College Writing, Actually

Take a step back from the table. Close the laptop. Let's check in with how our bodies are doing and then...give them what they need. Revolutionary! Have a good finals season, writers!Support the Show.

Students, we are on our way into finals once again! I'm joined again by Lucy McInerney who is gonna give us some very quick tips on getting through finals as your best self. P.S. We do endorse keeping your favorite snack on hand.Sometimes quick tips aren't enough and I want you to get ALL the help you need. Here are some services that might help if you're experiencing psychological distress.Emergency Support Hotlines (because it's okay to need help and it's already waiting for you):NATIONAL SUICIDE PREVENTION HOTLINE – available 24/7 800-273-TALK (8255) 888-628-9454 (Spanish)800-799-4889 (TTY)Call “988” for ANY mental health crisis (think of it as “911”)CRISIS TEXT LINE Text “MHFA” to 741-741 to speak with a compassionate, trained crisis counselor, a volunteer who has been rained to help with problem-solving and will address the caller's situationTHE TREVOR PROJECTThe Trevor Project provides 24/7 crisis support services to LGBTQ young people. Text, chat, or call anytime to reach a trained counselor. Visit thetrevorproject.org for more.Call 866-488-7386Text “START” to 678-678 Appreciate the resources the podcast provides? Consider becoming a monthly subscriber. Choose how much you want to give with pledges starting at $3/month-- cancel anytime. Because everyone deserves writing resources. Make a no-strings-attached pledge by clicking "Support the Show" below.      Support the Show.

I told you all I had questions that needed answers! Today we're joined by Dr. Asao Inoue, whose blog posts we reviewed last episode. I really hope you allow yourself to meet these grading questions with an open mind. You have nothing to lose from considering it with us for 55 minutes!If you want to read Asao's blog posts on the history of grading in America and on his labor-based grading contracts, find the first here and simply follow the arrows for the 4 subsequent posts.Appreciate the resources the podcast provides? Consider becoming a monthly subscriber. Choose how much you want to give with pledges starting at $3/month-- cancel anytime. Because everyone deserves writing resources. Make a no-strings-attached pledge by clicking "Support the Show" below.      Support the Show.

As you come back front Spring Break and feverishly check for those midterm grades, let's ask the question: are grades actually useful. This is a short episode and I assure you, I'm not gonna preach some unrealistic "they don't mean anything." They do mean things. We should know exactly what those things are and if they're actually useful.If you want to read the blog posts I mention, find them here.Appreciate the resources the podcast provides? Consider becoming a monthly subscriber. Choose how much you want to give with pledges starting at $3/month-- cancel anytime. Because everyone deserves writing resources. Make a no-strings-attached pledge by clicking "Support the Show" below.      Support the Show.

Today we are again joined by experts in English Language Support, this time with Dr. Shuyuan (Joy) Liu.  How can you decenter English while writing it? We'll get into it!Interested into more perspectives on global Englishes? Check out this "How to Speak Bad English Perfectly" TEDTalk. Click here to view a transcript of this episode! Appreciate the resources the podcast provides? Consider becoming a monthly subscriber. Choose how much you want to give with pledges starting at $3/month-- cancel anytime. Because everyone deserves writing resources. Make a no-strings-attached pledge by clicking "Support the Show" below.      Support the Show.

Welcome back Jess Tabak. We are having a NUANCED conversation (IYKYK) about how the process of research can make one a better citizen. How? Push play ;)The CRAP Test Appreciate the resources the podcast provides? Consider becoming a monthly subscriber. Choose how much you want to give with pledges starting at $3/month-- cancel anytime. Because everyone deserves writing resources. Make a no-strings-attached pledge by clicking "Support the Show" below.      Support the Show.

The episode you need to start the semester strong? Tired of making mistakes that feel easy to avoid but you're not sure how to do it? Let's talk about some common writing mistakes and how to avoid them with guest co-host and longtime writing center associate Lucy McInerney!Appreciate the resources the podcast provides? Consider becoming a monthly subscriber. Choose how much you want to give with pledges starting at $3/month-- cancel anytime. Because everyone deserves writing resources. Make a no-strings-attached pledge by clicking "Support the Show" below. Support the Show.

Back at it like we never left! Want to feel like your work in college has an everyday use? It does! Let's talk about how what you're learning in college can make you a savvy scroller on social media.Appreciate the resources the podcast provides? Consider becoming a monthly subscriber. Choose how much you want to give with pledges starting at $3/month-- cancel anytime. Because everyone deserves writing resources. Make a no-strings-attached pledge by clicking "Support the Show" below. Support the Show.

Students, if your writing anxieties are banging down your door as you try to bang out these finals, fear not! We're gonna speak back to those fears today!Emergency Support Hotlines (because it's okay to need help and it's already waiting for you):NATIONAL SUICIDE PREVENTION HOTLINE – available 24/7 800-273-TALK (8255) 888-628-9454 (Spanish)800-799-4889 (TTY)Call “988” for ANY mental health crisis (think of it as “911”)CRISIS TEXT LINE Text “MHFA” to 741-741 to speak with a compassionate, trained crisis counselor, a volunteer who has been rained to help with problem-solving and will address the caller's situationTHE TREVOR PROJECTThe Trevor Project provides 24/7 crisis support services to LGBTQ young people. Text, chat, or call anytime to reach a trained counselor. Visit thetrevorproject.org for more.Call 866-488-7386Text “START” to 678-678 Appreciate the resources the podcast provides? Consider becoming a monthly subscriber. Choose how much you want to give with pledges starting at $3/month-- cancel anytime. Because everyone deserves writing resources. Make a no-strings-attached pledge by clicking "Support the Show" below.      Support the Show.

Questions that need answers! Teachers, do we actually need to put the research paper in permanent timeout? I'm here to tackle that question with the associate director of Brown's writing center, Dr. Charlie Carroll.Links mentioned in episode:Asao Inoue, “Classroom Writing Assessment as an Antiracist Practice: Confronting White Supremacy in the Judgments of Language”John Mueller, “Authentic Assignment Toolbox”Joy Santee, “Cartographic Composition Across the Curriculum: Promoting Cartographic Literacy Using Maps as Multimodal Texts” Appreciate the resources the podcast provides? Consider becoming a monthly subscriber. Choose how much you want to give with pledges starting at $3/month-- cancel anytime. Because everyone deserves writing resources. Make a no-strings-attached pledge by clicking "Support the Show" below.     Support the Show.

Are teaching statements as stressful for y'all as they were for me? Well today, Dr. Sara Misgen is here to uncloud our skies. Let's get into it! Appreciate the resources the podcast provides? Consider becoming a monthly subscriber. Choose how much you want to give with pledges starting at $3/month-- cancel anytime. Because everyone deserves writing resources. Make a no-strings-attached pledge by clicking "Support the Show" below.    Support the Show.

I'm back with another *audio* book review. This time of Other People's English by Vershawn Ashanti Young, Rusty Barrett, Y'Shanda Young-Rivera, and Kim Brian Lovejoy. This is a treasure of a book, so let me tell you about it and then you go get into it!! Appreciate the resources the podcast provides? Consider becoming a monthly subscriber. Choose how much you want to give with pledges starting at $3/month-- cancel anytime. Because everyone deserves writing resources. Make a no-strings-attached pledge by clicking "Support the Show" below.   Support the Show.

It's midterms and you may have five papers to revise in two weeks! Don't stress. Here are three quick tips to revise your own work with new eyes!Appreciate the resources the podcast provides? Consider becoming a monthly subscriber. Choose how much you want to give with pledges starting at $3/month-- cancel anytime. Because everyone deserves writing resources. Make a no-strings-attached pledge by clicking "Support the Show" below.    Support the Show.

Anti-racist writing in STEM? Let's get into it with Dr. Meghan Gonzalves!Appreciate the resources the podcast provides? Consider becoming a monthly subscriber. Choose how much you want to give with pledges starting at $3/month-- cancel anytime. Because everyone deserves writing resources. Make a no-strings-attached pledge by clicking "Support the Show" below.  Support the Show.

Tutors, grad student instructors, it's hard to launch into this teaching thing, right? I know it was for me and I still have to gird myself every time I enter the classroom! Today, I talk to Dr. Stacey Lawrence about how to teach from where you are. Get ready to laugh, learn, and realize you have all you need to succeed! Appreciate the resources the podcast provides? Consider becoming a monthly subscriber. Choose how much you want to give with pledges starting at $3/month-- cancel anytime. Because everyone deserves writing resources. Make a no-strings-attached pledge by clicking "Support the show" below.  Support the Show.

College STRESS Culture. Let's get into it! If you would like the transcript to this episode, you can find it on the podcast's website https://www.buzzsprout.com/2097929/  Simply select the desired episode and click the "Transcript" tab beside the Show Notes or simply click here.  Appreciate the resources the podcast provides? Consider becoming a monthly subscriber. Choose how much you want to give with pledges starting at $3/month-- cancel anytime. Because everyone deserves writing resources. Make a no-strings-attached pledge by clicking "Support the Show" below. Support the Show.

Season 2?! How is that possible! But we are back and better with episodes that take on the hard topics: mental health, race and racism in the disciplines, and de-standardizing English. Of course, we won't leave out the usual fare of foundational resources like revising papers and writing teaching statements. Are you ready to talk about college writing, ACTUALLY?!Appreciate the resources the podcast provides? Consider becoming a monthly subscriber. Choose how much you want to give with pledges starting at $3/month-- cancel anytime. Because everyone deserves writing resources. Make a no-strings-attached pledge here: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2097929/supporters/newSupport the Show.

And here we are. We're finally at the last episode of season 1! Let's relax and talk about how to end the semester with STRONG CALM. If you would like the transcript to this episode, you can find it on the podcast's website https://www.buzzsprout.com/2097929/  Simply select the desired episode and click the "Transcript" tab beside the Show Notes.  Appreciate the resources the podcast provides? Consider becoming a monthly subscriber. Choose how much you want to give with pledges starting at $3/month-- cancel anytime. Because everyone deserves writing resources. Make a no-strings-attached pledge here: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2097929/supporters/new Support the Show.

Anne is baaaaaccckk! And this time she's talking directly to the writers! If you're a multilingual writer wanting some tips tailored to you, grab that pen and paper! If you'd like to find Anne, you can find her on Linkedin as Anne Kerkian. If you would like the transcript to this episode, you can find it on the podcast's website https://www.buzzsprout.com/2097929/  Simply select the desired episode and click the "Transcript" tab beside the Show Notes.   Appreciate the resources the podcast provides? Consider becoming a monthly subscriber. Choose how much you want to give with pledges starting at $3/month-- cancel anytime. Because everyone deserves writing resources. Make a no-strings-attached pledge here: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2097929/supporters/new Support the Show.

We've finally come to the final episode of our trilogy on writing in the disciples! Today I'm joined by Dr. Dana Hayward who's gonna walk us through how to write a paper in the social sciences. Grab that paper and pen!  Appreciate the resources the podcast provides? Consider becoming a monthly subscriber. Choose how much you want to give with pledges starting at $3/month-- cancel anytime. Because everyone deserves writing resources. Make a no-strings-attached pledge here: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2097929/supporters/new HANDOUT: WRITING EFFECTIVE RESEARCH QUESTIONS Dana Hayward I. Strategies How vs. Why Questions The burden of proof is higher with a ‘why' question, because it's committing you to explaining a causal relationship. A ‘how' question allows you to explain or illustrate relationships between concepts without necessarily needing to speak to causality. Scope Ideally, your research question should be broad enough to appeal to a wide audience, but also narrow enough to be answered in the space provided. The research question for a book length study will be bigger than the question for a journal article, which will be bigger than the question for a term paper. Sometimes, it can be helpful to follow up a broad research question with a  more specific one about your case and/or method. For example, in my paper on sex work and stigma, I asked: “How does decriminalization affect the social meaning of sex work? More specifically, how did the passage of New Zealand's Prostitution Reform Act influence the stigmatization of sex work? How were sex work and sex workers portrayed in major newspapers prior to the adoption of the Act, and how were they portrayed following the passage of this law?” The first question is the big hook, designed to appeal to broad audiences in sociology of sex work, sociology of gender, and sociology of law. The second question introduces my empirical case study: New Zealand's Prostitution Reform Act. The third question introduces my method: media analysis of print newspapers. Noun Choice Your nouns set the parameters of your research study, so be specific and precise. “Secondary schools” means something different than “the educational system” or “education”, so think carefully about which nouns work best for your study. Verb Choice Pay attention to the verbs you use in your research question: “determine” is a much stronger  verb than “affect”, “influence”, or “shape”. Avoid “prove” altogether. Active vs. Passive The passive voice (“How is Y shaped by X?”) weakens your writing. You should write your research questions in the active voice (“How does X shape Y?”) II. Examples These examples are all drawn from articles published in the three most recent issues of Gender and Society, the top ranked sociology of gender journal. These research questions aren't necessarily “perfect”, but they're good examples of the points above. “How do queer people negotiate culturally dominant gendered dating and courtship practices? (Lamont, Ellen. "“We Can Write the Scripts Ourselves”: Queer Challenges to Heteronormative Courtship Practices." Gender & Society (2017): 0891243217723883)“How has scholarship on gender in the sociology of religion changed over time? What  does this tell us about the production of feminist knowledge?” (Avishai, Orit, and Courtney  Ann Irby. "Bifurcated Conversations in Sociological Studies of Religion and Gender." Gender & Society 31, no. 5 (2017): 647-676.) “How do the practices of Danish secure care institutions produce gendered vulnerabilities and marginalization for the girls placed iSupport the Show.

We're continuing with our trilogy of episodes on writing papers in the disciplines! Today we tackle STEM with doctoral candidate Meghan Gonsalves and she is bringing us a step-by-step breakdown!  I know I always say it but for sure today you want to grab your pen and notebook!Looking for Meg on socials? You can follow her on Twitter @brainy_meg  and on IG @megg0myegg00. If you would like the transcript to this episode, you can find it on the podcast's website https://www.buzzsprout.com/2097929/  Simply select the desired episode and click the "Transcript" tab beside the Show Notes. Appreciate the resources the podcast provides? Consider becoming a monthly subscriber. Choose how much you want to give with pledges starting at $3/month-- cancel anytime. Because everyone deserves writing resources. Make a no-strings-attached pledge here: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2097929/supporters/new Support the Show.

 I talk with English doctoral candidate Semilore Sobande about knocking out those papers in humanities classes-- without knocking your head against the wall (too much). Get ready to laugh and learn! You can find a transcript for this episode on the episode website (hosted on Buzzsprout).If you'd like to follow Semilore on social media, find her on Twitter @shemiliana.  If you would like the transcript to this episode, you can find it on the podcast's website https://www.buzzsprout.com/2097929/  Simply select the desired episode and click the "Transcript" tab beside the Show Notes. Appreciate the resources the podcast provides? Consider becoming a monthly subscriber. Choose how much you want to give with pledges starting at $3/month-- cancel anytime. Because everyone deserves writing resources. Make a no-strings-attached pledge here: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2097929/supporters/new Support the Show.

 In this episode of College Writing, Actually I'm joined by Jessica Tabak as we talk about some tips and tricks to conquer the research question. As the first frontier to writing your paper, the research question can give you that necessary burst of energy and inspiration or be the elephant in the room you awkwardly ignore. Listen in to find out how to nab that fleeting fuel: THE RESEARCH QUESTION!Want to read "Consider the Lobster" by David Foster Wallace? Click me (if your platform allows)!   If you would like the transcript to this episode, you can find it on the podcast's website https://www.buzzsprout.com/2097929/  Simply select the desired episode and click the "Transcript" tab beside the Show Notes.  Appreciate the resources the podcast provides? Consider becoming a monthly subscriber. Choose how much you want to give with pledges starting at $3/month-- cancel anytime. Because everyone deserves writing resources. Make a no-strings-attached pledge here: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2097929/supporters/new Support the Show.

Today on College Writing, Actually I talk with the amazing Anne Kerkian about best practices for writing tutors teaching multilingual learners (MLLs). Been wishing to sharpen your approach in these conferences? Want to be better for multilingual clients? Grab a notepad and hit play! If you'd like to find Anne, you can find her on Linkedin as Anne Kerkian. If you would like the transcript to this episode, you can find it on the podcast's website https://www.buzzsprout.com/2097929/  Simply select the desired episode and click the "Transcript" tab beside the Show Notes.  Appreciate the resources the podcast provides? Consider becoming a monthly subscriber. Choose how much you want to give with pledges starting at $3/month-- cancel anytime. Because everyone deserves writing resources. Make a no-strings-attached pledge here: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2097929/supporters/new Support the Show.

 In this second episode of College Writing, Actually Britt gives tutors a brief but detailed intro to linguistic justice. Want to add anti-racist instruction to your tutor toolkit? Grab your notebook!  If you would like the transcript to this episode, you can find it on the podcast's website https://www.buzzsprout.com/2097929/  Simply select the desired episode and click the "Transcript" tab beside the Show Notes.  Appreciate the resources the podcast provides? Consider becoming a monthly subscriber. Choose how much you want to give with pledges starting at $3/month-- cancel anytime. Because everyone deserves writing resources. Make a no-strings-attached pledge here: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2097929/supporters/new Support the Show.

Are we really about to go into ANOTHER semester?! Sheesh! How's a person to keep their sanity and motivation for another three months? Let's get into it! This episode has tips for students and tutors so everybody grab your notebooks! If you would like the transcript to this episode, you can find it on the podcast's website https://www.buzzsprout.com/2097929/  Simply select the desired episode and click the "Transcript" tab beside the Show Notes.Link to Knock Knock Pads Appreciate the resources the podcast provides? Consider becoming a monthly subscriber. Choose how much you want to give with pledges starting at $3/month-- cancel anytime. Because everyone deserves writing resources. Make a no-strings-attached pledge here: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2097929/supporters/new Support the Show.

Writing tutors! It's time you had a podcast that made you a priority! If you're ready for conversations about the in's and out's of writing tutoring then you're ready for College Writing, Actually! Add the podcast to your playlist or collections now and tune into the first episode on January 11th! Follow the podcast on Twitter: College Writing Actually (@realcollegecomp)Click here for the trailer transcript! Support the Show.

Coming soon to a college student near you! College Writing, Actually is a new podcast for college students looking for some extra help. Questions about HOW to write? Questions about WHAT to write? Questions about how to keep your SANITY? Add College Writing, Actually to your playlist today and tune in to the first episode on January 11th!Follow the podcast on Twitter: College Writing Actually (@realcollegecomp)Click here for the trailer transcript!Support the Show.