My first boss required me to go by “Professor Dixon” with my students. I was in my mid twenties and looked quite young for my age. He reasoned that this would help my students respect me and help discipline in…
Applied Linguistics for the BURN.
I follow Tom Nichols. He’s a bit conservative and crotchety, and his obsession with people in sandals amuses me, but he’s sharp as hell, and not afraid to state his mind. He went to Harvard, which isn’t a bad…
Social media and academic freedom.
US teacher fired for jokingly correcting spelling in a student tweet. (How credible is Daily Mail? ) Kansas Board of Regents ruled a couple years ago that faculty at KS colleges can be fired for “damaging the brand” of the…
“Very” is not appreciated.
http://i.imgur.com/otjdOWB.jpg
Woman Warrior
Why haven’t I read Maxine Hong Kingston yet? Wikipedia says: The Woman Warrior has been reported by the Modern Language Association as the most commonly taught text in modern university education. It has been used in disciplines as far reaching as American literature,…
On Commas: the controversy!
How do we feel about where the period goes at the end of a quote? Students, when consistent, tend to use logical punctuation (see Slate article for argument). If they (students) choose “logical” punctuation, they have to state that in…
The Exotic White Dialect ;)
Read a really short post by Les Blances Exotique . Irony alert. I love how beautiful and simple the exotic white dialect is. Because it has less words and lacks any logical grammar, it just sounds so peaceful, calming, and real.…
Rules for beginning writers.
Got wind of this advice for beginning writers from BoingBoing, who found it from VS Naipaul. 1. Do not write long sentences. A sentence should not have more than ten or twelve words.2. Each sentence should make a clear statement.…
Cultural or Academic Informants
If one goes to the writing center (WC), one gets the most out of the trip by going in prepared. Have a few specific questions or issues you want to address ready and present them to the consultant before you…
Passive voice
When I speak of excessive use of passive voice (or passive verbs) I refer to the over use of “to be” verbs: is, are, was, were, be, being, been and am. Passive verbs are to writing what salt is to…