writing

  • copy writing...

    Some thoughts from a blog I read called Write To Done:

    Step 1: Get in bed with the reader

    Who would you rather sell to? People who won’t benefit from your product, people who could benefit from it, or people who definitely will benefit and have great reasons for buying it?

    Step 2: See the offer as the reader sees it

    Just like the first step, this step is all about the reader. The product or service itself is almost insignificant in this process.You’re looking for:Ways your product can help the readers get from where they are now to where they want to goAspects of the offer that matter the most to themTraits in your competitors they don’t likePast experiences they’ve had with similar productsObjections they have to buying the productQuestions they’ll have about the product and you (or the company selling the product)Other concerns the buyer might have such as risks in purchasing the productForget yourself and your thoughts and forget the product’s features. For now, you’re only interested in what the reader thinks and believes about the product.

    Step 3: Classify, simplify, extreme-ify

    1. Find the strongest concepts that are likely to influence the readers.
    2. Remove everything but the core ideas.
    AND MORE:
    Seven Tips For Casting A Narrow Net
    Here are seven tips that you can use to immediately begin targeting the right audience for you.
    1: Adjust Your Focus.
    2: Stop Writing For The Masses
    3: Toughen Up
    4: Don’t Mimic
    5: Lay It On The Line: Be You, Be Bold
    6: Write to Your Biggest Fan
    7: Learn How to Alienate All The Right People
    Shoot for Progress Not Perfection
    Enjoy Your Uniqueness

  • Scholarship Research.


    Link from Jenny in Diesel:

    http://www.rmcmi.org/scholarships/apply-for-scholarships/technical-school-scholarship-criteria

    One to look up = Transportation Club of Fargo Moorhead

  • Goosebump-inducing Daydream...

    In my giddiest daydream about how my teaching can affect students, I dream that they see writing as fun and not something they are incapable of. In addition to that, I dream that they find a book, an author, that they look forward to reading every day or every week. In that goosebump-induced dream, I don't even care if they only like to write erotic poetry or read about serial killers or research anarchy. The dream doesn't even include them putting down the Crackberry or logging off Facebook; it's just an addition to their lives. They read The Onion, perhaps, via Facebook and laugh. They read from a slang dictionary to their friends over lunch. It doesn't have to be boring, and it doesn't have to be appropriate. Language and books and writing spans too many genres and generations to limit what I want them to do, love, and learn.

    Just writing that made my day start off ... on a lighter note.

  • write write write... then write some more.

    "Learning to write is really painfully simple. It's like training for a marathon. Keep running. Keep writing.
    Keep reading, and when you read pay attention to the rhetorical composition of the text.
    [...]
    And it is painfully simple. It is simple, but not easy. Like climbing a mountain or scaling a cliff. Keep going up."

  • Here are a few prompts I’ve been spooning with, of an evening [click on it for the source, yo.]...

    What if…

    …you did exactly what you said you would? Every. Single. Time?

    What if…

    …you under-promised, over-performed, and acted like it was normal?

    What if…

    …you got your best friend to write your bio? Your first crush? Your mortal enemy?

    What if…

    …you could transform jealousy into renewed motivation?

    What if…

    …you used the “good china,” wore your “nice clothes” and bought the “fancy beverage”…every day?

    What if…

    …you let someone lavish you with care and attention, without protest?

  • What happens if... I take screenshots of a paper and time the shots in PPT; could it look like I'm writing or assessing or something...? I feel like playing around with that during this short week in order to a) be creative and b) take my mind off of other stuff. Yep. I could try out the screenshots on jaycut.com too or WindowsMediaPlayer (or whatever that program's called).

  • A super smart, super innovative buddy of mine up at my alma mater wrote a response to the post below on Facebook:

    KM: "i've had similiar issues with this. i use to give very detailed sheets, even do writing in class that basically created a nice outline for them (all they'd have to do was take it home and develop it a little), but still received "eh" papers. i've actually had better success when i just hand them a "here, do this, this is what i want but not in great detail" and they are left to figure it out. i'm not sure why..."

    My Response to her: "Yea, it's a mystery. I mean, with my online class I want to give more direction because I don't get to see them f2f, yet... not many of them have followed the layout on the handout. It's frustrating, but I guess it's a way to have a backup plan for complaints - if they complain about their grade, I can point at the handout and say, "Hey, it was all laid out for you; what happened?"
    I know, personally, I did well with or without major direction on papers when I was an undergrad; however, I liked writing & wasn't too bad at it. So, by giving directions/layouts, I am trying to counter the way I learned to write knowing that not everyone likes to write or can go off of "nothing."
    I wonder... do we really have students who learn differently (visual learners, etc) or are they just lazy?     Of course, I'm not really even speaking of the majority here; most students do well."
     
    I keep coming back to more questions: Is it my job to make my assignments interesting to everyone or, even, easy? Is it my job to make them passionate about writing in general? Is it my job to stoop to their level/ability and have them write less about topics that they care more about? I suppose the latter part of that question is quite do-able, but I really don't think I have them write THAT much. Three plus pages for each of their three papers in the semester? Is there still academic rigor involved if they write less? Can I still get quality that way? I wonder if 6 small papers versus 3 medium-sized ones would be a better format? I've never tried it; I may have to.
     
    Ah, don'tcha love reflection?
     

  • Every so often, I am wacked upside the head with the fact that students just don't read, or, if they do read, they don't comprehend the material like they should/could. I created a handout for Paper 1 in English 120. It had the basic layout I was looking for with their papers - what to write about in the first batch of paragraphs, what to write about in the second batch, etc. I thought it was a fabulously, helpful little handout. Some of them followed this nice outline; most have not thus far. Why many haven't received automatic As and Bs is beyond me.

    I don't even think it's a matter of bashing them over the head with these things. Some are going to read what they are supposed to read, and some will not. Do I continue to lay out everything for them? Apparently, this will only benefit a minority of students who really, probably, don't need things laid out for them. Is it about creating assignments that they'll enjoy and just naturally do well at without a step-by-step procedure? Are those assignments realistic? What's so wrong with having them being able to write a simple argument & defend themselves? Nothing.

    Writing is required because it makes you think, or at least gets you to write down what you are thinking so you can REALLY figure out what you think about your thoughts. Students like to complain about taking English, but, essentially, they are complaining about having to organize their thoughts. On paper/screen. They are complaining about having to think which shouldn't surprise me. Many don't have original thoughts... and if they do, they are hiding them.

    Am I stereotyping? Yes. Am I right about them? A little bit. Am I searching for an answer? Always.

  • I love surprises. I should clarify - GOOD surprises.

    After talking to Wade yesterday, I realized that I want to add into my syllabus for next spring (English 110 and maybe English 120) the possibility of a Minute Paper that follows the Major Papers. I'll hand back Papers 1-3, and only circle "mistakes." Students then have to write up a short, one-pager (single-spaced) identifying why I circled what I did. Was it a run-on? Comma splice? A misspelling? This way, I don't write as much, they have to learn what those sentence problems are, and they use the paper more after it's written (instead of chucking it after viewing the grade). I think we also talked about paperless writing conferences... which would be something to try. He mentioned adding more reflection in his classroom, and I think that's a great idea. Asking students to write extensively and read critically is great and all, but if we can get them to go beyond - ask themselves why they wrote how they did, or how they came to the conclusion they did with the reading... How = Process. This adds a whole other level of critical thinking... Bloom would be proud.

    And I adore this HUGE new monitor. I am done squinting at my laptop! "Excellent."

    Today, I collect a paper (P3), hand back a paper (P2), and ask students what they think they should read in this type of class. Might as well get student insight to the composition program.

  • Weee... downloading podcasts and music in the office. And, yes, I did nab a subscription to "Grammar Girl's Quick and Dirty Tips to Better Writing." I should have my students subscribe. On that note, I did try to find world literature podcasts for my online class next spring... no such luck.

    Why am I downloading stuff today? Easy. On the 2 hour plane ride from Minneapolis to Nashville this Friday morning (and on the return flight Monday night), I'll have NEW things to listen to. That's thinking ahead... and as for the teeny flight from Fargo to Mpls? Books... yes, books. I have really thought this all through, haven't I?

    No worries - it's not all academic... I subscribed to Dane Cook's podcast as well as one called the Dance Department.