Information Literacy

  Information Literacy will provide you with helpful information about active reading and interrogating written texts. As you will learn from reading "New Understandings of Literacy," ideas about literacy are constantly evolving. It is important to learn to probe both written and visual texts for their messages, tones, lenses, etc. Doing so will not only encourage you to become more of a critical thinker, but it will also enable you to become a more engaged citizen in an increasingly textual world New Understandings of Literacy

Visual Literacy

Decoding an Image Ad Analysis Annotating the Margins       

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New Media Writing

Thanks to today's communication technologies, even traditional texts, works perhaps written by 18th century authors, can be published online. Yet to be classified as "new media writing," a text needs to break free from the boundaries of text-based prose. It needs to be more, for example, than the Declaration of Independence uploaded to Wikipedia.  Images, video, sound, hyperlinks, social media features (such as discussions forums or social bookmarks)--these are some of the features that distinguish new media genres from traditional print texts that have been published online.  In addition, as writers work over time with specific technologies, patterns of organization, length, citation, linking, embedding emerge.  For example, college students are fairly accustomed to the course blog, where they are expected to summarize responses to required readings, link to related articles, and comment on other students' course blogs.  That said, because we are in the naescent, muddled, chaotic stages of early exploration, the distinguishing features of genres of new media tend to be less static, well defined. Literacy practices are undergoing major transformations. Thanks to new writing spaces, today's college students are redefining what it means to read, research, write, and share texts. These new writing spaces, new technologies, are empowering writers in ways that until now have been unimaginable.  Moreover, as writers experiment with these new technologies, addressing audiences and purposes that stretch the boundaries of academic writing, they are creating new genres, new conventions for structuring texts, from video mashups, twitter poems, to cell phone novels. Everyone has an opportunity to be a Gutenberg or Thomas Paine, to espouse an individualized common sense through a blog or website. Aphorists pen new witticisms on Facebook for their “friends” to see, and e-mail is seen by first-year students as an “old” way to write. The explosion of communication choices challenges colleges and universities to develop new courses and revise older courses and assignments to ensure students are prepared for the literacy demands of the 21st Century.  Of course, as with any revolution, the seismic changes in literacy practices challenge the status quo--and all of the money and power associated with traditional educational practices.  Subsequently, as students have put down their books for YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, and so on, educators worry that students have lost the ability to read the long book, to write the long research paper.    In addition to having more choices than ever when it comes to available writing spaces, today's college students have the potential to reach broad public audiences.  Using ubiguitous, often free, open source tools, college students can broadcast their views to the world, potentially reaching millions of readers.        

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Contribute

 

Do you have ideas for helping students improve as writers?  As we mention in our Mission Statement , we aspire to work with teachers and  graduate students to continue developing Writing Commons so that it is a real-time writing resource for students and teachers.  After reading this page, please review our Guide for Authors page for specific details about how to choose a subject, submit an idea, and work through the review process with our editors.

Teachers & Writers, Please Contribute!

Do you have resources that can help college students be more effective writers?  If you have expertise on a topic not presently covered or if you have important revisions to offer on an existing page, we invite you to submit your work/suggestions for publication. We are especially eager to add new media and interactive elements.  Much of Writing Commons is written, particularly the Process and Research sections; however we're still building a majority of the Genres subcategories. One of our short-term goals is to continue updating the site with podcasts, videos, and new articles so that Writing Commons serves as a useful text for writing across the disciplines.  By working collaboratively, we are hopeful that we can develop a new kind of writing resource, a real-time writing space that is composed collaboratively by a crowd of people who share the motivation to create a new kind of writing resource, one that is more interactive, more Web 2.0ish--a space that can be easily edited to meet your needs, one that is readily available on your phone, PDA, or netbook. Please note that all submissions to updating and expanding Process and Research and Genres sections will be peer-reviewed by our editorial staff or distinguished Editorial Board. Because we assume Writing Commons will be the assigned resource in many college-level classrooms that require writing, we take seriously the responsibility to ensure that submissions and edits are well conceived. Topics being called for:

Writing Process

Play the Believing Game Map Your Assignment Outline the Assignment Focus Develop a Thesis Respond to the Prompt  Remediate (Text to Text, Text to Visual, Visual to Text) Play the Doubting Game Interpret Instructor Feedback Approach Instructors for Further Suggestions Chart Progression of Points Revise Reorganize Paragraphs Reoragnize Material within Paragraphs  Avoid Jargon, Cliches, and Archaisms Battle Wordiness Pay Attention to Agreement (Subject-Vern Agreement, Subject-Pronoun Agreement, Parallelism, Tense Shifts) Incorporate Appropriate Pronouns Ensure Your Voice is Present Use Academic Language Battle Wordiness Pay Attention to Agreement (Subject-Verb Agreement, Subject-Pronoun Agreement, Parallelism, Tense Shifts) MLA APA Chicago

Research

Textual Research Find Credible & Relevant Sources  Search WorldCat and Library Databases  Intergrate Evidence Outside Sources (Use Appropriate Tye of Sourced Material, Introudce Sourced Material, Integate Sourced Material) Nontraditional Tpes of Evidence (Personal Anecdote, Hypthetical Example) Genres Creative Writing Journal Entries Biography Creative Nonfiction Poetry Short Stories Novels Plays Scripts Academic Writing Exam Essays (In-Class Exams, Take-Home  Exams) Close Readings Historical Perspectives Toulmin Arguement Professional Writing Technical Writing (Technical Descriptions, Instructions & Process Reports) Business Writing (Workplace Letters &Memos, Cover Letter and Resumes, Letters of Resignation)

Collaboration

Group Work (Negotiating Differences) In-Class Peer Review Online Peer Review Peer Review Worksheets

New Media

Blogs Vlogs Open Fiction Fan Fiction Wikis Discussion Board Forms

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Genres

  As a student in an American college, you may be given the opportunity to write texts that address four distinct "discourse communities"--that is, communities of readers with shared interests and expectations: Creative Writing Community, Academic Writing Community, Professional & Technical Writing Community, and the New Media Community.   Over time, conventions emerge among writers in these discourse communities about the best ways to research, organize, and transmit documents that address specific audiences and purposes.  These conventions are commonly called genres or forms.  The objective of this part of Writing Commons is to explore some of the common genres of documents produced by writers of these discourse communities.

Creative Writing

Chiefly seeks pleasure and entertainment

Academic Writing

Professors and students often consults texts to develop new knowledge or to demonstrate understanding of existing knowledge (think, for example, "teacher as examiner" as a common readership)

Professional Writing

Employers, employees and clients that are focused on business matters or the explanation or use of technical information        

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Research

Research Primer

Review the Research Primer to learn more about ways different academic disciplines conduct research. While important differences exists across academic disciplines regarding what constitutes a valide research methodology, speaking broadly we can define two dominant forms of research: Textual Research and Empirical Research. As discussed below, textual research is based on dialogues and interpretations of texts whereas empirical research is based on formal observation.  Interestingly, these two methods grow out of two distinct intellectual traditions: writing and authorship conducted by humanists and scientific study conducted by scientists and social scientists. 

Textual Research

Research is defined by many academic disciplines, such as English or History, as primarily a textual process.  In other words, some researchers--a group that is common called "scholars"--focus on texts—that is, on responding to them, critiquing them, or in rereading them with a particular theory in mind,    such as Capitalism, Marxism, Psychoanalysis, Behaviorism, Deconstruction, Modernism, Postmodernism. Additionally, Scholars can develop their work in response to everyday experiences, issues in the popular culture, the Media, and the Internet. Beyond debate and logic, Scholars lack a way to prove one idea or approach is superior to any other.

Empirical Research

College students are often surprised by how much they enjoy conducting field research: Field research provides writers with the satisfaction of knowing that they are doing original work. Clearly, clever minds can develop innovative ideas based on printed and Internet sources. Yet interviewing others, developing questionnaires, or making first-hand observations can feel more dynamic, more original. Many students find they enjoy developing methods to answer research questions on topics of interest.

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Collaboration

 

Contrary to the myth of the isolated author in the garret, successful writers do not work in isolation. Writers collaborate extensively. Writers develop their best ideas by discussing issues with colleagues, by researching others' ideas, and by exchanging comments about one another's documents.

Collaboration: An Integral Part of the Writing Process

Collaborating is an integral component of writing. Many people get their best ideas by discussing issues and drafts and by accounting for readers' responses to their documents. Thankfully, new communication technologies make it easier to collaborate than ever before possible. Collaboration has always been an important part of the writing process. Using language is inherently a social process. When the first cave man started doodling on the cave, he probably had critics looking over his shoulder, suggesting he hold the brush a different way, mix the paint differently, perhaps make the buffalo appear fiercer, and so on. Many people find discussions with trusted colleagues to be an invaluable way to develop and polish ideas. Professionals in most disciplines, for example, attend conferences so that they can discuss ideas with colleagues and leading researchers. Writers in business and scientific contexts commonly work in teams with individuals responsible for their areas of expertise, such as marketing language, audience, finance, research, and editing. Some authors do not feel comfortable beginning a new project until they have discussed their ideas with others. Successful writers do not wait until they have completed a project before seeking constructive criticism. Instead, they share early drafts with critics. Teamwork and Group Management Strategies follow these tips for nurturing teamwork in group situations. Managing Group Projects: Follow these tips for nuturing teamwork in group situations Advice on Finding Collaborators: Consider these questions when selecting collaborators Providing and Receiving Feedback in Group Situations: Consider these suggestions when critiquing documents in group situations Document Review Guidelines: Follow these recommendations for following useful feedback on peers' writing Navigate Readers Suggestions Wisely: Learn how to navigate through useful and useless criticism

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Writing Process

 

Play the Believing Game

The Writing Process is bounded by two contrary actions: believing and doubting. Especially during the early stages of the writing process, you can work more productively by setting aside doubt and play the believing game,a "game" that is characterized by having faith in the writing process - faith that with additonal work, your ideas will find clarity, evidence, and organization. Develop Effective Writing Habits Invent Focus Organize Remediate

Play the Doubting Game

While playing the believing game is critical to the Writing Process, at times you also need to be critical (even hypercritical) of your ideas and drafts.  On occasion, you need to step back and ask yourself critical questions, such as "Am I providing the narrative that my readers need to find my analysis compelling?  Is my evidence truly credible?  Jeez, is this wordy?  Can I say the same thing in half the space?" Organize, Design, Revise, Edit, Peer Review, and Publish - these activities are essential to playing the doubting game, a process that is inevitably necessary as we work our way toward meaning, significance, and clarity. Consider Feedback Revise Edit Format Publish  

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