How to Benefit Most from a Writing Centre Appointment

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How to Benefit Most from a Writing Centre
Appointment

• Adapted from the resources of Purdue University
• http//owl.english.purdue.edu/workshops/pp/index.h
  tml

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What is a Writing Centre Appointment?

• 45-minute one-to-one session with an Academic
  Skills Instructor
• Purpose
• To help you become a better writer
• What Happens?
• You ask questions.
• We try to answer them.
• We also ask you questions to help you approach
  the writing task.

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An Instructor Can Help You at Every Stage of the
Writing Process

• Invention (brainstorming, outlining)
• Research
• Drafting
• Revising
• Editing (teaching you how to correct your own
  surface errors)

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One Thing to Remember

• An instructor does NOT correct/proofread your
  paper because
• that does not help you become a better writer.
• But the instructor can teach you HOW to
  proofread and edit.

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Dos Donts

• Plan ahead come when you start writing or with a
  first draft.
• Before you come, set an agenda for the
  appointment
• Do NOT come at the last minute because you will
  have little time for revision!
• Do NOT expect to work on too many issues in one
  appointment.

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Setting an Agenda

• What do you want to work on?
• Why is agenda-setting important?
• Writing Centre appointments are different from
  tutorials in a classroom setting. We do not teach
  you subject -specific material (i.e., how to
  solve a Chemistry problem or identify the factors
  leading to the conflict between the French and
  the English in Canada).
• You know your own writing best.
• Be realistic about what can be done in one
  appointment and set priorities.

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HOC and LOC

• What are HOC (Higher Order Concerns)?
• What are LOC (Lower Order Concerns)?

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Higher Order Concerns

• Focus/Thesis
• Purpose
• Audience/Readers
• Organization
• Development

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Lower Order Concerns

• Grammar
• sentence structure
• punctuation
• prepositions
• articles
• verb tense
• Word choice
• Spelling

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The Need to Prioritize

• If you want to work on both HOCs and LOCs with a
  writing instructor, we suggest you plan to work
  on HOCs first because
• We have limited time in an appointment.
• Starting with LOCs may distract you from global
  issues (HOCs) you may need to address.
• After your work on HOCs, you may delete/add some
  parts.

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Five-Topic Agenda-Generator

• Instructions for the assignment
• Your familiarity with the writing task
• Preferred textual patterns in the subject area
• Development
• Lower Order Concerns

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Instructions for the Assignment

• Is there an assignment sheet?
• Do you have notes taken in class?
• Do you have any questions about
  the instructions?

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Your Familiarity with the Task

• Have you worked on this kind of writing task
  before?
• Did you read samples written by others?
• What questions do you have about the writing
  task?

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Your Familiarity with the Style of Writing

• Thesis statement (your main point)
• Structure
• Transitions
• Direct, concise and to the point

Remember there are different styles of writing
for different subjects
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Development

• Have you supported your main points with
  supporting details?
• For Example
• It is important for you to try to set the agenda
  for the appointment in advance because
• 1. We have only forty-five minutes
• 2. The appointment is more effective if we
  focus on one or two concerns
• 3. Students usually learn best when they take
  the initiative in the learning process.

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Lower Order Concerns

• Grammar
• What are the patterns of grammatical errors I
  tend to make?
• Word Choice
• What are the words I am using but uncertain
  about?
• Actually, there is a 24-7 teacher to help you
  with most of your lower order concerns.

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Your Best 24-7 Teacher

• The right dictionary!
• Tells you the part of speech of words
• Gives you examples of word usage
• Provides related/similar words
• Provides usage notes

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Recommended Dictionaries for Writers

• The Canadian Oxford Dictionary
• www.dictionary.com
• Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
• Longman Web Dictionary
  www.longmanwebdict.com

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Dictionary Use Basics

• Take the time to browse through the dictionary.
• build your vocabulary
• Learn grammar
• parts of speech
• Learn usage
• Synonyms
• phrasal verbs
• usage notes

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Questions to Ask Yourself Regarding Grammar

• What are my grammar questions?
• Can I find the answer in a good dictionary?
• If you cannot
• What exactly is my grammar question? Can I write
  it down?
• Can I underline the parts I have questions about?
• Then take your questions and your paper with the
  underlined sections to your Writing Centre
  appointment.

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We Have Covered

• What a writing centre appointment is
• What an instructor can help you with during your
  writing process
• Dos and Donts
• A Five-Topic agenda-generator
• We hope you have learned more about writing
  centre appointments and benefit more from them in
  the future!

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For More Help with Writing

• Call 867-5221 to schedule an appointment
• Buy The Writing Guide at the campus bookstore
• Attend the free Writing Centre workshops
• Visit the StFX Writing Centre website at
  http//www.stfx.ca/resources/writingcentre
• Visit the Purdue Online Writing Lab at
  http//owl.english.purdue.edu