Faculty Voices: Walden Talks Writing
With almost 700 (yes, you read that right!) blog
posts in our 10-year history, Writing Center bloggers have shared their
perspective on a variety of writing topics and many ways of thinking about
writing. Writing is such a rich topic for a blog because there are so many ways
to write about writing.
However, we realized that as much as you all enjoy hearing
from the Writing Center about writing, the faculty perspective on writing is
also extremely important and useful for students. Faculty are a wealth of
knowledge, bringing their experiences as teachers and as writers themselves. Because
of that, we are pleased to bring you our new project, FacultyVoices: Walden Talks Writing.
To develop these videos, Writing Center staff asked faculty
contributors from across the university a series of questions. Drs. Allyson
Wattley Gee, Catherine Kelly, Darci Harland, Gregory Campbell, Kim Critchlow,
and Laurel Walsh generously gave us their time to provide their writing advice
and views on academic integrity, social change, and writing a doctoral study.
We are grateful for their contributions and willingness to collaborate with us.
They each provided insights about writing that all students can benefit from,
including sharing their own experiences and challenges writing.
All of the Faculty Voices videos can be found on our FacultyVoices: Walden Talks Writing page and
integrated throughout our website, as well as via the list below. We hope
you’ll choose one to watch so you can benefit from these faculty’s experience,
advice, and expertise!
- Faculty Introductions: Learn about each of our faculty contributors
- Academic Integrity: Explore what academic integrity is and how can students avoid academic integrity
- Writing for Social Change: Consider how writing and social change are connected and hear about our faculty contributors’ experiences writing to achieve social change
- Writing Process: Learn how to develop a strong and effective writing process from our faculty contributors’ years of experience
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July 2020 Live Webinar Events
Mark your calendar for upcoming Writing Center webinars!
The webinar details and links to register are below, and you can also find registration and more information on the Writing Center’s webinar calendar page. All webinars include live captioning.
We know students can’t always attend a live webinar, so we record all of our webinars and archive them in our webinar archive for viewing at your convenience. You’ll also find the slides and transcripts for each webinar there as well.
Preparing for the Form and Style: Common Errors and Editor Q&A
Date: Thursday, July 9
Time: 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. ET
Audience: Doctoral Capstone Students
In this webinar we discuss the purpose of the form and style review and where it occurs in the approval process as well as outline student, committee, and editor responsibilities in finalizing manuscript drafts to prepare for ProQuest publication. The last portion of this session is Q&A with three of the Writing Center's editors.
Writing Effective Academic Paragraphs
Date: Wednesday, July 22
Time: 7:00 – 8:00 p.m. ET
Audience: All students
Paragraphs are the building blocks of an academic essay, and the strength of your writing and argument depend on developing effective paragraphs. Learn how to develop effective academic paragraphs by using topic, analysis, evidence, and concluding sentences (including an explanation of the MEAL plan). You will leave this webinar with a better understanding of the components of an effective paragraph, as well as tips for creating cohesion between and within paragraphs.
Practical Writing Skills: Paraphrasing Source Information
Date: Tuesday, July 28
Time: 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. ET
Audience: All students
Join us for a discussion of what paraphrasing is and tips for paraphrasing. In the second half of the session, you will be asked to practice so you can walk away confident in your paraphrasing skills.
We hope to see you at the webinars this month!
The Walden University Writing Center provides a broad range of writing instruction and editing services for students, including writing assistance for undergraduates, graduate students, and doctoral capstone writers.
Never miss a new post; Opt-out at any time
The webinar details and links to register are below, and you can also find registration and more information on the Writing Center’s webinar calendar page. All webinars include live captioning.
We know students can’t always attend a live webinar, so we record all of our webinars and archive them in our webinar archive for viewing at your convenience. You’ll also find the slides and transcripts for each webinar there as well.
Preparing for the Form and Style: Common Errors and Editor Q&A
Date: Thursday, July 9
Time: 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. ET
Audience: Doctoral Capstone Students
In this webinar we discuss the purpose of the form and style review and where it occurs in the approval process as well as outline student, committee, and editor responsibilities in finalizing manuscript drafts to prepare for ProQuest publication. The last portion of this session is Q&A with three of the Writing Center's editors.
Writing Effective Academic Paragraphs
Date: Wednesday, July 22
Time: 7:00 – 8:00 p.m. ET
Audience: All students
Paragraphs are the building blocks of an academic essay, and the strength of your writing and argument depend on developing effective paragraphs. Learn how to develop effective academic paragraphs by using topic, analysis, evidence, and concluding sentences (including an explanation of the MEAL plan). You will leave this webinar with a better understanding of the components of an effective paragraph, as well as tips for creating cohesion between and within paragraphs.
Practical Writing Skills: Paraphrasing Source Information
Date: Tuesday, July 28
Time: 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. ET
Audience: All students
Join us for a discussion of what paraphrasing is and tips for paraphrasing. In the second half of the session, you will be asked to practice so you can walk away confident in your paraphrasing skills.
We hope to see you at the webinars this month!
The Walden University Writing Center provides a broad range of writing instruction and editing services for students, including writing assistance for undergraduates, graduate students, and doctoral capstone writers.
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The Wonderful World of APA 7: Advice and Favorite Changes
With the summer term starts, Walden University has
officially adopted APA 7 across the university community. The Writing Center
instructors and editors have been busy preparing for the shift, working with faculty
and students on this transition to APA 7, and we are excited that the entire
university is now using APA 7.
APA 7 incorporates many changes that are responsive to current
writing and researching practices, and it clarifies some APA 6 rules that were
cumbersome or confusing. Take a look at few favorite APA 7 changes of Writing
Center staff and Walden faculty below.
What rule
change are you excited about in APA 7?
·
Simplified rules for when articles do not have a
DOI. –Claire Helakoski, Writing Center Writing Instructor
·
Always include the issue number in journal
article references where available. Much easier and quicker to reference! –Dr.
Kate Andrews, Contributing Faculty, PhD College of Management and Technology
·
One of the APA rule changes I am most excited
about is the streamlining of et al. use, so now sources with three or more
authors follow et al. format for each citation. –Veronica Oliver, Writing Center Writing Instructor
o Singular
"they" and the rationale behind it! –Dr. Jan Garfield, Core Faculty,
Doctor of Business Administration
o There
are so many, but I'm particularly excited that the new edition explicitly
supports the use of the singular "they". This is an example of
putting people before rules, and adjusting expectations around language to
reflect the inclusiveness we want to embody in our work. –Grete Howland, Writing Center Writing Instructor
With all this enthusiasm, we also recognize that students,
staff, and faculty are just beginning to learn the APA 7 guidelines. We have many
resources available to help you continue your journey:
·
Our APA6 and APA 7 Comparison Tables highlight the primary differences between APA
6 and APA 7, and the new APA7 Transition FAQ documents the most common transition questions we’ve heard
from students and faculty.
·
The APA Citations and Style Webinar Recordings are now all in APA 7, including our
APA 7 at a Glance sessions that detail the major changes from APA 6 to APA 7.
·
The General Templates and Doctoral Capstone Templates have been updated for APA 7. You now have the option of
accessing the Doctoral Capstone Templates and Prospectus Templates in either
APA 6 or APA 7.
·
All of the Writing Center’s APA Style instruction is now updated for APA 7, so you can
get the most up-to-date information from our website.
These are only a few of the ways you can develop your APA 7
skills! See some excellent recommendations from Writing Center staff and Walden
faculty below.
What will
you be doing to continue to learn and engage with APA 7?
·
I will continue to follow APA on social media to gain
insight on their reasoning behind their guidelines. This helps me understand
how to apply the rule in various situations. –Lauri Barnes, Writing Center Writing Instructor
·
I've participated in several webinars online. I've accessed a few "tip" guides online too that
highlight the major changes between APA 6th and 7th. [One example is the
Writing Center’s APA6 & 7 Comparison Tables!] Lastly, I've updated my EndNote program to
make sure that APA 7th edition format is installed. –Dr. Terrell Strayhorn,
Contributing Faculty, Riley College of Education
·
To continue to learn and engage with APA 7, I
plan to review Writing Center APA resources, such as the “APA7 at a Glance: Changes and Support for the Switch” webinar. –Veronica Oliver, Writing Center Writing Instructor
·
As I write articles and finish up a Master's
thesis, I am actively engaging APA and highlighting those sections reviewed.
Look at the index highlight and then the actual page. –Dr. Ora Robinson, Contributing
faculty, College of Nursing
·
I'll be watching all of the Writing Center's new
APA 7 webinars, and staying in conversation with my colleagues to clarify rules
and figure out the best way to communicate changes. –Grete Howland, Writing Center Writing Instructor
We invite you to post your favorite APA 7 change and how
you will continue to learn APA 7 in the comments below!
The Walden University Writing Center provides a broad range of writing instruction and editing services for students, including writing assistance for undergraduates, graduate students, and doctoral capstone writers.
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A Statement From the Director: June 16, 2020
Since its inception, the Writing Center has aligned with Walden’s mission of positive social change. Our mission and diversity and inclusion statement, in fact, highlight that principle; we support writers so that they can engage academically, civically, and globally.
Since 2017, our social change committee has devoted its efforts more specifically to issues of diversity and inclusion: We’ve focused our conversations on implicit bias, the challenges of standardized academic expectations, and identity-first and inclusive language; partnered with organizations including BreakThrough Twin Cities and Smithsonian’s Digital Volunteers Transcription Center; piloted a diversity and inclusion internship program; and actively engaged in improving our hiring practices to recruit more people of color.
But the center has to do more. We have yet to practically address the tension that comes from being committed to inclusion while also being responsible for reinforcing Standard Academic English, which privileges a primarily white language tradition. We still need to hire more people of color.
So let me start here: Black lives matter. Being proactive in dismantling racism, with writers and in writing, is part of what we do, right alongside the more traditional responsibilities we’ve historically had as a writing center.
As the director, I am committed to moving the writing center forward, toward specific partnerships and antiracist pedagogies that that will positively influence our ability to be responsive to our student writers. That means building off our conversations about Standard Academic English and institutionalized racism in writing, improving our existing hiring practices and work environment to ensure an inclusive and equitable work culture for a more diverse staff, and approaching our work with student writers through the lens of inclusivity.
Cordially,
Brian Timmerman
brian.timmerman@waldenu.edu
Director, Walden Writing Center
Pronouns: He, Him, His
Post updated July 6, 2020.
Upcoming APA 7 Webinars
Mark your calendar for upcoming APA 7 webinars! As the Walden
University community learns APA 7 and prepares for the university’s transition
(May 4 for students in semester-based programs and June 1 for students in quarter-based
programs and Tempo programs), we’re excited to share our May webinar schedule
with you. The Writing Center will be hosting live webinars about the transition
to APA 7 and APA-focused instructional webinars that have been updated to
reflect APA 7 guidelines.
The webinar details and links to register are below, and you
can also find registration and more information on the Writing Center’s webinar calendar page and on the Writing Center’s APA 7 transition page. All webinars include live captioning.
We know students can’t always attend a live webinar, so we
record all of our webinars and archive them in our webinar archive for viewing
at your convenience. You’ll also find the slides and transcripts for each
webinar there as well.
New webinar for all students:
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1:00 – 2:00 p.m.
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We hope to see you at the webinars, and we look
forward to continuing to support you on your journey of learning APA 7!
The Walden University Writing Center provides a broad range of writing instruction and editing services for students, including writing assistance for undergraduates, graduate students, and doctoral capstone writers.
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