Topic:Writing Challenges and Resources
There aretwo partsto this discussion.Make sure you address and clearly label both parts (Part A and Part B) in your initial post.
Part A: Writing Challenges
Carefully review all information included in the Unit 5 Reading and then think about the different kinds of writing you do for school, work, or personal purposes. Describe at least two different writing situations from your personal experience, and identify some of the main challenges you face as a writer. Explain how you plan to help yourself overcome these challenges, making sure to reference specific information from this week’s Unit 5 Reading.
Part B: Writing Resources
In the content area of the course, select Academic Tools and then Academic Success Center. Scroll down and select the link for the Writing Center, locate the Writing Center Resources and Webinars area, and take time to explore the many different writing resources and webinars. Select two specific resources that you will use as you focus on strengthening your writing skills. For each resource, list the title, include a brief summary of the resource, and explain why you feel the resource will be especially helpful for you.
Unit 5 Reading There are three items to complete in this Reading area: 1.Reading 2. Challenge Activity 3. Powerful Words for a Powerful Vocabulary I. Reading Effective Writing Although writing mechanics — spelling, word choice, sentence structure, subject/verb agreement, and the like — are certainly important to conveying your messages well, there is more to writing than just using correct English. Everything that is written is done so with a purpose. You write a grocery list, so you do not forget to buy what you need when you go to the store. Memos are written to tell you about something important at work. A diary is written to help the writer keep a record of the author’s thoughts and actions. Becoming an Effective Writer Writing is often a challenging and frustrating experience; however, the ability to express your ideas clearly, carefully, and professionally will be important to you throughout your college career and in your chosen career field as well. You will read about the elements of effective writing and you will learn how to construct powerful paragraphs. You will also visit the university Writing Center and learn about the university's plagiarism policy and how to avoid the pitfalls of plagiarism. Purposes Here is a list of some purposes you might have for writing: Writing Purposes: InformExploreExplain EntertainDescribe a processArgue PersuadeEvaluateAnalyze CompareProblem SolveExpress feelings Share an opinion Determine the Purpose When you are given a writing assignment for school, you should first determine the purpose of the writing (other than to get a passing grade, another logical purpose). Some papers will be designed for simple research, which may include informing, explaining, describing a process, etc. Position papers require that you persuade, argue, and analyze an issue. There can be more than one purpose for a paper. The more focused your purpose; however, the better you can directly communicate your intention to your audience. The Purposes or Modes of Writing Narration ~ Narrative writing focuses on telling a story. Most of you have experienced narrative writing at some point in your lives because story telling is something that is very natural and enjoyable. A narrative account will have a beginning, middle, and an end. Short stories, personal discussions about real-life events, and fictionalized accounts generally use some form of narration. Description ~ Descriptive writing focuses on presenting details. Much of the writing you do involves some sort of description because this is how you paint a picture for your reader to see. Descriptive captions, personal journaling, and poetry generally include description. Comparison and/or Contrast ~ Comparison and/or Contrast writing focuses on relationships. Often, you might describe events or objects in terms of their similarities and/or differences. Quite often, people use the comparative and contrasting method as a means of highlighting how something has changes or evolved over time. Essays, reports, and personal accounts might all include some form of comparison and/or contrast. Cause and Effect ~ Cause and effect writing focuses on the actions or events that produce certain outcomes or effects. A writer can choose to begin with causes and lead to effects or use the opposite approach by beginning with the final outcomes and tracing these outcomes to their root causes. Essays, personal accounts, and many different types of reports are likely to include elements of cause and effect writing. Exposition (Definition and Classification) ~ Expository writing focuses on providing explanations and information. Definition and classification are quite frequently components of expository writing. Much of the written material you use for your college classes would be considered expository writing. Encyclopedia articles, reports, course textbooks, informative essays, and research papers might all use elements of exposition and/or definition. Persuasion ~ Persuasive writing focuses on convincing the reader to accept a personal opinion or stance on an issue. Many newspaper and magazine articles contain elements of persuasive writing. Effective persuasive writing contains many facts and examples that support specific points. Editorials, advertisements, and reviews generally use elements of persuasion. Process Analysis ~ Process analysis writing focuses on the specific steps or actions necessary to create certain final outcomes. Process essays, instruction manuals, and recipes would all use elements of process analysis. Please take time to read the following information regarding Modes of Writing (Purdue University Global Academic Success Center and Writing Center, 2018a). Audience Your writing audience is the person, or persons, who will read what you write. It could be a specific person, a general group, or people who fit a certain demographic (such as Macintosh users, online students, or people of a certain age bracket). For coursework, your audience might be your instructor. There are three major categories of professional audiences: The Lay Audience has no prior knowledge or experience with your topic. They tend to understand the "human aspect" more than technical details. The Managerial Audience tends to have some knowledge about your topic, but may not understand or care about too many details. They would like to know how the information fits into the world around them. The Expert Audience already supposedly knows the basics, so you can use more specific terminology in your explanations. When in doubt which kind of audience you must target for an assignment, you should ask your instructor. Form To help you achieve your purpose and reach your audience, you have to determine what form is most appropriate. Different forms include, but are not limited to, lists, paragraphs, essays, reports, presentations, letters, memos, and e-mail. Your choice of form is often determined by what is expected. A wedding invitation, for example, may not be well accepted if sent as plain text in a bulk e-mail, and presenting your final draft of a major project scribbled on restaurant napkins is not likely to earn you a passing grade. The Writing Process: Writing is not just a product; it is a complete process that involves prewriting, drafting, revision, and editing (Purdue Global Academic Success Center and Writing Center, 2018b): Prewriting: In the prewriting stage, you should begin to think about your Assignment, determine your purpose and topic, analyze your audience, and begin brainstorming to generate ideas. Drafting: In the drafting state, you should begin to put your ideas into paragraph or essay form. Think about ways to connect ideas and begin supporting main ideas with specific examples, illustrations, facts, etc. Revising: In the revision stage, you should take another look at what you have written. Think about ways you might make your writing better, stronger, and clearer. Editing: In the editing stage, you should double-check your spelling, punctuation, and sentence structure. Your main focus here should be careful proofreading. Need Help with Writing? The following steps will help you see how to organize your time and energies in the writing process. Start Early and plan your time. Carefully Read Directions: Read and re-read the Assignment directions. Think critically about what is required, and ask questions if it is not clear. Pick Your Topic: Will you have enough resources to do it well, or is the topic too wide and would be too hard to do? Determine Audience, Purpose, and Form Research and Evaluate Resources: Ensure that they are appropriate to use. Stay Organized: The following steps will help you see how to organize your time and energies in the writing process: Take Notes Carefully: Write them in your own words right away. If you see something that looks like a good quote, write it down carefully, include an indication that it is the author’s words, and note exactly on what page it appears. Organize Your Information with an outline. Complete a Rough Draft: Write or type a "rough draft," following your outline. Do not assume your first version is your last. Proofread three ways: Writing mechanics "look at spelling, grammar, and sentence variety. Overall organization "using your outline as a guide, is this the best presentation, or do you need to make adjustments? Formatting, "did you follow APA rules or other directions given by your instructor?" Review Plagiarism Guidelines and check for proper in-text citation and reference entries. Other Writing Considerations •Strong paragraphs begin with a topic sentence to introduce the reader to the information contained in the paragraph. •An occasional quote is fine, but writing in your own words is always stronger. •Do not add your opinion inside a summary or paraphrase; make it clear where the original author's thoughts end and yours begin. •Sentence variety includes typically avoiding writing two sentences in a row that begin with the same word or words. •Avoid adding unnecessary words or repeating information in different ways. •If your paper is not long enough, revisit your outline and your notes to see if another major section could be added. You may also have to do more research. •Remember that all statistics and numbers, as well as quotes, summaries, and paraphrases, require in-text citations. •Read comments from your instructor when you receive your grade, as you will learn much more from comments than the number of points earned. Helpful Tools When Writing with Technology One of the great things about using technology to assist you is the handy tools available to you in many popular word processing programs. Use the tools wisely to get help with spelling, grammar, and vocabulary. Just make sure to read your writing out loud or have a friend proofread it for you. Spell Check The spell-checker found on your word processor is a great tool, but like most tools, a writer needs to use it carefully. In Microsoft® Word®, misspelled words are shown with wavy red underlines, and you can right click these words to find suggested correct spellings. The tool, however, will not catch misuse of “their” and “there” or the differences in meaning between “incite” and “insight” — some suggestions lead to words with different meanings. It is important to use your critical thinking skills when making your spelling choices while spell- checking. Here are some examples of misspelled words in Microsoft® Word®: “a grat tool” “wavy red underines” Grammar Check Another great tool is Grammar Check. Similarly, grammar check has its limitations. Grammatically incorrect phrases and sentences are underlined with wavy green lines (some versions of Word might use dark blue), but it has been found that the grammar suggestions made, too often change the meaning you intended to present. Use your critical thinking skills when deciding if something indicated by green underlines really needs to be changed or not. Writing the Paragraph Writing can be an intimidating process for many college students, especially adult learners who have not had to write essays or papers in quite a while. No matter what you are writing — a paper for class, a short story, or even a grocery list — you are putting pieces of your world