A couple of things that I do in those classes that of necessity utilize grandiose phraseology (just kidding): I tell my students about how Mark Twain said every time you want to use an adjective, use the word "damned" and then at the end, take out all the damneds. Twain actually said his editor removed the damneds, but the students get the point (I hope). I also tell my students that they should describe a concept or a study as if they were telling a friend about it and then maybe clean it up a little to be more concise. One danger to these comments is that if I make them in the same class period, then students may come away thinking that they can pepper their writing with obscenities (which is, after all, how they might describe it to a friend) and then clean it up before turning it in, which isn't at all what I mean when I say "clean it up." But so far, it's worked pretty well. I also tell them that sometimes the more syllables they use, the more boring the paper becomes.
Do any of you use Strunk and White as a resource? If so, then what do you think of it? And what about the first few chapters of the APA Manual for writing style? Thanks, Carol -----Original Message----- From: Mike Scoles [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Wednesday, November 19, 2003 9:56 AM To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences Subject: RE: Petting Write Peeves Has anyone noticed how often faculty and administrators utilize big words to illustrate their superior acumen? Whenever I am asked to comment on a report generated by these folks, I always say, cut "utilize" and paste "use". ************************************************* Michael T. Scoles, Ph.D. Director, Arkansas Charter School Resource Center Associate Professor of Psychology & Counseling University of Central Arkansas Conway, AR 72035 voice: (501) 450-5418 fax: (501) 450-5424 ************************************************* --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
