Author Archives: davidbdale

Last year’s version: Good writers don’t waste words or write meaningless sentences. They know that flabby sentences are tiring to readers, and that vagueness frustrates understanding. They want each sentence to compel their readers to advance toward the conclusion without … Continue reading →

Which of these men would you vote for for President?         Some observers, media handlers, and social scientists believe the hair part sends an important identity message. Jimmy Carter changed his hair part during his presidency (perhaps … Continue reading →

Which one is funny?

Boy, does this post sound like me! It has nothing to do with writing essays . . . or does it? But what its author offers as advice for designing user interfaces is an excellent writing tip I have already … Continue reading →

Do you already miss Philip Seymour Hoffman? I have terribly disturbing advice. Start missing everybody you care about right now. When you see them, imagine them gone. You’ll want to hug your friends all the time, but that’s for the … Continue reading →

Why word order matters in Google searches, that is. Takes less than 2 minutes to view and offers a good lesson.

Just for fun I morphed two good sports, your classmates Drew Mueller and Marcus Patterson. I won’t be doing this for all of you; sadly the process takes hours of retouching after the software does the basic morph.

I may have time for nothing but examples here today, so I will embrace the idea that the most effective way to teach purposeful summary is by example. Mock Summary (Tofu Chicken) The author uses “tells about” and “talks about” … Continue reading →

Agendas Category 123 Required Posts Category Check Your Name, three Assignments, and Uncategorized User List Riddle 02: Knock Knock Syllabus for Grade Categories and Personal Conferences Review David Hodges and Professor Posts A03: Purposeful Summaries Lecture/Demo: Purposeful Summary Lecture/Demo: Is … Continue reading →

Purposeful Summary Before class TUE FEB 04, post a set of three purposeful summaries of articles from the Counterintuitive Topics resource list. Find the resources for your assignment in the sidebar under the heading Counterintuitive Topics. You may choose any … Continue reading →