ID 2050 Zen Lectures

Why ZEN? Relates to Zen and the Art of … You know quality innately You have it inside you

THREE PARTS 1.Zen and Writing 2.Zen and Visuals 3.Zen and Presentations

Zen and WRITING

Quality in Writing “Quality is a characteristic of thought and statement that is recognized by a nonthinking process. Because definitions are a product of rigid, formal thinking, quality cannot be defined.” Robert M. Pirsig Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance pp

Storytelling and Genres Writing is Serial Storytelling The Proposal and IQP Genres Typical Proposal Structure Tools and Techniques Rhetorical Moves Peer Editing Writing Resources Book: The Call to Write Book: Hacker The Writing Center

Proposal/IQP Structure Executive Summary 1.Introduction 2.Background 3.Methodology 4.Results 5.Analysis 6.Conclusions 7.Recommendations Appendices

Recognizing Quality Writing Can you recognize quality writing if you see it?

Introduction Samples

Moves on Favorite

Intro: Rhetorical Moves 1.Establish field or general topic/context 2.Introduce specific problem or issue 3.Specify scope of problem/issue by summarizing previous research 4.Identify research space 5.Introduce present research

Move 1 Move 1 Establish field or general topic/context What is the BIG PICTURE? What larger societal issue is involved? What is your IQP an example of? What is happening in the world vis-à-vis this topic?

Move 2 Move 2 Introduce specific problem or issue How does the larger issue manifest itself in the host country (or region or place)? How is your sponsor specifically affected by the big issue?

Move 3 Move 3 Specify scope of problem/issue What’s the status quo of the issue at the local/sponsor level? What are some of the facts/figures about the issue locally? What has been done about it?

Move 4 Move 4 Identify research space – the gap What has not been done yet? How is what’s been done inadequate or insufficient?

Move 5 Move 5 Introduce present research How is your project going to contribute to filling the gap? What specific contribution will you make? How specifically are you going to make such contribution (by doing what)?

Moves on Favorite?

Writing Survey…

Writing Experience How many have completed the SUFFICIENCY? How about a “lengthy” or “serious” writing project? How long was the LONGEST writing ever? (100+, 50+, etc.)

Self Assessment Raise your hand if you consider your writing… 1.Poor 2.Mediocre 3.Average 4.Good 5.Excellent

Worst Skill Raise your hand if you consider your WORST writing skill to be… 1.Spelling 2.Grammar 3.Vocabulary 4.Clarity 5.All of the above

Opinion about Writing Raise your hand if you agree with the following: 1.Writing well is essential for success in life 2.Writing can be learnt 3.I would prefer not to have to do any writing

Common Writing Mistakes For the next several questions, please determine if the sentences shown are correct or incorrect or select the correct word to fill in the blanks…

Its and It’s Q11) Boston shows [blank] best face during Spring 1.It’s 2.Its REMEMBER: It’s = IT IS (replace and see if it sounds right)

The Agency/They Q12) The Boston Fire Department is worried about the permits [blank] authorized in the past 1.It has 2.They Have REMEMBER: Agencies and organizations are SINGULAR nouns See the verb?

Number/Amount Q13) Boston’s C-Street is surrounded by a large [blank] of abandoned industrial buildings 1.Number 2.Amount REMEMBER: Amount is used for UNCOUNTABLE items If you can COUNT them, use NUMBER!

(Dangling) Impersonal Subjects Q14) Which of the two excerpts sounds (more) correct? 1. Thailand is plagued by high unemployment and poverty. This creates a serious social imbalance. 2.Thailand is plagued by high unemployment and poverty. These circumstances create a serious social imbalance. REMEMBER: The subject of a sentence must be CLEAR!

Passive Voice/Personal Pronouns Q15) Which of the following sentences sounds better to you? 1.A survey was chosen as the method to collect data 2.We chose to collect data using a survey 3.The team chose to collect data using a survey REMEMBER: Passive voice is impersonal and awkward.

Telegraphic Sentences Q16) Which of the following sentences sounds better to you? 1.We surveyed the slum. The slum is home to 10,000 people. The people who live in the slum are generally poor 2.We surveyed the slum, which is home to 10,000 people, most of whom are poor REMEMBER: Connect sentences to avoid needless repetitions and awkward rhythm

Word Choices Q17) Which of the following sentences sounds better to you? 1.The data we got was really good for our project. 2.The data we obtained were extremely useful for our project. REMEMBER: Refrain from “simplistic” words like get/got, good, etc. Data is a plural noun

Gender Neutrality Q18) Which of the following sentences sounds better to you? 1.We asked each homeowner if he would benefit from the new fire system. 2.We asked each homeowner if he or she would benefit from the new fire system. 3.We asked all homeowners if they would benefit from the new fire system. REMEMBER: Refrain from gender-biased writing. Use plural to avoid awkward he/she sentences

Academic Writing "The move from a structuralist account in which capital is understood to structure social relationships in relatively homologous ways to a view of hegemony in which power relations are subject to repetition, convergence, and rearticulation, brought the question of temporality into the thinking of structure, and marked a shift from a form of Althusserian theory that takes structural totalities as theoretical objects to one in which the insights into the contingent possibility of structure inaugurate a renewed conception of hegemony as bound up with the contingent sites and strategies of the rearticulation of power." Judith Butler, professor of rhetoric and comparative literature at the University of California at Berkeley, who has been described as "one of the 10 smartest people on the planet." from an article published in the scholarly journal Diacritics. Winner of the 1998 Bad Writing Contest (based on academic journal articles) from the scholarly journal Philosophy and Literature, based in New Zealand.

Academic Writing "If, for a while, the ruse of desire is calculable for the uses of discipline, soon the repetition of guilt, justification, pseudo-scientific theories, superstition, spurious authorities, and classification can be seen as the desperate effort to 'normalize' formally the disturbance of a discourse of splitting that violates the rational, enlightened claims of its enunciatory modality." Homi K. Bhabha, professor of English at the University of Chicago, for this sentence from his book The Location of Culture. Silver medalist in the 1998 Bad Writing Contest (from academic journal articles) from the scholarly journal Philosophy and Literature, based in New Zealand.

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