Chris Two disclaimers- First, since we are among friends, and second, I cannot of course speak for anyone else.
Looking back I now see that my early zeal for issues of style fell within a couple of areas: First, writing within the style requires the student to engage in a care and concern for the product that results in improvements in their writing. (The flaw, of course, is that it only requires they be careful stylistically!) Second, teaching a student to write well was outside what I was trained for - I knew how to correct and teach APA style. (So was teaching the style an admission that I can't teach writing?) :) I think that the direction my logic took between the first and second of those arguments shows clearly, at least it did to me, that I didn't know what I was doing. I spent some time with a few brave (and patient!) rhetoric folks and I now focus on teaching, or trying to, our students to think and write clearly. I get way less activated by issues of APA or any particular style. (I can still teach the style better, I think, than I can teach clear thinking!) :) Of course there are instances when emphasizing APA style are important- when a student submits to a journal or a conference, for example. I think that teaching students to find a voice, to actually say something, and to write clearly, are all things that are a bit more risky- perhaps a lot more frustrating in some ways. But they are certainly more rewarding! Just my two cents. Tim _______________________________ Timothy O. Shearon, PhD Professor, Department of Psychology The College of Idaho Caldwell, ID 83605 email: [email protected] teaching: intro to neuropsychology; psychopharmacology; general; history and systems "You can't teach an old dogma new tricks." Dorothy Parker --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [email protected]. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df5d5&n=T&l=tips&o=22743 or send a blank email to leave-22743-13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df...@fsulist.frostburg.edu
