Peter Fields

When first starting writing for the WRC blog I was extremely eager to tackle all things writing. I grew increasingly anxious at the opportunity to help writers with common pitfalls, and hoped to channel my own experiences into something practical and productive that the Writing Center could be proud of sharing. However, this task proved more daunting than I anticipated, and I found myself running out of ideas. I was never at a loss for words when tackling concepts I knew, but there can be no words if there’s not an idea to accompany them. Then, some colleagues shared a problem they experienced that seemed to be quite different than mine: they needed more words.

Being more loquacious myself, I’ve been surprised to realize that both clients and tutors can struggle to come up with enough text to fulfill an assignment. But, that challenge is two-fold–not only do writers need enough words to meet the minimum requirement, they also have to ensure those words don’t equate to “fluff.” What’s great about the WRC is that tutors can help clients draft a more substantial text that doesn’t feel too long or too short, but rather, just right.

 

For a lack of a better term, “beefing it up” is known as the practice of inserting additional words into works once writers have seemingly run out of things to say. Tutors see it all the time: writers come in and have ostensibly exhausted every way they can support their case en route to completing the required length of their paper. Inversely, “trimming the fat” is a technique that is necessary when a writer has already said too much and is in desperate need of condensing their work. These two practices operate as a unique duality within the writing world, in that they highlight the different approaches tutors must be aware of when assisting writers.

Tutors at the WRC encounter both of these instances quite frequently, and we love to see all sides of writing. We look for places in your writing that may seem redundant, dance around the point you’re trying to make, or feel long-winded in nature. These are normally places you can cut down your words and really sculpt a clear, concise message. However, if you’re like many of the unsure writers that consult the WRC, beefing up a work can feel like a daunting task.

If this is the case, our tutors can help clients identify places where you can strengthen a central point made, further elaborate an argument, or better define something to provide a concretely image. Some writers may not be able to do this on their own accord, so having an extra pair of experienced eyes always helps. These additions do not have to be monumental, as including paragraphs of nothing but fluff will only undermine your previous points; however, when a writer is presented with an opportunity to expand their thoughts, we believe the more detail the better.

Whether it’s including details that help a text reach the fullness it was lacking or cutting the excess elements that keep a text from being effective, there is always work to be done after the initial stage of writing. The process of drafting, proofreading, and applying strong writing techniques can be a laborious one, but a rewarding one nonetheless. When writers strive for their work to achieve textual balance, they will find more often than not the words they were searching for were always there.

With an honest attempt at digging a little deeper into what your goal for the paper is, many instances for revision will reveal themselves. After inspection, you will be able to craft the exact message you were looking to express. Coming into the Writing Resources Center and working with tutors who are concerned with your work being well-rounded and in-depth is a great tool students have at their disposal, and we do so while showing you how to keeping your work clean and concise.

 

When writers bring their work into the WRC, one of the most common requests we get is to help with grammatical errors, but more specifically, commas. A writer could be confused when to use them, as seen in: comma splices, after transitions, or even before conjunctions. Commas are tricky in that one can’t always be entirely sure if they’ve used too many, didn’t include enough, or know when they’ve included just the right amount in their work. What is meant to be used as a nice tool in a writer’s arsenal can soon turn against them, leaving even the most skilled writers unsure of their sentence structure, flow, and emphasis of ideas–all at the hands of a little mark.

These confusing, yet all too necessary, punctuation marks can be used in a variety of instances, all with unique reasons behind them. The most common application of commas seems to be in the form of lists: using them when a writer needs assistance in crafting a comprehensive, logical, and complete thought. Sometimes commas can be used best when indicating a pause, allowing the reader a chance to break their thoughts up and improve flow. Or, they can be used following a transition that connects one idea to another. However, if you find yourself using them, be aware that one size does not fit all.

Writing Centers across the country have provided students with ample resources to help writers conceptualize the appropriate time and place to insert a comma. Some have offered a master list of grammatically appropriate places you should put a comma: ranging from arranging the proper placement in a street address to proper utilization of the infamous Oxford comma. The Writing Center at UNC Chapel Hill has created an extremely helpful page that walks writers through any problems they may encounter, which can be found here. They’ve provided examples of popular comma myths, when to use them in relation to conjunctions, and even when to use them as interrupters, if you’re wanting to be extremely detailed.

Writers may still find themselves unsure of when and where the best place to put a comma is, but there are a few practices to keep in mind while writing that can offer aid. In the WRC we’ve found that reading aloud can sometimes aid in determining if something sounds off, or there is a place that would benefit from a pause. Run-on sentences can be a problem for some writers, and once heard aloud they can recognize that the sentence could be modified. Finding a proper place to have your writing take a breath and really separate the ideas written will enhance your work. All in all, there are many different ways that writers can benefit from inserting these punctuation marks, and hopefully you’ll soon find yourself mastering the art of separation, utilization, and punctuation.

On this most auspicious of occasions (the occasion being a new semester and a new year), allow me the privilege of making a suggestion or two that might be helpful in making it one of the most successful semesters yet. Around this time of year, when the previous ends and the next begins, it is customary in the Western world to make a resolution, or perhaps multiple resolutions, as promises to ourselves to improve something in the new year. Perhaps we promise ourselves we will lose weight or read more books.

Whatever the resolution may be, if you’re anything like me, you’ve faced this seemingly inevitable truth as the new year progresses: that somehow life gets in the way and these promises we make ourselves go unfulfilled.

This can be a discouraging and even depressing truth as we begin 2016 with high hopes and standards for ourselves. So how do we avoid this seemingly unavoidable disappointment? One option would be to not make any New Year’s resolutions. But what if you’re the kind of person who wants to better yourself? What if you’re the kind of person who wants to improve and expand your mind, like the kind of person you probably are if you’ve enrolled in a school of higher learning? What is another option?

I would suggest that if we want to be successful, we copy what successful people do in a situation where they want to set goals and fulfill them. We should make a list. And I don’t mean simply writing down the resolution you want to keep on a piece of paper; I mean, like the wealthy and successful, we should write down realistic and detailed goals for ourselves every day that will help us reach these ultimate goals of personal improvement to avoid procrastination and maintain focus and control (Corley).

A New Year’s resolution is a lot like a college writing assignment. It’s a goal that we all have the best intentions of keeping, but in many cases other responsibilities (or bad habits or simple procrastination) get in the way of our best intentions. If you feel yourself getting distracted or overwhelmed as a student and a writer with academic tasks this semester (or even if you don’t but want to prevent it from happening), I humbly offer the services of the Writing Resources Center. We can assist in various ways. We can help you outline your paper efficiently and effectively or help you map out your timeline for writing; we even develop strategies curtailed specifically for you. This will help you reach your writing goals with the least amount of stress.

So when you set those New Year’s resolutions, and you’re presented with a new semester’s writing assignments, don’t try to take on these challenges without a plan. When it comes to writing, let the writing center help you design this plan. The tutors in the Writing Resources Center are eager to help you at any stage of the writing process, including initial brainstorming sessions and researching. Although it may seem difficult to keep up with the goals we set for ourselves, when we actually follow through, we are left feeling better than before. Don’t leave those resolutions unfulfilled; let us help you take the first steps towards a happy and successful academic year.

Happy writing!

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Resources

Tom Corely. “Resources A Peak at the To-Do Lists of the Wealthy.” 2013. success.com. http://www.success.com/article/a-peek-at-to-do-lists-of-the-wealthy

What do you do at the end of the road? You’ve walked just as far as you can go, the earth stopping at your feet, the horizon stretching across your view. Across the way you see land– the next stop on your adventure. Only problem is, how do you get from here to there, logically and safely? Enter the bridge, a timeless tool that has helped people get from place to place. Transitions in writing are like your bridges, and at the Writing Resources Center we’ll help you build them piece by piece.

I’d like to think of transitions such as however, additionally, furthermore, nonetheless, and on the contrary to be simple, yet effective ways that bridge one idea to another. So often in writing there are ideas worth inserting in a paper, but not as many ways to make these ideas correlate. You don’t want your thoughts to sound choppy, but sometimes run-ons feel unavoidable. There’s a fine line we, as writers, must walk in order to achieve this textual fullness and cohesiveness professors expect.

At the WRC we encounter this more often than not, and clients can easily become frustrated. There is no cause to be discouraged, however, because there are many ways the tutors here can help you build the foundation of these bridges. When looking at points you’ve made throughout your paper, we look for a thread of commonality. If there’s any way you can relate one point to another, we will help you build your transition around that – leading to a logical and cohesive transition between ideas.

A major problem many people encounter is making their ideas flow together. You have your main points, the main things you want to say, but no way to connect them. When incorporating transitions into your paper, whether they be at the end of a paragraph, the start of a new one, or even somewhere in-between to connect ideas, they provide an avenue for everything to come together: bridge from place to place, idea to idea.

The WRC, as well as writing centers across the country, utilize various resources that help writers grasp and apply effective transitions into their papers.

• Our friends over at University of Texas at Austin have a great link that help writers craft strong transitions, and offer synonyms so you aren’t using the same ones throughout your paper that can be found here – http://uwc.utexas.edu/transitions/
• Another useful resource is provided by the University of Washington Writing Center, in which they offer pages of extremely effective statements that are sure to help you connect your ideas- https://depts.washington.edu/owrc/Handouts/Using%20Transitions%20Effectively.pdf

In short, (see what I did there) if you have contrasting points in a piece of writing that need to be bridged, tutors at the WRC look to uncover how these ideas parallel each other. All tutors here are extremely effective at highlighting differences, putting our best foot forward when understanding your train of thought, and working towards building the correlation that will help you get where you want to go – one step at a time.

It’s 11:30 p.m. and you’ve procrastinated as long as you can. Staring aimlessly into the blank white screen, you know you’re facing a wall that’s impossible to climb. No thoughts magically pop up, you have zero direction on how to approach the material, nor the slightest clue what to write about or how to even start. Welcome to Writer’s Block. You’re not alone, it’s actually a more universal battle than you think. Yet, surprisingly enough, it’s a much more winnable battle than you’ve been lead to believe.

Everyone comes to a point with writing where what to say next, or what to say at all, is elusive. I’m sure there have been countless instances where you knew what you wanted to say, you just didn’t know HOW to say it. I mean, the ideas are right up there, why can’t I get them onto the page? If only writing your thoughts down in a clear, concise, and academically acceptable manner were as easy of a task as it should be.

It happens to everyone, even the best of writers. To be perfectly honest, it took me about 30 minutes to figure out how I could finish the previous paragraph and transition into this section. I feel your pain. No one is immune to writer’s block, so hold solace in the fact you aren’t alone in this tireless endeavor. That being said, it IS a winnable battle. As tutors, we love to see breakthroughs during our consultations when a client knows exactly how to tackle their paper ,and where to go from there.

At the Writing Resources Center we apply a variety of techniques that aren’t overly complex to our tutoring sessions that have helped students along the way. If you’re ever stuck wondering how to start, a great tool you can use is simply brainstorming the main points you want to say and writing them down. As tutors, we love to ask thought provoking questions about main themes, goal of the paper, and how you can transition from one idea to another. Each of these, along with the countless other questions we can ask, really make each client think about what their intended message is. We may ask:

• “What did you feel was the main point you were trying to make?”
• “How do you see these ideas correlating, and how can we relate them?”
• “Are there any common themes you see between these ideas?”
• Answering these questions will give your content a clearer direction.

We use visual aids like cluster maps, where we write all the main points or key words down and see how we can build bridges to effectively relate these ideas. We always try to see the client’s point of view before our own, that way we can gear towards your intended message, and then try to incorporate our own insight into the conversation. Letting ideas grow and develop in this collaborative setting really seems to help get clients over the proverbial hump.

No one likes facing writer’s block, but it just feels inevitable from time to time. If you find yourself stuck you can always take a step away from the computer, get some fresh air, and let your head clear out, but always try to keep the ideas flowing. At the WRC we understand the struggles you’re experiencing, because no one is immune to this uphill battle. Everyone has great insights to share, interesting points to be made, and stories worth telling – we just want to help you get it from your thought bubble onto the page, and we’ll do it one block at a time.