Search Results for: blog the differences between academic writing

Writing and the Dangers of Procrastination

Earlier in the semester I was a substitute for one of my wife’s high school classes while she was spending time with our newborn son. My wife requires the students write a final research paper by the semester’s end so part of my job was to get them thinking about a suitable topic to write about. This situation forced me to think about how, exactly, one can prepare themselves to write. Writing, then, is my subject for today. I’ve spoken about note-taking before but it is extremely important when you are thinking about writing. It is even more important if … Continue reading →

2006 in Review: Homeschooling Blog at a Glance

As a new homeschooling blogger at Families.com, I wanted to know everything that has been discussed to date. In response to my own curiosity, and in an effort to make perusing our articles easier for you, our readers, I have compiled all of the blogs for the year 2006. Deciding to Homeschool Why homeschool Am I qualified for this? Reasons that Homeschooling Works! My Most Important Advice for Homeschoolers. The Cost of Homeschooling Instead of standing up for their own kids, why not stand up for all kids? Disclaimer: I am hardly an expert in education. Did You Know? ‘Empirical … Continue reading →

The Differences between Academic Writing and Email Writing

With communication being a text message away, there are positives and negatives about the new trend of fast finger communication. Besides using our fingers to type out messages from anywhere in the world at any time; what are the differences between academic writing and email writing? Although from the title of this blog, you probably don’t need me to explain the differences as once made aware of it, many students realize the differences. But for the fun of it, I’ll go through a few of the common mistakes. 1) Academic writing follows certain formats. For instance there is APA (American … Continue reading →

The Book of Quotes

If you’ve been reading this blog you’ll be very aware that I’ve been poking and prodding at you to do something about all of those papers you’ll no doubt have to write this quarter/semester in pursuit of your degree. All of the outside things are easy: talk to a professor, do research, something else, turn in your finished paper. What is that “something else” that gets you from research to a finished paper? Well, as many hilarious (and accurate) internet graphs/comics will tell you, the process of writing is anything but linear for most of us. You don’t just “pick … Continue reading →

Starting Now

Writing any paper is a difficult task. There so many thing to take into account before even selecting a topic — let alone writing an introduction — but far too often students bide their time by squandering it until the process of waiting becomes a frantic rush to the end. You’ve done it before, and unless you do something about it right now (and I mean right now) the end of your current semester is going to look very similar to the end of your previous semesters: stressful. Sure, you’ll find a way to stay awake that extra day through … Continue reading →

The Start of Work

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You know what’s hard? Starting to work on a big project (or, in my case, a large part of a huge project). It’s just disorienting. It feels like starting over. In some ways it feels like being a senior in high school, king of the class, and then going to college and being demoted to freshman. It really is like starting over again. All of the sudden you’re in unfamiliar territory and you’re not sure what to do, where to go, or even who you are. You question yourself. Why did I come here? Why did I even agree to … Continue reading →

A Thesis

My wife is a high school teacher and she often assigns to her students the task of writing a short (really really short) research paper each year. She gives them ample time, lots of revisions, and a great deal of feedback. Needless to say, many of the students she encounters (along with other students and teachers I know) don’t take their instructors’ advice to heart. They allow the knowledge to go in one ear (if any) and out the other quite quickly as they are seeking to do less than the minimum to get by with help from a little … Continue reading →

Short Answer

Once again my students are preparing for an exam and once again I am preparing to write up the exam they will be given. It is a complex course I teach. The students have three subjects, three instructors, three tests and a combination of in-class work, lecture, guest speakers and guest artists. One has trouble blaming them for asking what they should focus on while preparing for the exam. As such, they are given access to review materials in order to assist them in their studies. In truth, these review materials are often nothing more than the slides and notes … Continue reading →

Gentle, Not-So-Subtle “Suggestions”

My students are preparing for their big term paper. They are getting ready for that one last final thing before a long break between semesters is granted to them if they’ve been good boys and girls. They know that the term paper will cover the information in the entire book. They’ll have to write about a film and they’ll need to use all of that information to analyze it effectively. Little did they know that the teacher had something else in store for them… The class is large (more than 400 students) and due to that we don’t take attendance … Continue reading →

Another Book for Middle-Grade Boys!

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Mike Lupica is fast becoming as well-known for his middle-grade novels—in particular, the Comeback Kids series– as for his sports writing and broadcasting. Safe at Home is a book about baseball, friends, parents’ expectations, and fitting in. The main character, Nick, was adopted from foster care when he was nine. This underlies and explains many of his reactions to things. Lupica manages to convey to the reader how Nick’s experiences have influenced his perception of things without making the story all about adoption. As I said, it’s a baseball story. Descriptions of the plays and of the relationships among teammates … Continue reading →