Who Are These People?

Each one of us is accustomed to the word “I” used as a self identification. “We” is the plural form. Other first person pronouns are “me,” “my,” “our,” and “us.”

Second person pronouns refer to the person to whom you speak directly, the person or people across from you in a conversation, or even you as the reader of this blog. Second person pronouns are the basic “you” and “your,” with the additional “you’re” (a contraction for “you are”) thrown in because it is commonly used.

The third person pronoun indicates anyone at all out there in the universe, Third person pronouns are “he,” “she,” “they,” “theirs,” “them,” etc.

No doubt someone has told you not to use second person pronouns (“you,” “your”) in formal writing, and you may wonder why that is the case. The answer is that second person pronouns are considered too personal for formal writing; and third person pronouns are preferred for a considered, somewhat impersonal but objective tone.

One way to remember to use third person pronouns is to concoct a mental picture of your professor holding your essay and reading along nicely until the moment comes when a statement such as, “You should never drink a gallon of whiskey and then get behind the wheel of your car” catches him (or her if you don’t want to be sexist) by surprise.

You might imagine your professor taking terrible offense with a frowning “Who… me?” expression taking the place of a previously pleased one as the reading of your otherwise perfect paper continues. It is far better for your timely advice against whiskey drinking and driving to be directed toward anyone else, some anonymous “he” or “she” or “they” out there in the wide, wide world, rather than your very own professor whose drinking and driving habits are doubtless above suspicion.

In any reading, whoever is doing the reading can be considered the “you” to whom you refer when opting to use a second person pronoun. Stay with third person pronouns so that your reader cannot take what you say personally. (You might note that I used a sentence formation that constitutes the “you understood” form, as in (“You”) Stay with third person pronouns ….)

Two other aspects of pronoun usage have to do with number (Pronoun/Antecedent Agreement) and case (Pronoun Case). I hope that you will look into both topics in order to learn to apply the right pronoun in the right place.

There is little I can say about the awkwardness of “he/she” or “him/her” constructs. That difficulty belongs to grammarians concerned about gender bias. I try to avoid putting myself in the position of trying to solve the problem of sexism in writing, often choosing plural nouns so that the generic “them” or “their” or “they” takes the place of a singular “he/she” or “him/her.” Once upon a long time ago, a singular noun was followed by “he” or “him,” meaning mankind (or humankind), all of us; but that usage has passed from favor nowadays. That said, the unwieldy use of “he/she” or “s/he” is probably more acceptable than using the word “you” in a formal essay.

Roxy’s tip: Avoid awkwardness and confusion in your fomal writing by using pronouns appropriately.

See you next time the breeze is cool, the sun is up, and the waves roll into view! My next entry is coming soon. ‘Til then, hang ten!

Welcome to the Stone Writing Center!

We don’t have a long and cold winter in South Texas, but we’re glad to know that spring is on its way, even so. New green and growing plants all over the city, time to head to the beach and feel sunshine beaming down… good things happen in the spring.

Another good part of spring is that the Stone Writing Center remains a rock of support for writers in all disciplines on campus and online. You can send a paper to our expert and receive a reply via email in twenty-four to forty-eight hours. You can even submit a quick question and get a faster response.

If you’ve not come to see us yet, maybe I can give you an overview of what to expect when you do visit in person.

You’ll notice immediately how polite, knowledgeable, and welcoming the Student Assistants are. They’ll be the first people you see, and they’ll sign you in to use our computers (loaded with Office 2007, wifi connected) or schedule you for an appointment with one of the tutors. Any one of the staff will answer questions you might have. You’ll also notice an array of handouts, hard copies you can pick up and keep. The topics range from how to cite sources to information on grammar and literary elements. All handouts are written by SWC staff, and they’ve condensed information very clearly and succinctly. You can also find all of our handouts online (Handouts).

The computer lab is quiet, the equipment is up to date, and you are allowed to print your papers here. Tutors and Student Assistants are in the area to help if you have computer questions or writing questions. You can also complete a lab (Labs) make-up here.

Tutoring sessions are face to face with professional Writing Consultants who read your paper and talk with you about your writing. Mostly, we like to make sure you have higher order elements in place, thesis statement, topic sentences, unified paragraphs, etc., but we will point out lower order areas, mechanics problems if there are any, and show you how to fix mistakes with commas and such. It’s against our rules to proofread papers, but we do let you know if there are errors and show you ways to identify and fix them. Some students come to talk with a tutor even before they start writing just to clarify assignments or get feedback on the ideas they have for an upcoming paper.

The SWC‘s Boot Camps (Boot Camps) are great for reviewing and improving all things related to writing, from grammar to essays to research papers. It’s one more way for students to prepare for college level writing.

The SWC is among the first writing centers established in the country, and we have kept pace with the times. You’ll see us on Twitter, we have podcasts, and we have a professional on-line tutoring service.

Spring is a time to renew and to do something new. We hope to see you here or on line. Welcome, from the Stone Writing Center.

Happy End-of-Semester!

Roxy Writer here, your favorite tutor blogger from the SWC!

The semester is quickly coming to a close here at the Stone Writing Center. I know that many of you are busily preparing for end-of-semester exams, research papers, and the like. So, I wanted to remind you that the Stone Writing Center’s website-- www.delmar.edu/swc --has handouts, boot camps, and podcasts to assist you in your writing tasks.

This will be my final blog for Fall 2009, but be sure to check back in January 2010 for more helpful writing tips!

‘Til then, hang ten!

Who Said What to Whom?

Roxy Writer here, coming to you from the Stone Writing Center @ Del Mar College.

I remember a grammarian, a woman with whom I worked closely at a time when I had to relearn grammar for job-related reasons. I was confused about the rules governing the use of “who” and “whom.” Mrs. B. was a woman who knew the rules and, therefore, the person to whom I went with my question.

The answer she gave me is that if I could substitute the word “he” in the sentence, then “who” would be the right word. If I could substitute the word “him,” then “whom” would be correct. Her succinct advice was easy to remember, too, since the endings were about the same: “he/who” and “him/whom,” a vowel ending for “he” and for “who” (e and o) and the same consonant (m) for “him” and “whom.”

I did have to review the grammatical terms, the subject of a clause (he) and the object of a clause (him); but mostly I played around with rearranging sentences in my mind, testing the sound of “who” and “whom,” verifying which word, either “he” or “him,” could be substituted. Once I figured out that I had to turn the words in my sentences around to make the substitutions, it became easy to pick the correct word when using “who” or “whom.” For example, if I said that “Dave is the man who won the race,” it wouldn’t sound at all right if I said “Dave is the man - him won the race” but is fine if I say “Dave is the man – he won the race.” At certain times, there can be some confusion when a clause is tricky or convoluted, but, generally, the simple substitution works.

I remember Mrs. B. for many other reasons and will always be grateful for her explanation. Her answer to my question has served me well over the years since then.

Roxy’s tip: If you can substitute “he,” then use “who,” not “whom.” If you can substitute “him,” then use “whom,” and not “who.”

See you next time the breeze is cool, the sun is up, and the waves roll into view! My next entry is coming soon. ‘Til then, hang ten!

Purposeful Editing

Roxy Writer here, coming to you from the Stone Writing Center @ Del Mar College.

Punctuation, believe it or not, has a purpose. Punctuation clarifies meaning in written works, and there is a set logic to punctuation. Two analogies come to mind.

The first is that punctuation is like street signs that indicate where to stop or start, whether there is a turn in the road or a dead end. The analogy doesn’t follow absolutely perfectly, but any driver in the middle of a traffic jam near the malls in December can tell when to stop at a red light and when he wishes the rest of the traffic would go as soon as the light turns green.

Punctuation can also be considered analogous to the language of math. A mathematician sets up equations using symbols that govern what the equation can and cannot do and what the equation proves or disproves ultimately. Punctuation marks are symbols that direct the meaning of a sentence in a like manner.

The best way to make writing enjoyable is to learn punctuation rules by listening carefully to explanations, searching the web for information, or by simple rote. Sometimes just reading and re-reading a rule makes the aha! moment come. When that happens, you own the rule.

What does this have to do with editing? If a comma is misplaced in a sentence, the meaning of the sentence can be changed. That writer winds up saying something other than what he intended. If Fred writes, “I want to eat dog,” the meaning is totally different from ‘I want to eat, Dog.” Two forms of punctuation are changed. A comma before “dog” leads the reader to know that a noun of address is coming, and the capital letter then confirms it. He doesn’t want to eat a canine. He is telling someone named Dog that he wants to eat. Since editing involves revision of meaning, what is said and how it is said, the tools ( ! ? : ; “ , ‘ , - !) of punctuation are of major importance in saying exactly what is planned in thought before writing.

There are, however, other elements to editing: grammar, spelling, word choice, etc. An additional analogy comes to mind, that of a house in which the nails and nuts and bolts are punctuation, holding the structure together. If the analogy is extended, diction (choice of words) becomes the furniture, wallpaper or paint; syntax (how words are used) becomes the placement, arrangement of the furniture, color of the walls, and such. Rhetoric (the overall tone and style of the paper) becomes how the house looks and feels when the building is complete, the total decor.

When you have constructed your paper, it is a wise decision to read it aloud, either to yourself or with a trusted friend or family member present to offer criticism. Altogether, the end of all these analogies would - finally - be like driving past the mall with a mathematician ( professor) to tour your new house (essay) in its polished, perfect condition (final draft).

Roxy’s tip: Edit your papers carefully, Dog!

See you next time the breeze is cool, the sun is up, and the waves roll into view! My next entry is coming soon. ‘Til then, hang ten!

Variety is the Spice of Writing

Roxy Writer here, coming to you from the Stone Writing Center @ Del Mar College.

Children’s poetry is often written in an unvaried sentence structure, each sentence repeating the cadence of the ones before. For instance, “Twinkle twinkle little star, how I wonder what you are? / Up above the world so high, like a diamond in the sky” not only rhymes but also has a pattern of syllabication and sentence structure. While it is easy to remember lines such as these, it is not a great idea to write a college essay without variation in sentence structure. There are basically four different sentence structures: Simple, Compound, Complex, and Compound/Complex, and it’s a good idea to use all four types in compositions.

To keep a reader’s attention, variety is necessary. An essay composed of only simple sentences will soon have the reader nodding off, no matter what the content of the essay might be. An essay written solely in compound/complex sentences might result in brain overload for the reader. Good writers avoid endless repetitions of the same kind of sentence structure and use all four types so that their readers remain alert and focused.

One way to add interest to a paper that happens, for unknown reasons, to be a series of simple sentences is to combine sentences, thereby adding variation and liveliness to the writing.

I went to the beach. The sun was shining. The waves were great. I spent hours surfing.

A good day sounds somewhat dull when described in the four simple sentences above. If I combine the four simple sentences, perhaps the moment will seem more exciting.

I surfed for hours when I went to the beach because the sun was shining on great waves.

Even that doesn’t truly capture the moment, so I might consider adding adjectives and adverbs to make the day come alive for the reader.

I surfed in the zone for hours when I went to the nearly deserted beach where the sun shone brightly on amazingly great, sky-blue waves.

A clearer picture emerges with both sentence structure variety and words and phrases that modify.

Good writers generally use all the ways the language allows to inspire their readers to think and to imagine. Varying sentence structure and using modifiers are two ways to keep the readers’ attention from wandering away to peaceful daydreams of sunlit beaches with waves that reach as far as the clear blue sky.

Roxy’s tip: Add spice to your writing by using a variety of sentence structures and by adding adverbs and adjectives!

See you next time the breeze is cool, the sun is up, and the waves roll into view! My next entry is coming soon. ‘Til then, hang ten!

Three Little Words

Roxy Writer here, coming to you from the Stone Writing Center @ Del Mar College.

A, an, the…three little words that make a big difference!

I admit to going back to some grammar books for this topic, especially since what I remembered about articles was pretty much limited to using “an” before nouns beginning with soft sounds (“an essay”) and “a” before nouns beginning with hard sounds (“a laptop”). There is a little more to it than that!

Here are some basics on using articles correctly:

If the noun is definite (a specific person, place, or thing), the article “the” will come before it. If the noun is indefinite (a general noun), the articles “a” or “an” will come before it. “A” is used before a noun beginning with a hard sound (“a beach” or “a seagull”), while “an” is used before a noun beginning with a soft sound (“an essay” or “an assignment”).

Why is it important to know the difference between these three little words? Allow me to give you an illustration:

“Seven foot swells are in a gulf.” –vs- “Seven foot swells are in the Gulf.”

Now, you wouldn’t run and grab your board if someone told you that huge swells were in a gulf. The world is a big place and filled with many gulfs!

But, if you lived in Corpus Christi, like I do, and someone said “Seven foot swells are in the Gulf,” you would be headed to the beach faster than you can say “Roxy Writer rocks at the Stone Writing Center!”

Roxy’s tip: Pay attention to the “little” words in your writing. They make a “big” world of difference in meaning!

See you next time the breeze is cool, the sun is up, and the waves roll into view! My next entry is coming soon. ‘Til then, hang ten!