English
A Struggling Writer Tackles Journalism: Moving from Creative Writing to Journalistic Reporting
Aug 12th
Guest Article by Cesar R. Bustamante, Jr., Multimedia Journalist Follow me on Twitter! @crbustamante
I can’t recall when I started writing but I can recall when I took it seriously. I was in 9th grade history teacher asked the class what each one of us wanted to be when we were older. When it was my turn, I said “writer.” I remember an expression of awe in her face. She paused as if recognizing what I only recognized seconds later that I’d said the right thing to question that didn’t really have a wrong answer. I wrote before then of course More >
OMG TECHNOLOGY IZ KILLING ENGRISH!
Jun 7th
So I was in my composition theory course, and I commented on how pathetic it was that an author claimed technology and the increasingly globalized economy are killing the “academy” (essentially, education). I said it was a bit of a cop-out, that everyone immediately turns to technology as the destroyer of language. The professor commented on how she could see that point and another student jumped in, saying something along the lines of “Kids don’t know how to write or spell full words now because all they do is write LOL” etc. And she was a bit of a bitch More >
It’s vs. Its
Jun 1st
I suppose I never thought it was necessary to do this post before, but after seeing so many of my students not knowing that “its” actually exists and after seeing how many people look up the difference between the two words, it became clear that this is a necessary post. I can see how these two words are confusing, and they will most likely be a bit difficult to remember. However, this should be a pretty easy explanation, so let’s get started.
It’s
“It’s” is a contraction, which means it is a combination of two words that are made into one with More >
It vs. He/She vs. They
Apr 3rd
(For those of you who don’t know, this is Cousin Itt from the Addams Family. )
My boss gave me an awesome article about pronouns and how English does not have a gender-neutral singular pronoun. It’s been a problem that has annoyed grammar-junkies everywhere. In typical conversation, these things don’t matter–and we’ll use the plural “they” as a gender neutral singular noun. In writing, this becomes problematic. You can’t use a plural pronoun to replace a singular noun. But then again, you also don’t want to omit a gender. So what do we do? How do we know what to use?
Why More >
Writing for your Audience (Rhetoric)
Apr 3rd
Hi all! Today’s post will cover writing for your audience. To most–if not all–of you, this will seemingly be no big deal. “I’m a student. My professor has to read my paper. Who cares about writing specifically for him/her?” I bet your professor does, even if he or she doesn’t explicitly say so. You know when professors tell you not to summarize a book? Well, a small part of reason involves the fact that your professor knows the text and he/she is your audience. Hence, by not summarizing the text, you are writing to your audience. Today’s post will cover More >
“I have to Write HOW Many Pages?!” Or, Writing a Master’s Thesis
Oct 1st
Well, I’m in my final semester of my MA; I’ve completed all my coursework and am just working on my final thesis. Depending on your MA program (or in some cases, BA program), you will most likely need to write a final culminating essay to illustrate some sense of mastery in a specific area in your field. This may be from 20 pages (particularly if you are a BA) to 60-80+ pages. You may need to create your own study, conduct research, or–like me–check out many (MANY) books from your library and read. But what does writing a thesis actually More >
Close-Reading and How it Can Help You
Sep 6th
Since I’m now teaching a college composition course, I thought (well, really my husband thought) it would be a good idea to incorporate some of the methods and topics I am teaching to my students to (un)E. So today’s post will reflect the first thing I’ve been teaching to my students—close reading.
Close reading is when you slowly and deliberately take apart a text, word by word, sentence by sentence. This is especially helpful for things you may interpret—poetry, short fiction, etc. However, it is also helpful for essays in which you may struggle to understand the meaning. For my class, More >
Assume vs Presume
Mar 13th
I tend to like using the term “presume” because I think it makes me sound smart or something silly like that. However, I couldn’t help but wonder if what I was doing was actually correct, so I decided to make a post on assume and presume. These words are used almost interchangeably now, but there are still some subtle differences between the two.
Assume
To assume is to essentially presuppose something without actually having proof of it. For example, “I assume you’ll attend the party next week.” There’s no proof that you WILL go to the party next week, but maybe you like parties or More >
Who vs. That
Feb 20th
I don’t know how I never thought of this topic, but luckily a friend thought of it for me, so it’s being made. This is going to be a pretty short and sweet post. These words aren’t too difficult, it’s just that many people don’t know you’re not always supposed to use “that.” So let’s begin!
Who
You use “who” when referring to a single person: “Kelly, who likes ice cream, went to the store.” Notice that the dependent clause (“who likes ice cream”) can be removed from the sentence without changing the meaning.
That
You use “that” when referring to a group or an More >
Sit vs. Set
Feb 13th
I had a request for “sit vs. set,” and to be honest, I’ve never thought about the two words before. I thought everyone knew the difference but apparently not, so here I am, helping you out. I can’t think of anything fun for an introduction, so let’s get right to the material.
Sit
Sit is an intransitive verb, meaning it does not need an object. I can tell a dog “Sit down” and it is a complete sentence. As such, when you say it–hopefully–the dog will plop its little booty down. You don’t need to say “I sit my butt on the More >
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