Read-Think-b4-u-Write

Can you be kind to your critics? You betcha...and it is especially important if you want them to listen to you, and if you want your readers to take you seriously. If  you write counterarguments that are weak or insubstantial, all the better to dismiss them and lose ethos to boot. This is especially true if your readers are passionate about your subject. Somewhere along the way you have to take on, and tackle, the strongest counterargument you can think of - and that can be difficult. Daniel Dennett, one of today's best modern philosophers, asks "Just how charitable are you supposed to be when criticizing the views of an opponent?” Here's his answer, word-for-word: "How to compose a successful critical commentary:  "1. You should attempt to re-express your target’s position so clearly, vividly, and fairly that your target says, 'Thanks, I wish I’d thought of putting it that way.'  "2. You should list any points of agreement (especiall...

There is a lot of confusion about student loan forgiveness, so let's try to clear things up a bit. In 2014, 37 million Americans had student loan debt that averaged $23,200. Depending on where you live and where you go to school your student loan debt may be larger - a lot larger. I bet most college students are aware of student loan forgiveness programs, but they probably have no idea how they work. Over at Student Loan Hero , Eric Roseberg has outlined the basics of student loan forgiveness - and it's something to think about. Here's some of the basics (disclaimer: this stuff changes all the time, so stay caught up with new or revised forgiveness plans): Student forgiveness plans apply mainly to federal student loans (Perkins loans are another matter), so all those loans you took out with Wells Fargo will NEVER qualify for forgiveness. Most banks are private institutions out to make money, so avoid taking a loan with them at all costs. Federal loans for ce...

Who are the Jetsons? George Jetson had the greatest car ever when I was ten and now UBER is planning on taking commuting to the sky. Yup, you read that right they want to introduce VTOL aircraft "vertical take-off and landing" crafts to make commuting safer and cleaner. According to Futurism. com  "the concept is simple: Uber plans to provide a cost-effective and efficient ridesharing service in the sky. Commuters will ride a 'network of small, electric [VTOL aircraft] that will enable rapid, reliable transportation between suburbs and cities and, ultimately, within cities,' according to Uber’s paper. Not only that, this service is green as Uber’s VTOLs will run on electric propulsion systems with zero operational emissions." What about infrastructure? Easy. Uber VTOLs can take use roofs, existing parking structures, helipads, and unused land around freeways for vertistops or vertiports. But what is this going to cost? "Uber believes VTOL trips...

How do you give a stellar impression to your prospective college? It's not your admission essay, or your volunteer work, or your GPA . . . it's your social media presence. What!? That's right it's what you tweet, post, and blog. Huh? Oh, and I don't mean in a good way. If your college uses social media to narrow the field of incoming freshman you could find yourself reeling when you receive that "Thanks, but no thanks" letter in the mail. At least that's what the good folks over at CNN are telling us as they go through some step-by-step questions. 1. Should I delete my social media account or make it private?  CNN recommends delete, but I think that is a bit extreme. Private is probably a good idea because it narrows what comes up about you. BTW when was the last time you conducted a google search on yourself? 2.Do I have to delete every single party pic of me and my friends? Nah, just be sure you take down the ones that "exhibit poor jud...

Here's a fun fact: "For every 100 kids who start college, just 25 get degrees and attractive jobs. Some 45 drop out, and another 30 graduate but end up under- or unemployed"--at least that is what  Market Watch  is reporting--and those drop outs and underemployed have whopping amounts of student debt. Too many students may be "book ready" once they leave college, but they can't even accomplish the fundamental real-world applications required by their major. Take the example of the MIT graduates (yes, that's plural) that could not use a wire, light bulb, and battery to make a light bulb work. Yikes. It is important to get a hands-on education--that's why vocational studies are so important in high school. Oh, you don't know what vocational studies are? Well that's because wood shop, bookkeeping, nursing, and auto shop have been cut from K-12 education. Did you have electronics in high school? Could you build a basic computer? No? Yeah, t...

You made it! You're in college, living on your own in the dorms or sharing a space with your best friends. Things couldn't be better until reality hits. In   The 9 Habits You Develop In College That Will Haunt Your Wallet , Maggie McGrath at Forbes talks about some real money drains, in other words how to just flush money directly down the toilet, especially if you rely on credit cards. First off, the article doesn't mention a couple things: 1) set a budget and stick to it, and 2) use CASH whenever possible. Relying on plastic just makes it too easy to do the following nine BAD habits: 1. Eating in the dining hall for every meal. Well, this should read "Eating in the dining hall for every meal AFTER your meal plan has run out." Granted there isn't a gigantic kitchen in the dorms, but, heck, Top Ramen was invented for college students, wasn't it? If you have a freezer, get stuff you can nuke. 2. Late-night bingeing. Studying at 2:00 a.m.? Need som...

Canto XVI - Circle Seven, Ring Three - Blasphemers, Usurers, and Sodomites (?) Danté is accosted by three shades from his hometown, Florence, a "degenerate" city. These men are covered with sores and joined together like a wheel "their feet moved forward while their necks were straining back." These sinners are punished by continual movement, reflecting their agitated lives. Two of the men are Guido Guerra and Tegghiaio Aldobrandi, Guelph powerhouses and usurers. The speaker is Iacopo Rusticucci, another Guelph and possible homosexual. We again run into a problem when looking at sodomy. Rusticucci says, "It was my bestial wife, more than all else, who brought me to this pass." Some say this line means his wife drove him to homosexuality while others believe that his wife enjoyed anal sex (a sin at the time). The reader never actually meet homosexuals in Hell, so this can be interpreted in many ways. Something to consider is that homosexuality is punish...

Canto XIII - Circle Seven, Ring Two - Suicides and Spendthrifts Danté and Virgil enter a wood where the "filthy Harpies nest." Talk about metafiction. We have Danté writing about creatures from the Aeneid written by Virgil, his guide through Hell, in a poem about Christianity . . . but I digress. The wood (the only vegetation in Hell besides the meadows of limbo) is populated by brambles that, when broken, can speak. Dante breaks off a branch. "Are you completely without pity?" the branch laments as it "blisters and hisses." The bramble was once Pier delle Vigne, a minister to Emperor Frederick II. Remember, the Ghibellines supported the Holy Roman Emperor, while the Guelphs (Dante's party) supported the pope. Delle Vigne rose to power quickly and held sway at court for about 20 years until he was accused of stealing from the treasury. He was blinded and thrown into prison where he committed suicide "to escape from scorn." "R...

"Now lend me your ears! This is how to write a good short story." This is how Kurt Vonnegut begins his tips for writing short stories that readers will actually finish. Kurt Vonnegut wrote the classic science fiction stories Cat's Cradle and Slaughterhouse 5 (click on the links to listen to each) and was never afraid of speaking his mind. He once called semicolons “transvestite hermaphrodites representing absolutely nothing." Vonnegut's eight tips for a good story are: 1. Use the time of a total stranger in such a way that he or she will not feel the time was wasted. 2. Give the reader at least one character he or she can root for. 3. Every character should want something, even if it is only a glass of water. 4. Every sentence must do one of two things–reveal character or advance the action. 5. Start as close to the end as possible. 6. Be a sadist. No matter how sweet and innocent your leading characters, make awful things happen to them–in ...

Tiffany Jones, editor, at CSUEB's Pioneer writes "Six things college has taught me, to date" . The first one made this former mother of two college students laugh, yes, out loud. "We all wish our mom still did our laundry." C'mon admit it, I bet you arrive home with a suitcase full of dirty laundry when you visit your parents. All kidding aside, she offers some sound advice. 1. Being a big kid is hard - no moms and dads at college . 2. Time management is key to success - get off social media 24/7, get to class on time, do your homework the day before, not 4:00 a.m. 3. You can’t escape reality - make goals and live up to them. 4. Conflict is essential - The advice I'd give my own children and students, "You can say whatever you want to your teacher/boss/counselors as long as you do so politely." 5. Being discouraged is okay - should read "Being discouraged is essential." If you aren't discouraged from time to time, yo...

Odysseus's Journey Did you ever wonder why it took Odysseus ten years to complete a journey that should have taken a month? Did you ever wonder why Odysseus after fighting a ten-year war, doesn't just jump in his ship and paddle back to Ithaca (and Penelope) as fast as he can? Well, those are questions that could be argued forever, and probably will be, but now there is an interactive map of Odyssesus's Journey  to help readers keep track of the wandering hero. Something to notice about the map is that Odysseus could not have taken a longer route if he planned it that way. Click on the link and you'll see. He starts out in Troy then heads right across the straight to Ismara which he plunders - oops, bad move. Before he and his men can get back on the ships many are killed. They then run into fierce storms that carry them all the way across the Mediterranean to northern Africa where they reach the land of the lotus eaters. The crew imbibes of the lotus and ends up ...

The Marrkkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University in Silicon Valley held a contest asking students to develop an Ethical Decision making app that incorporated values presented in the "Framework for Ethical Decision Making": "Making good ethical decisions requires a trained sensitivity to ethical issues and a  practiced method for exploring the ethical aspects  of a decision … The more novel and difficult the ethical choice we face, the more we need to rely on discussion and dialogue with others about the dilemma. Only by  careful exploration of the problem,  aided by the insights and different perspectives of others, can we make good ethical choices in such situations. We have found [this] framework for ethical decision making a useful method for exploring ethical dilemmas and  identifying ethical courses of action. " See any problems with this brand of moral decision making? What discussion and dialogue or insights of different perspective...

Rewriting is the essence of writing well—where the game is won or lost. —William Zinsser This is very true - instructors don't expect everything in the first draft and, in fact, expect what Anne Lammott would call a "shitty first draft." Here is some basic advice when it comes to revising drafts: 1) Revision is NOT just about fixing grammar and spelling.  2) Revision is NOT just about moving some words around or finding every synonym Word has to offer.  3) REREAD the prompt.  Are you answering the question being proffered, or have you gone off on some tangent? Get back on track and revise towards the prompt. 4) Check in with your thesis.  Is this the paper you just wrote, or did you discover a new approach towards the topic as you wrote your exploratory draft?  Make necessary adjustments.  5)  When revising the next draft "think big"....what kind of evidence (stats, facts, quotes, examples) do you need to support ALL of your points? ...

"Until you're actually in a catastrophe you don't know how you'd behave."  That's how Glenn Stutzky prefaces the MSU Summer 2014 class " Surviving the Coming Zombie Apocalypse – Disasters, Catastrophes, and Human Behavior ". When I first heard about this class, I didn't give it much credence.  Another crazy pop culture class - but then again, as a teacher of comics and all things related, I had to step back.  After all Walking Dead is one great comic book series that was serialized on television.  Although, I have to say, I still wasn't convinced that the zombie apocalypse was an appropriate fit in classes on the study of human behavior. That was before I watched the above video. What changed my mind?  The Mt. Diablo Fire of 2013.  I had always thought of myself as one of those people who, in the face of disaster, would remain calm, cool, and collected, rescuing neighbors and pets alike.  But, no, when Mt. Diablo was engulfed in fla...

We synthesize all the time. When you have a conversation with a friend about something your other friends have said about that certain someone, that's a synthesis. When you are given an assignment that asks you to use "at least one quote" to support your opinion, that's a synthesis. When you go on RateMyProfessor to find reviews of a specific professor in order to decide whether to take his or her class, that's a synthesis. When you read or watch the news, surf the internet, or your favorite video channel, and then form a new opinion, that's a synthesis. Every one of the posts on this blog are a synthesis.  I'm not reinventing the wheel here, I just look for articles that might interest college students, or help them understand a concept better, and then add my own "two cents", as my father would say. But let's take a closer look at the definition of an academic synthesis from Drew University : "Although at its most basi...

Are you special? Over at Huffpo "Why Generation Y Yuppies Are Unhappy" hit the blogosphere claiming that Generation Y GYPSYs (Gen Y Protagonists & Special Yuppies) think they are "the main character of a very special story" and since they are the protagonist of their own story they are easily disappointed when everything doesn't go their way. Ouch! That's gotta hurt. Let's back up a minute here.  Who are these GYPSYs?  GYPSYs are "the generation born between the late 1970s and the mid 1990s . . [who are] also part of a yuppie culture that makes up a large portion of Gen Y." So I guess that's most of today's traditional age college students. GYPSY parents are part-Hippie, part-Yuppie.  Their grandparents are part of the Greatest Generation who grew up during the depression and then fought and won World War II - hence the "Pussies" comment from Gramps (btw, gramps says that about every succeeding generation). GYP...

Mark Twain the author of such literary greats as Puddn'head Wilson and Huckleberry Finn was also a humorist and essayist.  His avid reading took him across disciplines as was common in 19th century America and some of his annotations have been featured in an article on "Twain's Viciously Funny Marginalia" . Heaven help John Dryden, the translator of Plutarch's Lives , which, is "Translated from the Greek" into, as Twain annotates, "rotten English . . . the whole carefully revised and corrected by an ass."  As you can see, Twain had some strong feelings about the English language and did not hesitate to talk back to his texts. On the title page of Saratoga in 1901, Twain renames the volume Saratoga in 1891, or The Droolings of an Idiot. What do you look for when annotating a text?  Are you summarizing paragraphs in the margin? Are you talking back to the text the way Twain does? When you talk back to a text you are engaging in criti...

According to the graphic " Anatomy of the World's Top-Performing CEOs " created by Domo the average CEO is a married guy with a receding hairline who has 3.1 children (I feel sorry for that .1 child). Furthermore he went to some fancy college.  On the other hand, only 29 percent hold an MBA and 61 percent were educated outside of the United States. Here's a stat that should make you smile, 79 percent were promoted from within; meaning hang in there and you can make your way up the corporate ladder. Here's another plus.  Many of the top companies are in California. What's missing? How old are these guys?  Receding hairlines and 3.1 children implies middle age.  It seems that experience (not just education) has a lot to do with a CEOs capabilities. What else is missing? Women.  Only two of the top 100 CEOs are women! Why in the 21st century do you think there are so few top women CEOs?  Do women dislike being CEOs?  Are women not cut ...

That is the question.  Well, apparently not for one high school senior attending an informational seminar for Bowdoin College, the school to which she had applied. "Throughout the presentation, she apparently posted disparaging comments on Twitter about her fellow attendees, repeatedly using a common expletive. "Perhaps she hadn’t realized that colleges keep track of their social media mentions," reported Dean Meikeljohn in "They Loved Your GPA Then They Saw Your Tweets." And you thought only employers would track such things? Think about it, if you owned a company or were the Dean of a college wouldn't you want to know what people are saying about your product, company, or college?  Of course, you would.  Would-be employers or colleges don't just Google perspective employees or students, they keep track of their web reputation as well.  "'We would have wondered about the judgment of someone who spends ...

When you reach college you will be writing a variety of research papers and by the time you reach second year English, your instructors expect that you know how to paraphrase, quote, use in-text citations, and create a works cited page entry in your sleep. Why is citation important? Plagiarism is one thing that can get your kicked out of college. Your ideas and your writing belong to you. Just like my thoughts and my writings belong to me and Shakespeare's thoughts and writings belong to him. So give credit where credit is due. Here are a couple of quizzes to test your knowledge: Click on the link for an In-Text Citation Quiz offered by McGraw-Hill Click on the next link for a Works Cited Quiz created by McGraw-Hill . So how did you do? Were you surprised by how much you knew about in-text citations and works cited entries? Or how much you need to learn? Don't worry it's not too late there are all kinds of online resources for avoiding plagiarism. I would also r...