Tag Archives: writing

A Theory of Everything, via Essay-Writing

So, here’s a theory of everything that I’m getting to by way of talking about writing. This is a post that is going to sound very grandiose, possibly somewhat arrogant (though not intentionally), and will also probably get some stuff wrong. Just bear in mind that this is something I was wavering back and forthContinue reading “A Theory of Everything, via Essay-Writing”

Solidifying Ideas into Words

I want to talk about the basic mental action that you’re performing while writing an essay. That is, when you’re writing an essay, what is it that you’re actually doing, mentally speaking? The short version is this: that when you write, you are taking ideas out of that foggy, nebulous region on the fringes ofContinue reading “Solidifying Ideas into Words”

On Research: Moving from Topic to Question

I’m writing this one late at night after a long day, so you’ll have to forgive me for rambling (and any grammar errors, as usual). What I want to talk about for this post is a step of the research process that can be pretty tricky, but which I see few people actually talking aboutContinue reading “On Research: Moving from Topic to Question”

Research in the Age of the Coronavirus

Or Why it’s Tricky to do Good Research Without a Physical Library (and What to Do About That) I’m writing this partly to work my way through the challenge of helping my students develop their research papers when they can’t actually go to the library, given the whole Coronavirus situation. Pretty much everything hereafter isContinue reading “Research in the Age of the Coronavirus”

The Mind on the Other Side of the Writing

Starting with this one, the next few posts are going to be specifically addressed towards my first-year writing students of spring semester of 2020. If you’re one of those students, go ahead and skip down to where it says “MY STUDENTS: SKIP DOWN TO HERE.” (1) For anyone else—perhaps you are one of the thousandsContinue reading “The Mind on the Other Side of the Writing”

Writing to Perform versus Writing to Communicate

or Figuring out What to Say and How to Say It, and Why You Shouldn’t do Both at the Same Time or Fun with Footnotes This post has given me some trouble—partly because it’s a very big topic with a lot to cover and I didn’t know what to include or cut out, but alsoContinue reading “Writing to Perform versus Writing to Communicate”

One of the hardest things to learn about college writing: separating out your ideas

Your average first-year student—but I’d wager almost everyone is like this—seems to hit a point in his writing process where he’s just had some inspiration about what he wants to say, but all the different ideas that make up that larger argument are so jumbled together in his head that it’s hard to take themContinue reading “One of the hardest things to learn about college writing: separating out your ideas”

The point of this blog

(It’s going to be about writing essays in college) Alright, I think I’ve clicked in the right text box. The main target audience for this blog is going to be first-year college student writers. That said, I think the things I want to talk about might be interesting to others as well, at least inContinue reading “The point of this blog”