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Writing Tips:

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When asking a student to create a written statement, I request that:

 

• Students have a strong point of view and use their voices to state
  ​what that point of view is specifically.

 

• Writers challenge themselves and their peers in and outside of

       the class to research their point of view to ensure that it is

       educated and intelligent. The teacher and the class will look for

       ways to find weak areas in the writer's arguments so that they

       know the areas which need more critical thought, research, and

       clarity.

 

• You write clearly from a researched and passionate point of view.

 

• Artists are asked to examine the history of the new object they have made because even though it is new to them, it has a history in its materials, methods, and practices. Finally, they are asked to write about this research directly.

 

• Put yourself as the object's creator into a cultural or historical context and answer the question, where does this object fit into the larger world? Then, whether you immediately have a place to start explaining this or not,  look for research that allows you to formulate an intelligent answer.

 

• Students will show how research on their topic has affected their opinions or allowed their views have grown to this point.

 

• To explicitly write about how your educated opinion on the subject is alike or different from everything else written about on the topic. Having a unique opinion on the issue will help set these ideas apart from the others, which is preferable.

 

• Share the writing assignment with others before handing it in. This process allows others to proofread and look to see if their document makes sense.

 

• You are asked to share the writing assignment with family and friends outside of this class. This step allows others to proofread and look to see if their document makes sense.

 

• Answer the question; who is writing? Why are you writing? Do you have an educated point of view on what you are writing about that is true to who you are? What are you adding to the topic you are writing about, and how can you summarize this contextually?

 

• Look for flow in the statement you are presenting. For example, do the sentences create logical links to each other?

 

• Avoid redundancy and ensure that you do not have two or more sentences that say the same thing in a slightly different way.

 

• Do not write in a passive voice but instead tell the reader their thoughts directly; this is your educated definition of what you think.

 

• Use fewer "I's." The more "I's" and "my's  "you use, the more repetitive your writing sounds and the less convinced I am that you have a competent and sound opinion.   I ask that students look for more creative ways to write sentences.

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• Use a thesaurus, so you do not keep starting the same sentence or paragraphs with the same word or repeatedly use one word.

 

• Finally, I ask that you try not to sound like everyone else.