Ask the Center Staff

How am I ever going to get this project done if I keep changing my mind???   A couple of weeks ago, I finally figured out a claim for my sustained writing project.  But after reading more and talking to people, I’m not sure I think about this issue the same way I did when I started.  NOW what do I do?    – A worried ITW student 

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Dear ITW student,

What you describe sounds like you are digging into your own education by thinking, writing, talking, and rethinking.   Believe it or not, this is a good thing.   It may seem like you are losing focus when you are learning so much, but the tutors say that rethinking and rewriting is entirely normal, and an important learning process.  Here’s their advice:

 
“Come up with a thesis early, but be prepared to edit and change it later, sometimes multiple times.”  — Jenn Kant

“Research will help lead to a claim.”  — John Vespa

“When it comes to formulating a claim, don’t force it; it may change many times throughout your writing and it may not even come to you until the end of the process.”  — Ellen Estabrook

“Take your claim and re-write it three or four times in different ways.  Keep what you like and get rid of what you don’t.”  — Alex Candee

“Explore and develop your ideas through discussion with peers, teachers, and anyone willing to give you their thoughts.   Through discussion, your ideas will develop which will add depth to your writing.” –- Josh Starkey

“Do not be afraid of revision.  Think of your first draft as a tabletop of puzzle pieces that you will toy with, rearranging and finding new shapes and forms through your own exploration.”  – Erin Stewart

Ask the Center Staff

I will be teaching an ITW course this year. I hear we have a special arrangement with the Center for Writing. What’s that all about? — A Curious Instructor

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Dear Curious,

Here’s more Q&A for ITW Instructors that should satisfy some of your curiosity.

Q: What is the Partnership Program?
A: The Center for Writing staff are deeply invested in the Thinking and Writing course. We think of ourselves as partners in the rigorous work you are doing with your ITW students. One of our tutors, Amy Patryn (’08) initiated a program during the pilot year of the course to make that commitment concrete. As a result, we now offer designated tutor liaisons to all ITW faculty. Faculty participation in the program is voluntary.

Q: What is a tutor liaison and how do I get in touch with one?
A: By the third week of the semester, expect to hear from a tutor who has been assigned as your liaison to the Center for Writing. This person is specifically chosen because his or her work schedule is compatible with one or more sections of your course, making it possible to arrange an introductory visit or in-class workshops if you so choose. You can email or meet with your tutor liaison to prepare for a class visit or just to talk about how your and your students’ connections to the Center are working out. The liaison will let the rest of the staff know if there’s anything we should all be aware of.

Q: May I require that students visit the Center?
A:Yes, but only if you have discussed and confirmed your plans with the Director at pbenay@keene.edu.  We accept faculty requests for whole class requirements through the first weeks of the semester.

Q: If I don’t require visits, can my students still come to the Center?
A: Yes. Students are welcome to come on their own initiative, and many do so. Having your liaison visit class with information about the Center for Writing will help students feel invited to visit.

Q: Will my tutor liaison have sessions with all my students?
A: No. Although that would be wonderful, we don’t currently have sufficient resources for the students in any given section to have exclusive contact with one tutor. Think of your liaison instead as a person who can visit your class and who serves as one of your connections here. From a liaison, you can also gain an insightful student’s perspective on how other students may experience the sustained writing project.

Q: How much do tutors know about the ITW course? Have any of them completed a sustained writing project?
A. More than half of our staff by fall 2008 will have taken an ITW course, and the more senior tutors have all worked extensively with ITW students at many stages in their sustained writing projects. Feedback from students and instructors demonstrates that the tutors have an excellent working knowledge of the writing processes that ITW writers tend to find difficult, including coming up with a juicy issue worth investigating, identifying search terms that will prove productive, forming a working claim, developing the evidence and support for an academic argument, playing devil’s advocate, and reorganizing an all-over-the map draft. Tutors are adept at helping students move through these writing challenges.

Q: Who else can I talk with at the Center?
A. You can contact the Director, Dr. Phyllis Benay pbenay@keene.edu 603 358 2398.

Ask the Center Staff

How do I cite blogs and podcasts?

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Here’s a link to a recently updated citation guide that demonstrates MLA style for a variety of these newer kinds of sources, from the blogs and podcasts that you ask about to ebooks, online images, and videos.

Other Online Sources, from the University of Florida Library 

Kinds of online sources seem to multiply faster than the publications that explain how to cite them! So writers often need to interpret basic citation models and adapt them for these new sources.