Good news, everyone! You can take all those pots and pans clogging your kitchen right down to the dump, because in our modern society, you no longer need to learn to cook. I know, I know - how could I even suggest such a thing? Cooking is practically as old as humanity itself. If you … Continue reading I Am Not Afraid of the Chatbot
Tag: writing instruction
Just Because You Can…
One day, in my first year of teaching high school, I made (as one does in their first year of teaching high school) a huge mistake. I told my students they could use the first person singular in their papers. “Really?” they said, going goggle-eyed and slack-jawed. “We can? We’ve always been told we can’t!” … Continue reading Just Because You Can…
What Does it Mean to “Know Your Audience”?
At least a few times per semester at my Esteemed Place of Employment, I will have a conversation with a student in the Writing Lab that goes about like this: “Who’s the audience for this paper?” I ask. “Mr. Johnson,” replies the student, if the student replies.* “Okay. What does it mean to write something … Continue reading What Does it Mean to “Know Your Audience”?
Writing Exercise: The Company Mission Statement
First of all, readers, I get it: it’s been a long time. Some of those reasons (pandemic teaching) you can probably guess, others perhaps not, but my point is that I am fully aware that every time I write a post, I promise that I’m going to update more regularly, and every time, I don’t. … Continue reading Writing Exercise: The Company Mission Statement
Put Down the Overused Literary Term
Dearest Students, This post is for you. Your teachers are allowed to use whatever literary terms they want, because years of trial and error have taught your teachers discretion. You are a different story. My hope, however, is that the next time your teacher asks you to do some kind of textual analysis, this post … Continue reading Put Down the Overused Literary Term
Case Study: The Board Game Rulebook
Today we’re going to combine a couple of my hobby horses - good writing and board games - into a bizarre hobby horse chimera that might be distressing to look at, but will show us how, in addition to its many other benefits, good writing helps us have fun with our friends. We’re going to … Continue reading Case Study: The Board Game Rulebook
Simple versus Simplistic
Write simply. Its one of the first, most frequent, and loudest writing tips I give my students: write simply. Some of my students - those fond of referring to “individuals” when they mean “people,” talking about how an author “utilized” something when they want to talk about use, and those who have thesaurus.com in a … Continue reading Simple versus Simplistic
Five Writing “Controversies” I Will Not Engage
Every so often, my students will ask for my opinion regarding a writing matter on which I have no opinion - and that’s tough, because as anyone close to me can tell you, I have opinions on most things! But since these come up from time to time, and I will continue to resolutely not … Continue reading Five Writing “Controversies” I Will Not Engage
Paper Prompt: Connecting
My lit students across my three seminars began their spring semesters with two of my favorite books to teach: Euripides’ The Bacchae, perhaps not the best of the Greek tragedies but without a doubt the most bonkers of them; and Dostoevsky’s psychological doorstopper Crime and Punishment, wherein we learn how exhausting it is to spend … Continue reading Paper Prompt: Connecting
Build Your Vocabulary (And Then Don’t Use It)
The other day, as I was about to hand back some lit analysis essays my students had written, I asked them a question that had been on my mind for some time: what do you guys have against the word people? I had noticed a pattern across their papers that, when discussing characters in books … Continue reading Build Your Vocabulary (And Then Don’t Use It)
Dr. Albert Teaches Writing 