As I was working my way through a stack of twenty-six literary analysis papers this weekend (I know - don’t ask.  It’s my own fault for letting students in over the enrollment cap.), I spent a lot of time thinking about what I and many other English teachers refer to as “the so what question.”

The so what question distinguishes the outstanding papers from the competent ones.  The so what question, as its name implies, simply looks at the interpretive claim you’re making and asks, “So what?” 

Three other ways to phrase the so what question are as follows:  What is significant about your claim?  How does this enrich my understanding?  What are the implications of your claim?  In each case, the reader is asking the writer to look beyond his or her own navel and connect the paper’s idea to a larger conversation in which both the writer and the reader are stakeholders.

(more…)

Technorati Tags: significance, so what, thesis, writing

In my last Writers’ Circle post, I asked our writers to report on whether they achieved their March writing goals and what they had planned for April.  Writers’ Circle member Adam kindly reminded me that I hadn’t updated the group on my own progress.

So here goes.  I have met my goal, but that’s not saying much.  My goal’s phrasing was way too vague to be helpful: it was “refine my argument.”  I will update you on my progress, set a new, more focused goal, and announce some other changes I’ll be making in order to make this goal more of a priority.

As you may remember, I’ve been working on a scholarly article on seventeenth-century English poet John Donne.  I have an academic journal in mind, and I have reviewed some of their recent issues to get a sense of the kind of work being published by that venue. 

One of the challenges of this article is that I’m applying a particular theological concept to one of Donne’s devotional poems.  As you know, I am a literary scholar, not a theologian.  Literary studies as an academic discipline regularly pulls theories from other disciplines to inform our readings of literary texts.  However, it can be daunting to try to understand another discipline well enough to use a certain theory appropriately. 

If you don’t do enough research, you risk misusing your material and constructing a flawed argument.  On the other hand, it’s easy to sink months into reading, reading, reading background material until your mind is so filled with other people’s ideas that your own project becomes more conceptually remote than when you had the initial idea.  In a strange way, too much research can be an academic’s way of procrastinating.

So, I have boned up on some of the theological material that I didn’t feel comfortable with, and I have copies to refer to and citations to find more detailed information.  In short, it’s time to draft.  As drafting goes, I’m a potter, so I’ll probably write three times as much text as I’ll need for the final article (which will be 20-25 pages).  I draft to discover: it’s just the way I work.  So what’s my goal for April? 

(more…)

Technorati Tags: goal setting, priorities, writing

 I called this post meta-diction, because I want to consider the larger conceptual and cultural implications of our word choices.  Many voices within the personal development world espouse the notion that a person can create his or her own reality.  If you couldn’t change your reality, why would you set goals, enhance productivity, and manage time?  All of those aspects of personal development are based on the premise that you can change your life by changing your behavior, attitudes, and outlook.

The way we talk about our reality is certainly a component of much personal development advice.  For example, we seek to eliminate that voice in our head that says, “I can’t…this is too hard…I’m tired…” and replace it with an empowering one. 

So what about a personal development classic:  “passion”?  We’ve all been encouraged to find our passion, that one thing that will give our lives direction and make getting out of bed each day a joy. 

This word gives me the creeps, and I’ll tell you why.

(more…)

Technorati Tags: passion, personal development, writing

 Hi, Everyone -

I’m pleased to announce that I wrote a guest post for The Positivity Blog.  It’s called How You Can Use Proposals to Achieve Your Goals.  The post considers the logic underlying proposals and extracts personal development ideas from it.   I hope you’ll check it out!

If you’re new to Writing Power, welcome!  I’m glad you’re here.  If you’d like to get an overview of the site and some of the most popular articles, check out a little site summary post I did recently: Welcome To Writing Power.

If you like what you read, I hope you’ll subscribe to Writing Power’s RSS feed. 

Cheers!

Loren

Technorati Tags: blog writing, proposals, writing tips

 Friday afternoon has to be my favorite time of the week, and not because it’s the end of the work week.  I love Friday afternoons because as I look toward the weekend, I see oodles of productive writing time ahead.  I’ll be able to get so much work done this weekend!  I can’t wait.  I’ll start… first thing tomorrow.  I mean, no sense in doing it right now.  Who ever heard of writing on Friday night? 

And so it begins.  The series of rationalizations that will lead inexorably to my least favorite time of the week: Sunday evening.  (A downside of being creative is that you can too often sell yourself a bridge in Brooklyn.)   Sunday evenings are as filled with self-recrimination as Friday afternoons are filled with optimism.  Somehow, the weekend slips by and I find I’ve done a fraction of the writing I had dreamed of doing. 

I think my problem is one of expectations, not productivity.  I do get things done each weekend.  But on Fridays, I dream up these grandiose plans.  I need to practice setting realistic goals.

So, Writers’ Circle, it’s time to do two important things: 1) share your progress for March, and 2) set your goals for April.  When May comes around, what would you like to have done? 

If productivity and motivation are challenging for you in terms of your writing, set goals that will inspire you to push yourself.  If you tend to set pie-in-the-sky goals (as I do) that actually work against you, then pare your goals down.

What?  You’re not a member of Writing Power’s Writers’ Circle?  It’s easy to join: just introduce yourself to the group in this post’s comments and share your writing projects and goals.  To meet the Circle’s amazing current members, click here.

 If you like what you’ve read, I hope you’ll become a regular reader by subscribing to Writing Power’s RSS feed.  In addition, please consider sharing your favorite posts through sites like digg, StumbleUpon, or del.icio.us using the “Share This” link below.  Thank you for your support!

Technorati Tags: writers circle, writing, writing support

 I am happy to report that I have finally dug my way out from under a mountain of student essays and climbed back up to the desk to write some posts.  Sorry for the mid-week hiatus.

As I was examining grammar handbooks for the next installment of Writing Power’s Proper Usage Guide, I came across a thought-provoking characterization of the difference between “can” and “may.”  I was surprised to discover that Diana Hacker’s Writers Reference, usually a bastion of fine distinctions, adopted a fatalistic tone about can/may. 

Hacker argues that the line between “can” and “may” has grown faint, and that the usage difference is now largely maintained in formal writing situations.  (In case you’re curious, “can” concerns ability, while “may” deals with permission.  Can I lift this heavy bag?  May I borrow five dollars?)

So why has Diana Hacker given up on can/may?  What’s next - shrugging at between versus among?  Does it matter?

Since I’m an English professor, you may expect me to say, “yes, it matters!  Hold the line lest we descend into chaos!”  But that’s not my perspective, and I’ll tell you why.

(more…)

Technorati Tags: grammar, prescriptivism, writing rules