,” and worse than searching for a parking space at 9:30 on a Tuesday morning. I really hated having to constantly justify the time, money, and energy I was spending on what turned out to be the most difficult and rewarding experience I have ever had (MALS was way harder than any ironman triathlon, in my opinion), not only because it was annoying, but also because these encounters activated that menacing, not to mention false, little voice in my head that said, “yeah, Kit, why are you doing this? No one even knows what a Master of Arts in Liberal Studies is. Why are you working so hard when everyone thinks you’re getting some artsy-fartsy degree that won’t land you a job?”   

And I never seemed to have a completely satisfying answer to the “Why MALS?” question when I found myself in this situation. While I knew I was learning valuable skills in writing, critical thinking, and just “being,” I wasn’t able to put them in words that would fit nicely into the average resume, much less the average elevator speech.

Perhaps this is because there isn’t a single, static answer to the “Why MALS?” question. Part of the beauty of learning at such an intense and deep level is that your answers to “why” are constantly evolving. My answer to "why" one month into MALS would probably have been “because this is the degree that had the archival studies courses.”

"What should I tell "them"?

But now it is 100% different. My answer to “Why MALS?” now is: because MALS forces you to fully engage in the thought processes, reasoning, imagining, and problem-solving that will make you a better critical thinker, writer, worker, and community member, and you might not get that from following a strict, specialized, job-oriented, narrow, disciplinary path.

Let me be clear: there’s nothing wrong with a disciplinary degree. I’m not saying that I’m smarter than anyone with a PhD in biochemistry, nor do I believe Dr. Biochem to be narrow-minded. I am certainly not saying that the Doc is a less worthy human being than I am. What I’m saying is that MALS is designed to force you out of your comfort zone and be the one who considers the whole proverbial wheel instead of being the guy who knows a whole lot about the bearings in the hub. Both are necessary to create the knowledge that will make society better. When you condition your mind to study the whole wheel, you’ll know the right questions to ask of the bearing expert. You’ll also know that the state of the hub has an affect on the condition of the rim. Being able to recognize and act upon systematic relationships is a key skill you’ll develop in MALS.

The point is - and I think this is where we need to do a better job answering the “Why MALS” question when non-MALS people ask it - that the liberal studies student, who chooses an interdisciplinary course of study, holds value to society, employers, and academia equal to the highly specialized student.

So, the next time you find yourself in the “Why MALS” situation, think about giving an answer along these lines:

“I am in MALS because I am interested in doing this, and I see that the best way to learn how to do this is by studying how it fits into the larger picture. I can do this by learning to approach problems associated with this critically, and by using the knowledge of disciplines such as A, B, and Q, I will be better equipped to help develop solutions to the problem. And while I’m at it, I will be writing about complex issues at such a high level that I will have the skills to communicate with professionals not only in the fields of A, B, and Q, but also with community leaders and clients from diverse backgrounds.”

How’s that for an answer? Almost sounds like your MALS degree could land you a job, a community project, or a look of respect and sincere interest from “them.”

As you go through this semester, be ready to address the “Why MALS?” question. Not only to have a brilliant response for the unititiated, but also because you will be required to justify your program of study to your program director and your Graduate Advisory Committee. MALS not only teaches you to think critically, but also requires you to think critically about your approach to your program design.

And while your answers to this question will evolve as you become more familiar with the tenets of interdisciplinary study and research, never let the negative voices get the better of you. I cannot tell you how glad I am that I learned to shut them up. Sure, I wish the rest of the world would give me the same automatic respect they seem to give Dr. Biochem, but I would rather have to continue answering the “Why MALS” question than I would have to be the “them” asking it.

Write on,

Kit

P.S.>  I still wonder if I say Beaudrillard’s name correctly. Readers of this blog may never know. That, my friends, is one of the great advantages of writing.