Writefully So

Finding Your (project) Muse: Research and You

Research can be challenging, especially when it is accompanied by a whole slew of unfamiliar challenges in the College writing classroom.  In this episode, we discuss research as a process and how to evolve your research as your writing project progresses. 

The Little Mermaid Complex: Finding Your Voice In Academic Writing

It can be difficult to find a balance between your own voice and what is perceived to be an appropriate "Academic" tone.  Often first-year writers affect an overly formal tone and use vocabulary they are unfamiliar with to try and achieve an academic voice.  Carrie, Janette, and Bill discuss how to find your own voice in academic writing and how to avoid losing yourself in a faux-objective, affected voice. 

Making Creative Arguments

In this Episode, we discuss creativity in academic writing and the challenges associated with making creative arguments.  Spoiler alert, it is both easier and more difficult than you may think.  

Amuck, Amuck, Amuck: A Hocus Pocus Fancast

Bill, Carrie, and Janette take a break from the usual discussions on rhetoric and writing and indulge in a little Halloween fright.  This week they focus on Hocus Pocus, the 1993 "Classic" film about the Sanderson Sisters, three witches that are accidentally unleashed on "Modern day" Salem. 

Analysis vs. Observation: The Role of Critical Inquiry

Carrie, Janette, and Bill tackle a difficult question this week: "What is the difference between Observation and Analysis?". The answer, it turns out, is complicated -- but it is definitely obvious to the reader when the analysis part of an analytical paper is missing. 

Where Do Ideas Come From?

In this week's episode, Carrie, Janette, and Bill talk about where their ideas come from when starting a writing project.  They also address anxiety about writing, allowing the ideas to happen "Organically" and letting your experience in other subjects inform and shape your response to writing assignments in your literature or writing courses. 

Talking It Out First: The Role of Conversation in the Writing Process

This week, Bill and Janette are joined by special guest Evan Smith, Writing Center Director at California State University San Marcos.  As a Writing Center Director and former lecturer and tutor, Evan has a fantastic perspective on the role of conversation in the writing process.  Not only is talking a great tool for brainstorming, but it is invaluable as a tool for developing or maturing ideas, finding mistakes during the revision process, and for collaborating with your peers.

Pre-writing vs Brainstorming

This week we discuss the value of pre-writing, why some students may overlook pre-writing as part of the writing process, and why pre-writing may be different than brainstorming.  It is all about idea generating, folx.

Responding to the Rhetorical Context

This week on Writefully So, we discuss what it means to respond to the rhetorical context, how audience and purpose figures into a good response, and methods for ensuring that your writing is meeting the requirements (or context) of the assignment. 

Audience and Purpose

In this premier episode of Writefully So, Janette, Carrie, and Bill discuss the importance of writing for a specific audience and purpose.  Why Audience? How does having a clear audience and purpose in mind as you write affect the choices you make as a writer?