The Oatmeal - Humor about Grammar for Adults

Do you enjoy humorous teachers? Look no further than The Oatmeal for a funny lesson in grammar. The dude, also known as Matthew Inman, that writes and draws everything on TheOatmeal.com. While he has a ton of comics, what I want to specifically look at are his grammar comics. What I'm most impressed with is not only his accuracy in his grammar-rant comics, but also the quirky comedy he brings in with each topic.
I would have never associated a gorilla with a semicolon before his comic.

The Most Effective Way of Improving Writing Skills over the Summer

Read. It’s as simple as that. Below are some book recommendations from The Writing Center to you. Don’t forget to pick up a book this summer to keep your skills sharp and ready for the fall!

If you like Fantasy try Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin or Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rolling.

If you like Science Fiction try The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams or Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card.

If you like Horror try It by Stephen King or The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde.

If you like History try Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong by James W. Loewen or Bury my Heart at Wounded Knee by Dee Brown.

If you like Non-Fiction try People who Cook by Anthony Bourdain or A Night to Remember by Walter Lord.

If you like American Literature try The Great Gatsby by F. Fitzgerald Scott or  A Farwell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway.

If you like British Literature try Hamlet by William Shakespeare or Brave New World by Aldous Huxley.

If you like World Literature try Oedipus Rex by Sophocles or The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck.

If you like Romance try Jane Ere by Charlotte Bronte or Isolde, Queen of Western Isle (Tristan and Isolde Novels, Book 1) by Rosalind Miles.

If you like Politics try The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli or The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution by Bernard Bailyn.

If you like Humor try Me Talk Pretty One day by David Sedaris or Thank You for Smoking by Christopher Buckley.

If you like Pop Culture try Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser or The Ultimate History of Video Games by Steven L. Kent.

If you like Teen Literature try The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins or Dealing with Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede.

If you like Philosophy try Poetics by Aristotle or Beyond Good and Evil by Friedrich Nietzsche.

If you like Graphic Novels try Watchmen by Allen Moore or The Walking Dead, Book 1 by Robert Adlard and Cliff Rathburn.

If you like Crime or Mystery try Drive by James Sallis or The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey.

 The Fullerton College Writing Center will be open for the summer from June 27th through August 13th. Our hours are Monday and Wednesday from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and Tuesday from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Upcoming Writing Center Workshops for April!

Thursday, April 12, 12-2 pm--Introductions and Conclusions (Jami Josifek)
You only have one chance to make a first impression, and the same holds true for writing. It's also true that the lat word can be the most powerful one in a discussion. If the pressure to begin and end your writing effectively produces anxiety or writer's block, come to this workshop for ideas, strategies, and suggestions for writing strong introductions and conclusions. Students are encouraged to bring drafts of essays they are writing. Appropriate for for all levels of ENGL and ESL 184-186.

Tuesday, April 24, 2-4 pm--Revision Strategies (Nadine Arndt)
Successful writers generally share one practice--they constantly and continually revise their work. Learning how to revise effectively and efficiently can improve the quality of your work and make writing more enjoyable and satisfying. Come to this workshop to learn and practice strategies for "re-seeing" your essays.  Appropriate for all levels of ENGL and ESL 184-186.

Feel free to come visit us in the Fullerton College Writing Center with your next writing assignment. We are open Monday through Friday. Our hours are Monday through Thursday 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. and Friday 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Please call ahead and make your appointment today! The Fullerton College Writing Center phone number is (714) 992-7153.

How to "Show" Rather than "Tell" in a Paper

A problem some students face is “showing” rather than “telling” in papers. For an effective, creative paper, the writer should use illustrative language to make images clear to the reader rather than just stating what they are. That’s the big difference between “showing” and “telling.”

Telling:

Allison enjoys playing computer games.

Showing:

Allison sat down at the computer and logged into a gaming site. She smiled as she pushed the buttons and won game after game.

This is a creative writing tool, but creative writing can come in handy in an academic paper. Imagine how boring it would be if there were no creativity in two to five pages of text! Here are some god examples of “showing” rather than “telling” in an academic way.

Telling:

Alaska’s weather tends to stay below freezing for most of the year.

Showing:

The frosty lands in Alaska are rarely ever defrosted in the course of a year.

While the two examples give the same information, the “showing” example is much more enjoyable to read and adds personality to the paper.

Telling:

Flowers come in a variety of colors.

Showing:

Flowers come in a rainbow of colors.

Even just changing one word can change a "telling" example to a "showing" example. Instead of using a word like "variety," "rainbow" paints a much more vivid picture in a person's mind when it comes to colors.

Feel free to come visit us in the Fullerton College Writing Center with your next writing assignment. We are open Monday through Friday. Our hours are Monday through Thursday 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. and Friday 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Please call ahead and make your appointment today! The Fullerton College Writing Center phone number is (714) 992-7153.

Why You and I Don’t Belong (In a Paper)

What’s wrong with “You”?

1)         “You” puts the reader in the paper.

What’s wrong with that? Doesn’t putting the reader in your paper make them experience what you are talking about? No, not really. I’m using you right now because this is not an academic paper and I’m writing this blog to help a specific audience that may be reading this paper because they are having issues with the word “you” in papers. Having the reader in your paper creates a situation where the reader can not relate to what has been written.

Incorrect:

You know how it feels when you get into a car accident.

You are telling the reader that they have experienced this before. If they have not, the example doesn’t work because the reader can’t relate.

Correct:

It doesn’t feel great when one gets into a car accident.

2)         “You” can make the reader argue with the paper.

Your paper is already written, so when a reader is put into the paper using the word “you” and disagrees with the statement, the reader is now actively disagreeing with what you have written. The paper cannot correct itself and your arguments cannot change once they are written down and being read so it has no chance of defending itself. The best way to avoid this situation is not to put the reader in the paper.

Not Relatable:

You can easily just buy a new iPod to replace the one that broke’ iPod’s don’t cost that much.

What if the reader cannot afford to buy a new one? They will automatically disagree with your example and any analysis you do based off of it. Although an iPod might not cost that much to one person, the price of an iPod can be more than other people can afford.

Relatable:

If a person can afford it, buying a new iPod to replace the one that has broken is an option for many.

This avoids putting the reader in the paper and clarifies that many people, not necessarily all people, can afford to do this, removing the non-relatable example.

Why Can’t I use “I”?

1)         Using “I” in a paper is repetitive.

Academic writing is all about expressing your opinion. Therefore, everything you say in a paper is your opinion on the subject. Saying “I” within an academic paper is considered repetitive. Just think of every statement made within your paper as already starting with “I think,” or “I feel,” or a similar phrase and you’ll be able to see the redundancy of the statements.

Incorrect:

I think Futurama is one of the best shows to ever air.

What you are actually saying:

I think I think Futurama is one of the best shows to ever air.

Correct:

Futurama is one of the best shows on the air.

The paper is your opinion, so we know this is what you think. It is not necessary to say “I” in any fashion.

2)          Using “I” in a paper makes the paper passive and lack authority.

A paper should be authoritative and strong. Phrases that tend to start with “I” make a paper passive and show a weak voice. If you are presenting a subject and writing on it, you should be an authority and not speak with a passive, weak voice within the paper. Statements without “I” tend to sound stronger and come off more authoritative.

Passive and Weak:

I think it was a mistake for Fox to cancel Futurama.

Strong and Authoritative:

It was a mistake for Fox to cancel Futurama.

Making this sentence a statement without the “I think” makes the sentence much stronger and sound as if one is an authority on the subject rather than just expressing an opinion. Phrases like “I think,” “I feel,” “I believe,” all lend themselves to a weaker voice and makes a less persuasive paper.

Feel free to come visit us in the Fullerton College Writing Center with your next writing assignment. We are open Monday through Friday. Our hours are Monday through Thursday 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. and Friday 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Please call ahead and make your appointment today! The Fullerton College Writing Center phone number is (714) 992-7153.

Developing Interesting Hooks

Introductory Hooks:

• Generally, hooks at the beginning of the introduction can be created with:
• Relevant Quotes
• Surprising Statistics/Facts
• Shocking Statements
• However, you need to make it interesting :)
• Be a Trickster:
• This is a bit hard to explain without potentially confusing the potatoes out of you, so I'm going to use an example. I recently had a student come into the Writing Center with a hook that looked something like this: "People never want to hear gunshots in their neighborhoods; however, it was one gunshot, in particular, that changed my life forever. The first sound of gunfire, signalling the start of the race, was the most thrilling and positive moment in my life."
• HA! Did I fool you!? I thought this was very creative and interesting. I expected the paper to take me somewhere depressing and dangerous, but I was tricked! Their paper was about their positive experiences while running for a track team.
• Imagery and Description:
• Your reader wants to be sucked into your paper. Use his or her senses (sight, smell, taste, touch, auditory) to draw them into your essay. Paint a scene for them and correlate it with your topic. This scenario-hook will flow into the "background info" portion of your introductory paragraph before you state your thesis.

End/Conclusion Hooks:

Always keep your audiences thinking. You can accomplish this by adding a "call to action" statement or a general "big-picture" statement at the very end of your conclusion paragraph.

• Call to Action:
• This is when you directly tell your reader to do something. For example, if I were writing a paper about the benefits of recycling, I might write an end hook that states, "Next time you're walking around and you see an empty water bottle on the ground, pick it up and dispose of it in the recycling bin."
• By directly speaking to the reader, you build a stronger connection with them through your paper. If they feel closer to the topic or narrator, they might be more inclined to participate in an action or share the important information presented in your essay.
• The Big Picture:
• If you don't need a "call to action" statement, you should somehow get your audience involved in the issue at hand. Instead of addressing your audience directly, you could draw attention to society, in general. If I wanted to change my end hook to a "big picture" statement, I might say, "Recycling is important to societies around the world and will some day save all human kind...etc."
• Apply the topic to not just the reader or yourself, but to the population as a whole.

                                  
Feel free to come visit us in the Fullerton College Writing Center with your next writing assignment. We are open Monday through Friday. Our hours are Monday through Thursday 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. and Friday 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Please call ahead and make your appointment today! The Fullerton College Writing Center phone number is (714) 992-7153.

Generating Creative Titles

Here are some helpful hints to think about if your are having difficulties creating an interesting title for your paper :)

1. Title Pertains to Topic:

• You want to use your title to attract attention, not lead your instructor/audience down the wrong path. Think of your paper as a freeway, and your title is the on-ramp. If your reader gets half-way through your introduction and thinks, Fiddlesticks, I'm on the 60 when I should be on the 91, you more than likely overstretched your title.

2. Be Ambiguous:

• Although you want your audience to stay on the right path, you also want to leave some room for ambiguity. If you give your audience too much detail, he or she might not feel the need to read more of your paper.

3. Humor and Wit:

• Never be afraid to make your title funny. Forcing your reader to crack a smile or even chuckle makes their initial opinion of your paper positive. The more positive the reader is at the start of the essay, the more likely they'll stay positive throughout.
• Alliteration at all Angles: Alliteration is a pattern of words thrown together that all have the same beginning consonant sounds. Using alliteration to build your title creates a witty, fast-paced tone.

4. Something Small:

• This is important, especially if your topic is universally known or you are analyzing a text. If your reader knows all of the background information, it makes it easier to pick something relevant and tie it into your title. For instance, I wrote an essay about the negative portrayal of women's cognitive abilities in Oscar Wilde's, The Importance of Being Earnest. In the beginning of the short prose, the character, Algernon, ate all the cucumber sandwiches intended for his aunt. At first, my topic seems completely unrelated to this scenario; however, I came up with the title, "Not the Brightest Cucumber in the Sandwich." Not only does this connect to a small detail within the reading, but it also allows the audience to assume that I'm going to discuss someone's apparent ignorance in a negative light.

Feel free to come visit us in the Fullerton College Writing Center with your next writing assignment. We are open Monday through Friday. Our hours are Monday through Thursday 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. and Friday 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Please call ahead and make your appointment today! The Fullerton College Writing Center phone number is (714) 992-7153.