Walden University Writing Center

Where instructors and editors talk writing.

Thursday Thoughts: Live Webinars in March

Can you believe it’s March already? How is your progress on your New Year’s writing goals?


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Superhero Complex

Sometimes, getting to work on a school paper can feel like an insurmountable task. After reviewing and re-reading the assignment prompt over and over, your mind feels like a blank sheet of white paper. You have no ideas; you don’t even know where to start. If you were in a superhero movie this would be the exact right time for one of the Avengers to crash through your wall and save the day; and, if you were on a limited budget – heck! - it would be the perfect time for you to discover your own super human writing powers.
 
If you’ve ever felt like you’ve wanted to be saved from what seems like the world’s worst paper-writing situation, you’re not alone. Now more than ever, living in world where “comic book solutions” (e.g. potions, heroes, and magic gadgets) seem to populate every film, TV show, and iPhone screen, viewing your own writing skills as anything less than “amazing,” “spectacular,” or “Thor-like” really feels like it’s the norm.

But why…?

Well, with very little prompting, it’s very easy for one to bring to mind the success stories of early achievers, prodigies, and change makers (e.g. Mozart, Picasso, Einstein) whose highly lauded “natural ability” made them professional “super heroes” early on. In addition, there is the inevitable association one has with school mates, peers, and work colleagues whom, by cosmic coincidence, also seem to possess some of the amazing earth-bound skills (i.e. paper-writing, problem-solving, organization, and goal setting) you’ve been trying to develop for years. As if living in a universe populated by fictional superheroes on the silver screen wasn’t enough (e.g. The Avengers, Spider Man, Iron Man, etc.) the online universe of Walden further exposes all of us to the possibility that everyone else seems to be writing superhuman, radioactive-perfect papers while we can’t even develop a sensible paper title.

In fact, what makes being a non-Avenger, “normal student” in the Walden Cinematic Universe so difficult, even harder than lifting Thor’s hammer off of Tony Stark’s coffee table on a bet, is that there are no easily accessible stories in TV or film that perpetuate the blockbuster adventures of everyday students who overcome big challenges by just moving ahead one step at a time. Somewhere between being a Tony Stark genius from birth to being an Asgardian God whose been fighting bad guys for centuries, it’s much easier for your brain to conjure up old stories about your own academic short-comings, rough starts, and failures than it is imagine a world where learning one new thing a day can start you down a new path to success in whatever field you select. Epic battles of exploding losses and giant radioactive Fs on assignments may have been part of your worst super hero stories in some of your early prequel stories, but times have changed. Your story at Walden is a new beginning and a chance to finally set the story in your super hero universe straight.

The heroes studying and writing papers at Walden University may not wear capes, but they don’t have to. Study upon study shows that the best way to overcome fear and anxiety about past failures is to simply create a new powerful story about success that lasts. If you want to know what the secret formula really is this is it: What really works is starting small and going slow. Don’t assemble the Avengers all at once. If you know you have a new paper assignment coming due in two weeks, don’t wait until the last-minute to writer it; don’t give Loki the advantage he’s been waiting for.

The best way to save the Universe – and your next writing assignment! - is to make a plan and to start early. Make an appointment with the Writing Center, visit our page on how to create a proper citation; practice your new skills daily, and give your new super-brain a workout.

The truth is there aren’t enough stories about Walden students “saving the day” by just completing one small task at a time, but there really should be. Walden students are absolutely their own kind of superheroes. They do things no other students can do and being at Walden now is proof-positive that things have changed. You’re already starting a new adventure in a whole new cinematic universe. You don’t need to wait for Thor or Iron Man to crash through the wall to save you. You have all the tools you already need. Get started today!

WriteCast Episode 55: Struggling with Spelling

In this month's WriteCast podcast, Claire and Kacy discuss how spelling can be included in the conversation about APA-style scholarly writing. Listen in as your hosts discuss some of the ways that spelling can trip up writers, especially writers writing in their second or third languages. Common pitfalls are discussed along with practical strategies and tools for avoiding spelling struggles. For example, did you know that it is possible to adjust the dictionary settings in Microsoft Word? Listen in to learn more! 

To subscribe to WriteCast: A Casual Conversation for Serious Writers, click the icons in the player below or click "subscribe" for sharing options. 

Visit our show page for a list of all of our WriteCast episodes and written transcripts for each episode.  



Episode Resources: 

• "Making Word Work For You" Walden Writing Center Blog post
• APA Section 4.12
• Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary
• Webster’s Third New International Dictionary (2002)
• APA Dictionary of Psychology
• Writing a Paper: Proofreading
• Microsoft Word tutoring from the Walden University Academic Skills Center (for current Walden students)

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Prewriting Strategies From the Very Beginning

Many students believe that the writing process begins when they sit in front of their computer and start typing. Although getting those first few words onto the page is an important step in the writing process, there are some things you can do before you type to make the process easier. In fact, the act of writing begins when you start reading your assigned articles.


One of the easiest ways to streamline your writing is to be a good reader. But what makes someone a good reader?

A good reader makes smart use of their time by actively reading the text. Most of us have probably had the experience of reading an article or a chapter in a textbook late at night and having no recollection of what we actually read the next day! This often means that we were passively reading; our eyes might have been moving across the page, but we weren’t really taking in the information in a meaningful way.

One way to make sure you are being an active reader taking in necessary information is through note-taking. Effective note-taking could mean paraphrasing ideas from various articles, highlighting key passages, or keeping track of key terms that authors use across articles. The most important thing about note-taking is to write down information that you think is important and to be sure to include where the information came from. No matter how informal your notes are, you should always include a citation at the end, just to be safe. There is nothing worse than having the perfect piece of information to support your thesis – and realizing that you forgot to write down which article it came from!

You don’t need to keep highly detailed, encyclopedic notes on every article you read, but it helps to jot down a few key ideas to help refresh your memory when you are ready to write that big course paper. For instance, what was the main argument? What methodology did the researchers use? What conclusions did they come to? What were some of the main themes? Keeping track of this material will help your brain actively take in the information, rather than defaulting to scanning the pages passively and not truly taking in the information.

If you are reading multiple articles for one paper, you can also start synthesizing the main  ideas by as you read by thinking about how these articles relate to one another. Do the authors of Article A agree with the Authors of Article B? Do they take different approaches? Was something less effective in one article? These notes may feel random or disjointed at first, but they will help you start to see patterns in your readings and will help you build your thesis before you even sit down to type.

Another important element of being an effective reader and, by extension, an effective writer, is to stay organized. Your notes won’t be of any use to you if you can’t remember where you put them! Thus, once you get into the habit of taking notes as you are reading, try to keep your notes in a single notebook or in a separate Word document to keep the most important information readily available. Keeping these notes all in one place you don’t waste precious time hunting through multiple notebooks or multiple documents in your computer.

By making sure you are being smart about how you read and how you keep track of what you read, you will make the writing process just that much easier for yourself! As daunting as academic writing can seem at times, you can make the process smoother and saving yourself time before you even sit down to write!




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February Webinar Schedule

It's the middle of February, and we still have some live Writing Center webinars to love this month! Won't you join us?


Writing and Responding to Discussion Posts
Thursday, February 20, 2019
7:00-8:00PM EST
As a Walden student, you'll write many discussion posts in your courses. Attend this webinar to learn the Writing Center's tips on how to create strong discussion posts and how to respond to your classmates' discussion posts.

Building and Organizing Academic Arguments
Tuesday, February 26, 2019
12:00-1:00PM EST
As a scholar, the purpose of your writing is to create an argument for the reader to consider. Thus, you also need to know how to convey that argument in a persuasive, convincing way. In this session, discover how to construct an academic argument as well as how to present it through your writing in with a focus on thesis statements, organization, using evidence, and paraphrasing.

If you are unable to attend any of these sessions in person, we post recordings of every live webinar event on the Walden University Writing Center website. The recordings of these sessions are posted 24 hours after they take place, and you can watch them free and on-demand. 



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Overcoming Writing Anxiety with Paper Review Services

When it comes to academic writing, it is common to experience writing anxiety. For many students, academic writing is a new adventure. However, some students have been out of school for decades, and the high expectations of course assignments can create anxiety.



As a Writing Instructor in the Walden University Writing Center, I have seen students struggle to write academic papers for many years. Throughout my 14 years of teaching adult learners, I have heard the concerns of many students from diverse academic backgrounds, and I noticed commonalities in what my students have to say. For example, students often say that they do not know how to begin or they do not know whether their writing is cohesive at the sentence or paragraph level. And of course, there is the common concern on the proper use of APA formatting, references, and citations.

Time and time again, I tell students they do not need to be afraid of writing because there are services to help. Writing anxiety does not have to exist because resources are available to support students in the writing process. One significant resource that I recommend is the Writing Center’s paper review service. 

Although the thought of getting a writing expert to review your writing may seem daunting, I would like to assure you that getting a Walden University Writing Center Instructor to review your work will only help you in the long run and lessen your fears when it comes to academic writing.

In case you are skeptical on whether paper review services can help, here are five ways you can overcome writing anxiety with paper review services:

1. Share your assignment’s instructions and your own writing goals

One of the first steps to obtain a paper review appointment would be to fill out the appointment form. On the form, you are encouraged to share your assignment’s instructions and any writing goals that you wish to gain from the appointment. The appointment form is a great place to share all of your anxiety and fears when it comes to academic writing. Let it all out. You are in a safe, judgment-free, and welcoming place to be as honest as possible. Providing this specific information will help the Writing Instructor internalize the given information and determine the best way to approach your paper to ensure satisfactory personalized instructional feedback.

Thursday Thoughts: Remembering your Reader

• Our web page on audience gives an overview of the topic
• On the blog, Nik looks at how he learned to consider his audience and adjust his language and tone.
• We also have a WriteCast episode on audiences.
• How do you know your audience? Amber shares tips for reaching audiences on the blog.
• And if you are thinking of writing for publication, here is how to plan choosing your audience.

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Where To Go From Here: Redefining Your Writing Prompt

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