Copyright 2013 by Arthur Fricke this presentation describes: My grading philosophy and evaluation process My editing shorthand and how to decipher it Style advice for clarity & effective grammar

Copyright 2013 by Arthur Fricke Committee Progress Report grading “A” range  successfully help the audience accomplish a goal or do their job better  AND follow all explicit directions, include all required information, and incorporate class presentation info & textbook advice  AND eliminate major editing or really mangled grammar problems  AND use mostly simple statements with few comma mistakes “B” range  perhaps you try to do something practically useful for the audience beyond explicit directions, but you’re not entirely clear or effective  OR just follow explicit directions, have all required info, and use advice  AND eliminate major editing or really mangled grammar problems “C” range  fail to incorporate key class presentation info & textbook advice  OR don’t follow all directions, OR miss some required info  OR have some serious editing or really mangled grammar problems

Copyright 2013 by Arthur Fricke another way to think about grading “A” range  report is solid AND does something creatively useful to effectively help save the audience time, effort, or trouble  SO it’s competent and also goes beyond literal directions  SO it would impress the audience and make them very happy “B” range  report is adequate AND wouldn’t cause confusion or waste people’s time and effort  SO it competently follows literal explicit directions  SO it would satisfy the audience “C” range  report isn’t edited at all or is missing key elements  OR it doesn’t follow literal directions or is missing vital info  SO it would probably irritate the audience a bit

Copyright 2013 by Arthur Fricke for the first report project: I will not grade for grammar or style  I will only grade for outright typos on this first report project  So, even lots of grammar or style problems won’t hurt you I will offer feedback on the grammar and style  This feedback can (hopefully) help you edit effectively for grammar and style in future reports  Remember that you will need to effectively USE feedback and advice to get an “A” in the course!

Copyright 2013 by Arthur Fricke Close Editing Shorthand What my editing notation means: vague = uninformative, doesn’t respond to audience needs sp / edit / typo = basic spelling, editing, or formatting typo error gr = grammar problem (might indicate what kind) wd = needlessly wordy phrasing awk / unc = needlessly awkward or unclear phrasing pass = unclear passive voice

Copyright 2013 by Arthur Fricke writing style Committee Progress Report PRACTICE using short, simple, and clear statements that are really easy to skim quickly  Use first-person active voice (pp.102, )  Avoid using more than one comma Stick to simple SUBJECT / ACTION / OBJECT. Example: The students are writing their reports. This will help you to:  Write clearly (simple sentences are clear)  Write efficiently (simple sentences aren’t wordy)  Write correctly (simple sentences use simple grammar)

Copyright 2013 by Arthur Fricke SIMPLE sentences have: ONE clear subject  The person or thing doing the main action ONE main action  The clearly most important thing happening in the sentence ONE main object  The person, thing, or situation that is being acted on (the thing that is receiving the main action) Jack completely foiled the evil president’s plan. HE STOPPED IT.

Copyright 2013 by Arthur Fricke SIMPLE sentences are... Simple to read  EASILY  QUICKLY  CLEARLY Simple to edit  CORRECTLY  QUICKLY

Copyright 2013 by Arthur Fricke COMPLEX sentences have: Perhaps more than one main subject Perhaps more than one main important action Perhaps more than one main object Complex sentences have a lot going on in them, so they are tough to deal with really simply. Jack and all the other operatives at CTU quickly analyzed and completely foiled the evil president’s plan to equip monkeys with rayguns and, with the help of Russian mobsters, attack the United Nations (which was in session to consider sanctions for Russia’s invasion of a neighboring separatist state), thereby ensuring world peace.

Copyright 2013 by Arthur Fricke COMPLEX sentences are... Harder to read easily Harder to read quickly Harder to edit later... EASER to make grammatically ambiguous or incorrect

Copyright 2013 by Arthur Fricke for example... Jack Bauer climbed the hill to get a pail of water, and then he went back down the hill and used the water to interrogate the evil president. QUESTION: What is the clear MAIN (clearly most important) subject, action, and object in this complex sentence?

Copyright 2013 by Arthur Fricke stick to SUBJECT / ACTION / OBJECT This makes each thought simple to skim: Jack Bauer climbed the hill. He got a pail of water. Jack then went down the hill. He used the water. He interrogated the evil president.

Copyright 2013 by Arthur Fricke stick to SUBJECT / ACTION / OBJECT Or, at least use relatively simple sentences: Jack Bauer climbed the hill and got a pail of water. Jack then went down the hill. He used the water to interrogate the evil president.

Copyright 2013 by Arthur Fricke for now, PRACTICE We will work throughout the semester on using short, simple, and clear sentences for report writing. I will offer style and grammar feedback for the “Committee Progress Report” project. You will eventually need to proficiently use a short, simple, and clear writing style for this class. This is the most practically efficient style for effective workplace writing. Use the first report project to practice writing simply.