<link REL="StyleSheet" TYPE="text/css" HREF="rwsstyle.css"> </HEAD> <body> <TABLE col 1 width="100%"> <TR> <TD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH=100%> <blockquote> <BR> <h1>Student Questions about Essay Writing </h1> [DR. SLATTA REPLIES IN ALL CAPS. HE'S NOT SHOUTING--IT'S JUST EASIER TO SEE CAPS IN A RETURN EMAIL, THE ORIGIN OF THIS DOCUMENT.] <br><br>Dear Dr. Slatta, Thank you for the descriptive comments on my essay. Hopefully I can make the necessary changes to make an A next time. I do have some questions in regard to your comments to clarify solutions to my writing problems. <ol> <li>I noticed you highlighted passive verbs, but I believe only one was actually written by me. I had numerous ones highlighted in my direct quotes from the primary sources. Should I try and find quotes that don't contain them either? IGNORE PASSIVES IN THE PRIMARY SOURCES. CHOOSE THE BEST SOURCES, IGNORING HOW THEY ARE WRITTEN. THE SEARCH AND REPLACE COMMAND IN WORD CAN'T DISTINGUISH BETWEEN YOUR WORDS AND THOSE QUOTED (ALTHOUGH IF BILL GATES HAD ANY BRAINS, IT WOULD). <li>You mentioned my sentences were long, as well as some of my quotes. You instructed that I stay within the 15-20 word length for sentences, is that a good general rule for quotes too? THE RECOMMENDED SENTENCE LENGTH IS AN AVERAGE. IT'S A STATISTIC THAT YOU SHOULD HAVE WORD COMPUTE WHEN YOU RUN A GRAMMAR AND STYLE CHECK. EXAMINE YOUR OPTIONS SETTING AND MAKE CERTAIN THIS IS SO. AS WITH ANY AVERAGE, SOME SENTENCES WILL RUN LONGER AND SOME SHORTER. TYPICALLY, IF YOU INCLUDE A QUOTATION THAT MAKES FOR A LONGER SENTENCE. THE KEY IS NOT TO HAVE EVERY SENTENCE LONG-- THAT CREATES TOO HEAVY A BURDEN FOR THE READER. COMPLEX THOUGHTS OFTEN REQUIRE SIMPLE SENTENCES FOR CLARITY. <li>After looking at your rubric I thought that integrating multiple sources was a must to get a good grade. You commented that I made a good attempt, but it resulted in an unorganized paper and suggested subparagraphs. I constructed the long paragraphs to try and show the integration because most of the quotes represented a completely separate sub-topic in the overall topic (for example, I listed several economic problems). If I were to break those down into sub-paragraphs, but only have one quote per paragraph, is that still the type of integration you are looking for? YOU MUST DO BOTH-- LUMPING LOTS OF SLIGHTLY SIMILAR POINTS TOGETHER HURTS THE CLARITY OF AN ARGUMENT. RULE OF THUMB: IF A PARAGRAPH RUNS LONGER THAN A PAGE, IT PROBABLY HAS TOO MUCH GOING ON IN IT. I THINK IF YOU EXAMINE YOUR LONG PARAGRAPHS THOUGHTFULLY, YOU CAN IDENTIFY WORKABLE SUBTOPICS, EACH SUPPORTABLE BY 2 OR 3 SOURCES. YES, THAT DOES MEAN EVEN MORE CAREFUL READING AND DISECTING OF THE SOURCES AND PROBABLY MORE TOTAL CITATIONS. MOST A ESSAYS HAD 15 OR MORE TOTAL CITATIONS TO THE REQUIRED 6 DOCUMENTS. <li>I'm not use to word limitations, which creates problems for me as a writer, because I typically write a lot. I think a lot of times I include points that maybe aren't as important, but I also don't feel comfortable completely leaving out. Is it better to support fewer points with stronger arguments, or try and cover more points with adequate, but fewer quotes/sources? GET USED TO WORK LIMITATIONS! NO ONE GETS TO WRITE AS MUCH AS YOU WANT. EVEN BOOK PUBLISHERS ESTABLISH WORD LIMITS, AS DO ALL MAGAZINES, PROFESSIONAL JOURNALS, AND MOST BUSINESS WRITING. THE KEY IS TO PRIORITIZE. CREATE A HIERARCHY OF INFORMATION AND THEN LEAVE OUT A FEW POINTS AT THE BOTTOM OF THET LIST. PROVIDE 3 GOOD EXAMPLES, NOT 10, TO SUPPORT A GIVEN POINT. ALL KNOWLEDGE EXISTS IN HIERARCHY. PART OF INTELLECTUAL GROWTH IS AN IMPROVED ABILITY TO DECIDE WHAT'S MORE IMPORTANT, LEAVING THE REST OUT. IT TAKES PRACTICE. <li> In attempt to rid my paper of passive verbs, I found myself continually trying to find synonyms to add word variety. However, there are only so many words I could find for "Spanish conquistadors, European powers, etc" At times, I contemplated using words that I thought could fit, but wouldn't be the ideal word. Is it more important to be clear about who I am talking about, even if I seem to be using the few words over and over or can you infer what I mean and prefer more word variety? CLARITY TAKES PRECENDENCE OVER VARIETY. BUT DO USE AS MANY SYNONYMS AS WILL ACCURATELY FIT YOUR CATEGORY. <li>Is there a general rule about the use of ellipses (sp?) . . . in direct quotes? I thought about trying to shorten some quotes up, but I don't want the quote to appear too choppy or possibly out of context. ELLISPES ARE ONLY REQUIRED IN THE MIDDLE OF A DIRECT QUOTATION, NEVER AT THE BEGINNING OR END. </OL> Sorry for the extensive list of questions, but I think with a little more direction from you, I can write a better essay next time. GOOD QUESTIONS-- GOOD LUCK, DR. SLATTA </blockquote> </TD> </TR> </TABLE> </BODY> </HTML>