Michael

Rudy

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Take Note 11.1

Nov 27th 2015

Your Purpose for writing

a. Get to the heart of why you are writing
b. Sometimes writing is to explore
c. Everything is relative
d. The important thing is that your primary purpose is clear to you
i. Writing to Discover
a. Coming Full Circle
i. Reflective writing sorts out your thoughts
ii. Writing bone is connected to thinking
bone
b. Write to Generate Ideas
i. Free writing, brainstorming & reflection
generates topics, main points &
supporting details
ii. Writing to Inform
1. Carefully consider audience
2. Be simple, lay out the basics
3. Dont be shy to use harder word, readers do researcher
4. Often fall under as research writing
iii. Writing to Persuade
1. The Perils of Taking a Position
a. Easy way: fall in line with professor (strokes
professors ego)
b. Hard way: challenge professorial bias (takes
courage)
iv. Writing to Entertain
1. Have a sense of humor, more enjoyable to read.
2. Self-deprecation manifests humility and can enlighten
any mood
Function
a. Function before form
b. 1st job: knowing your purpose
i. Eradicate Misplaced Modifiers
1. One sentence can have 5 different meanings when
adding a modifier
2. Ensure the sentence means what you want it to mean.
ii. Ambiguity is a Problem
1. Ambiguity is a problem if we dont monitor our choice
of words
iii. Ambiguity is your Best Friend
1. Ambiguity is on your side if writing poetry or a great
American novel
Bring it to Life
a. Avoid dry and boring sentences, use words that move
b. Strive to connect with readers
c. Active writing energizes your readers

Michael Rudy

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XI.

Take Note 11.1

Nov 27th 2015

d. Passive writing puts readers into coma

Hey, Slow Down a Bit
a. To avoid passive language, analyze you writing to find balance
b. Active writing fuses energy and keeps things lively.
Length and Format
a. Length
i. Professor instructs the length needed for assignment
ii. Write what you need to write
iii. Over your page limit means you have rambled, condense and
shorten
iv. Not enough pages, you have lacked the invested time to reflect
on topic
b. Format
i. Professor directs the type of line spacing, typeface, point size,
margin, style conventions
ii. AP means Associated Press
iii. APA means American Psychological Association
iv. MLA means Modern Language association of America
Writing Across the Disciplines
a. Use language that is specific to the discipline as appropriate.
b. Patterns of organization should mirror the common discipline.
Know the Rules
a. Know the common grammar rules by heart
b. If not, seek help by taking basic writing classes.
i. International Affairs
1. Take college offer classes for you to learn the rules
Bend the Rules
a. Playing loose with the rules demonstrate your understanding of the
English grammar, and puts your own signature on your papers
Revise Your Work
a. Have many rough drafts
b. Know your finished if you keep coming back to where you started
c. Revising paper usually synonymous with reduction
d. Try to make point in fewer words, more powerful when done
Writers Reference to the Rescue
a. Avoid using small describing words that does not help the context of
the sentence.
b. Example to not do: What is a pretty good idea?
Proofread Your Work
a. Show you care by proofreading writing assignments
b. Dont fully rely on spell checkers, they dont fix sentence & paragraph
structure
c. Have another person read you assignment to proofread.