Writing and Speaking COL 103 Chapter 7 Professor Jackie Kroening (PSY office)

Writing and Speaking PREPARE ORGANIZE WORK EVALUATE RETHINK Approach writing as a process Write a flexible outline and construct a thesis statement Get it down in the first draft. Refine it in the second draft Be your own best critic: fine-tune your work Reflect on the writing process: what worked, what didn’t?

The Writing Process Confronting the Blank Page Intimidating? Liberating and Challenging? Writing is a Process!

Deciding What your Goal is! Research paper, based on information you must gather? Essay arguing a particular point of view? Fictional short paper Critique of someone else’s work or argument? Book or movie review?

Choosing Your Topic Freewriting – A technique involving continuous, nonstop writing, without self-criticism, for a fixed period of time. Brainstorming – A technique for generating ideas by saying out loud as many ideas as can be thought of in a fixed period of time.

Freewriting Freewrite for a fixed amount of time 5 or 10 minutes Only rule is to write continuously, without stopping. Doesn’t matter if its bad or good. Go back and write single sentence that captures the main point of what you wrote.

Brainstorming Oral equivalent of freewriting Say out loud as many ideas as you can think of in a fixed time period. Work best with a group of friends or collages.

Brainstorming (try it 2 page 175) Rules: No criticisms or judgments made while ideas are being generated. Collect as many ideas as possible from all participants All ideas are welcome no matter how silly or far out they seem. Be creative. The more ideas the better because at this point you don't know what might work. Absolutely no discussion takes place during the brainstorming activity. Talking about the ideas will take place after brainstorming is complete. Do not criticize or judge. Don't even groan, frown, or laugh. All ideas are equally valid at this point. Do write all ideas on a flipchart or board so the whole group can easily see them. Set a time limit (i.e., 30 minutes) for the brainstorming.

Deciding Who is the Audience! The instructor – maybe not! Audience may be a layperson People of science People of Art Maybe a person in your family Maybe yourself

Researching the Topic Library  Books  Magazines  Newspapers  Trade reports World Wide Web Personal Interviews

Researching the Topic Assembling the information  Assemble information folders  Major topics  Sub-topics  Create Note cards  Place no more then one major idea on each card (example on page 176)

Organize: Constructing a Scaffold Outline  Be ready to Change it!  Should be a road map  Keep an open mind  Logical order (flow of information)

Organize: Constructing a Scaffold Outline (Try it page 179) Argument Background Body Counterarguments Conclusion

Work: Writing the Paper Writing the First Draft  Break down long paper into chunks (maybe two or three pages a day)  Start where you like  Turn off your inner critic  Go with the flow  Don’t be afraid to modify your outline  Use your own voice (writing voice)

Work: Writing the Paper Writing the First Draft  Read the first draft out loud  Take the long view  What is the purpose of my paper  Have I addressed every aspect of the assignment  Be ruthless  Don’t be afraid to ditch the whole thing  Check sequence and logic  Check punctuation and spellling  Check that all quotes are cited and referenced correctly  Make it pleasing to the eye

Evaluate: Acting as Your Own Best Critic  Does my paper accomplish what I set out for it to do?  Put yourself in your instructor’s shoes  Check the mechanical aspects of the paper

Rethink: Reflecting on Your Accomplishment  Rethink the message  Rethink the mechanics  Rethink the method  Always acknowledge other peoples ideas in your paper

Speaking Your Mind  Audiences are generally sympathetic  Once you start speaking, it will become easier  Practice helps

Speaking Your Mind POWER for speaking is the same as writing Prepare Organize Work Evaluate Rethink

Meeting the Challenge of Public Speaking The opening  The first minute counts – a lot  Begin with an anecdote  Start with a question  Arouse their curiosity  Talk about the significance of the topic  Ask a question  Use humor

Meeting the Challenge of Public Provide oral transition points “Moving on to a different subject….” “To understand the problem, we need to consider…” “To sum up, the situation offers some unexpected advantages….”

Meeting the Challenge of Public Helpful hints A picture can save you a thousand words. Use the right amount and kind of practice.  Practice in front of a friend or classmate.

Meeting the Challenge of Public Extemporaneous Talks Process used to speak 1. Point of view 2. Reason 3. Evidence or examples 4. Point of view restated