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This week has been one of the busiest weeks of the semester and possibly my life. So much is happening right now. I have been accepted to graduate school, offered another internship, received the Charles F. Brooks Award for Technical Writing and got a new job. There are less than 2 weeks left in the semester which means it is definitely crunch time! I have 3 final projects to finish which include my project for this course which is the complete version of my article on the Writing Center, an 8-10 page paper on epistemological Victorian poetry and an 8-10 page take-home midterm for my literary criticism class. I also have my two internships at the Oracle and USF Athletics, two part-time jobs, my honor’s thesis, a class presentation, and a Strategic Plan for work, not to mention squeezing in eating, breathing and optional sleeping. I have been told that I have too much on my plate, which is true, but for some reason I never listen to that warning. I keep piling it on, accepting more responsibilities and projects and accepting opportunities. When will I ever learn? I enjoy being busy, and I am a very ambitious person, but I have to start drawing the line somewhere.
The good thing is that my project for this class is almost complete. I feel that I had a very solid draft that only needs tweaking and minor revisions, so that will be a relatively easy task to complete. The interviews are done, the research is done and the bulk of the writing is done, so all I have to do now is edit and revise. I spent about an hour on the phone talking with my professional mentor about my draft, journalistic writing, the course, grad school, career paths and life. She has been tremendously helpful and has given me a lot to think about. I am very grateful for her help, support, patience and guidance.
Since the final version of assignment 4 is due this Sunday, I assume this is our last blog post. I wish my fellow classmates lots of luck in their final projects and their future endeavors. It has been great working with all of you. Thank you Mr. Roberts and Dr. Davidson for passing along some of your wisdom and perspective to me. I will use your advice and the lessons I learned in this course well. A special shout-out goes to Tiffany and Ian. We’ve been through 3 courses now, road trips to Sarasota, shared meals, long talks and a few tears. Hang in there. Keep plugging along. Don’t ever let anyone or anything stop you from achieving your goals and doing the amazing things I know you are capable of.
Zane – out.
Stay classy Tampa.
Yesterday I submitted a draft of Assignment 4 (my article) to my advisor and today she wrote back with her comments and feedback (which was really helpful). Now I am going to revise and edit the piece before submitting it for grading and/or publishing. I have a few more additions to make and I need to proofread and correct errors. I’m waiting to get a final date of when the Writing Center’s online appointment system goes up and I would like to get 1 more student interview. I also want to make an appointment there for myself because I need help with my thesis. Experiencing their services for myself will help my article because I will be better informed. With only 3 weeks left in the semester, things are getting a bit hectic. All of my classes are culminating in big final projects. Lot of work to do!
Last week was a pretty slow week in terms of my article, but this week the pace should be picking back up. I need 1 more student interview and my data should be complete for the story, having 4 sources of information now. I am still drafting and revising my drafts, but there are gaps where interviews and quotes will go. I’m working on integrating quotes, stats, and data into my blocks of text. I like to weave quotes into my sentences so that they flow and have a nice rhythm. I’m gonna try and get and get that last student interview this week and work on adding the data that Kate gave me into my article. I want to have a solid draft finished by April 11th so that my advisor can give me lots of feedback. I feel that the editing stage is crucial to any writing project, but print journalism especially because your writing is viewed by a large audience.
I much prefer having my work reviewed by a Professor or someone like a consultant at the Writing Center than a classmate or peer. In my English classes, sometimes I feel like the peer editing sessions are a waste of time because to some extent it is the blind leading the blind and my classmates might not know right from wrong any better than I do because we are at the same level, or often at a lower level than me. I have had peers change things in my papers that were correct to incorrect grammar and was penalized for my mistake in grading. But I do feel that a review of a work by a professor or someone who is more experienced than me or my classmates is definitely beneficial.
I’m looking forward to the review and polishing my paper so that it is perfect and ready for grading and/or publication.  I hope everyone else is doing well and having a successful couple of weeks in their work on their projects. If anyone needs any help, please let me know.
After my second visit to the Writing Center, Kate provided me with a report of the Writing Center’s recent accomplishments and gave me some more information about the changes and improvements going on in her department and in Tutoring & Learning Services. I also conducted two student interviews which were very beneficial to my story because they provided me with honest feedback and comments from students that have struggles and difficulties with writing. I noticed similarities and trends developing between their answers to questions and I will be drawing on those connections as well as looking for alternative answers so that I can show both sides of the story. Ideally I would like to have comments from students who struggle with writing and who are comfortable with writing but both students come to the WC for additional help with their writing assignments.
They are unveiling their new online appointment system in about two weeks, so I think it will be the perfect time for my story to run in the paper so that students will hear about the WC and hopefully make appointments. Their new location won’t be open yet, but having the online system in place before they move will help them test out the software and work out any kinks.
I will be making an appointment for myself in the next week or two because I am really behind on my thesis and I’ve never used the WC before so I feel like now is a perfect time to go and get an insider’s perspective for my story and get some help with my thesis. As an English major, I never really thought to go there because I guess I felt like I didn’t need to since I am a good writer, but everyone can always improve, even the most experienced writer can still improve. Like Mr. Roberts said in class, the process of writing is never complete, we are always re-writing and editing and re-writing forever. The same principle goes for learning and practicing the art of writing. Just because we get good at something doesn’t mean we should stop trying to improve and practice. We as English majors should be using the WC the most because our skills need to be polished to perfection since it is truly our craft.
Good night all! Good luck on your projects.
This week I will be conducting a few interviews with students at the Writing Center after their sessions with consultants. I will be asking them the following questions:
- Why did you come to the Writing Center today?
- Which project have you brought with you to work on and why?
- How did you heard about the Writing Center?
- Have you been here before? If yes,
- How many times have you been here for sessions?
- Did you make appointments or did you walk in?
- Do you think an online appointment system would be easier to use than calling in to make an appointment?
- What positive effects have occurred in their academic and personal life since you visited the writing center?
- i. Do you feel more confident in your writing and communication skills?
- ii. Do you feel better equipped to effectively communicate in a professional environment?
- iii. How much of an improvement have you seen in your grades? In your writing? In your GRE, LSAT test scores?
- How likely are you to come back to the writing center?
- How likely are you to attend any of the writing workshops?
- How likely are you to recommend the writing center to your friends and classmates?
After my interviews I will go home and immediately begin my first full draft of the article. In my research I have read that writing as soon as you get back from an interview is the best time to write because the information and tone will be fresh in your memory rather than trying to recall things after the fact. I have been pre-writing and outlining, but once I get a few quotes from students about their experiences, my research will be complete and I can add the new information to the information I gathered from my meeting with Kate Pantelides. At the Oracle they have a rule that none of the articles are “1 source” articles. They must include at least 2 student quotes and generally about 4 or more sources. So, I’ll have info and direct quotes from the WC Coordinator, and hopefully at least 2 students. I might see if I can interview a consultant as well.
As a side note, I would just like to say that I am having so much fun with this project. I am really glad to be gaining experience as a reporter and news writer. I think this piece will be a strong addition to my writing portfolio.
In preparing for my article I have been researching proper techniques and guidelines for journalistic writing and news reporting. I have also obtained an unpaid internship through the USF Oracle, which is a daily student newspaper distributed in printed and online forms on USF’s Tampa campus. I have received my first story assignment, which is on the new GPS bus tracking system, and I have asked to publish my story about the writing center as well. Through my internship at the Oracle, I have already learned a lot about news reporting and article writing. The most helpful piece of information I have received from them is their guidelines for writers. I will be summarizing their main guidelines below and supplementing those guidelines with some that I have found in my own independent online research.
Guidelines:
- Be unbiased and objective in your writing.
- When directly quoting subjects in your article, you should insert the quote in your article as follows: “Quote,” so-and-so said, a –job title- at –employer or organization-. Rather than “Quote,” says so-and-so.
- Try to record your interview either on video or audio tape. Always ask your interviewee if you can record the interview before you turn on a tape.
- Always dress and act professionally in your interview, arrive early or at least on time, and be polite and courteous.
- Ask every possible question. Do not assume anything.
- Do not quote web sites. Try and get the information from a direct source.
- Do not conduct an interview in email, only in person or over the phone.
- Do not interview your friends, family, or anyone with whom you have a personal relationship.
- Extensively research your topic prior to your interview, after your interview, before you write and during writing. Research, research, research. Fact check, fact check, fact check.
- Always thank your interviewee after your interview and send them a copy of the published article.
This week I am going to be going to the writing center to interview students about their experiences and improvements in their writing and grades from going to the writing center. These interviews will supplement my primary interview with Kate and my on-going research. I am also searching the Oracle archives to find the article previously written about the writing center to use as reference for my article and get an idea of the kind of coverage they have received in the past. Since the student body at a University is constantly changing as students graduate and move on, there is a good chance that the current student body at USF did not read that article and might not have heard of the writing center if it hasn’t been introduced to them.
The writing center conducts their own surveys after students’ complete sessions to provide them with feedback on their strengths and weaknesses. I have been playing with the idea of conducting a small sample survey to find out the real numbers of student awareness, usage, and benefits of the writing center. I would appreciate thoughts from classmates and instructors on incorporating a survey into my article. Do you think it would be beneficial?
Hello classmates and instructors! I hope everyone is having a good week and staying healthy before Spring Break next week! I am still getting over an upper respiratory infection that I had last week, and I know our professor was ill as well as just about everyone I know. I guess it was just going around. But we all need to get better so we can have fun in the sun during our much needed Spring Break!
Last week, I had my interview with Kate from the writing center and asked her all of my prepared questions and then some. She was incredibly nice and very helpful. I learned a lot about the writing center. In fact, I will be making an appointment for myself very soon because they provide an invaluable service to all majors, especially English majors. A little known fact is that they see fewer English majors than any other major when English majors are the students they could probably help the most! I found this information shocking at first, but the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. English majors probably feel like they don’t need the help with writing because they already know how to write, and perhaps feel like they already know everything there is to know about writing. But this assumption is incorrect because there is always room for improvement in writing. For a professional writer, having someone edit your work is crucial to producing work that is of the highest possible quality. The same process should be applied to all levels of writing, including and especially writing at the learning stage such as college papers. This made my think, “Why wouldn’t every English major bring all their writing assignment to the writing center?”
My goal in writing this article is to spread awareness about the writing center to students and remind them of the services provided (especially for those who have never used it or don’t even know that it’s there), the changes being made, and the benefits of using the Writing Center. My audience will be USF students and faculty.
I will be checking out other articles on college writing centers so my article will be even more informed. There has been 1 article written and published in the Oracle on the writing center in the past. (I’m going to try and check the Oracle archives to get a copy of it). This article’s focus was on the writing center’s funding rather than their services. My article will have a different focus and aim.
I am meeting with Anastasia at the Oracle (the student newspaper) on Friday to discuss a few things: 1. the Oracle’s requirements for student publication of articles,2. internship opportunities, and 3. feature story requirements such as length, angle, audience, the type of stories they are looking for, etc.
Check back soon for more updates and progress.
P.S. I noticed that I am the only student who didn’t change the style or layout of my blog … and that is because I really like the way the standard blog layout looks. I like the pictures of USF’s Tampa campus and I like the simplicity and white space. If I need to change it, I will, but I like it the way it is. My belief has always been less is more. Besides, why mess with a good thing?
To my classmates: Keep up the good work and have a safe and happy Spring Break!!
For my article on the writing center, my main contact person is Kate L. Pantelides, Writing Center Coordinator, University of South Florida.. I have asked her to meet with me for an interview and she has agreed. We will be meeting on Tuesday, February 23, 2010. I will be asking her the following questions in my interview:
- What services are offered by the writing center?
- How many students do you see per day? Week? Month?
- Does the volume increase or decrease at different times of the semester, such as finals week?
- What times of day are you the busiest?
- Do you get more appointments or walk-ins?
- What is the most common difficulty that students have in their writing?
- Do you offer any seminars or writing workshops for students?
- What is the average range of improvement in student’s grades on writing assignments after a session at the writing center?
- How many locations do you have? On all USF campuses or just Tampa campus?
- Do you have any practice exercises and quizzes for writing and grammar for students?
- When readers read this article, what do you want them to know and believe about the Writing Center?
- Regarding the success/failure of the Writing Center meeting the school’s and students’ expectations: What are the strengths of the WC? What changes will make the WC even stronger?
After my interview, observation, and initial research on the writing center, I will begin drafting my article.
This week I did some preliminary research on the writing center. I found a great deal of information on their website. I contacted the writing center coordinator, Kate Pantelides, and I set up an interview with her on Tuesday, February 23rd. I plan on asking her a few prepared questions and then just chatting with her and free-forming some more questions based on her responses and the conversation. After the interview and some observation, I was thinking of trying to talk to a few students and instructors and get some of their feedback. I have been to the writing center at my previous school, but not at USF, so I will be interested to see how they do things.
When I am ready to begin writing the article, I will need to do some reading/studying on journalistic writing to make sure the my writing follows the appropriate style. I took 1 journalism class my freshman year of college, but it has been a long time since then, so I will need a refresher in that kind of writing.
My name is Lauren and I am blogging about my projects and experiences in a new course at USF called Senior Seminar in Professional and Technical Writing. In this course we had the opportunity to choose from three professional tracks in which to focus our studies this semester. Those tracks are: Business writing, Freelance writing or Non-profit writing. I am in the freelance writing track. We each will complete a semester-long project that is appropriate to our chosen track.
As I am new to this kind of class, I have had some difficulty and have been lost in terms of the scope of appropriate projects to pursue. After hitting some bumps in the road, I have settled on a better way to approach this course and have come up with a better topic for the course project.
I will be working with the writing center and will write a journalistic article about the writing center and the work they are doing there.
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