SNL Writing Instructor Kathryn Wozniak to start PhD program

After being accepted at each of the three PhD programs to which she applied, Kathryn Wozniak has decided to pursue her doctorate at DePaul in Computer Science. 


Yes, you read correctly, a writing teacher getting a PhD in Computer Science. 


Kathryn plans to study Human-Computer Interaction and Instructional Technology. She says, "My goal is to research the types of technology that enhance face-to-face and virtual writing situations in pedagogical and non-pedagogical environments. I am interested in joining scholars and researchers in understanding and creating tools that effectively accomplish face-to-face writing tasks in virtual settings."

2009-2010 Writing Showcase

The SNL Writing Program congratulates the following authors on having their excellent work chosen for the 2009-2010 Writing Showcase:

Mark Fung, "Analyzation and Application of the Creative Writing Process"

David Graham, "Polly's Dilemma"

Monique Maher, "Birth"

Robert Martin, "Identifying and Addressing Deficiencies in United States Healthcare"

Leonard T. Musielak, "'Google-ing' China: An Ethical Analysis of Google's Censorship Activities in the People's Republic"

Edward Pinkowski, "Warsaw, Chicago, and Greek Tragedies"

Amy Tesch, "Creativity Can Lead to Better Health . . . Care Reform"

Joan Travers, "My Skydiving Mishaps: A Quick Lesson in Physics"

You can read many of these pieces of writing on the Writing Showcase webpage (http://snl.depaul.edu/writing/WritingShowcase.html).

Information on Responding to Student Writing from Laura Baltuska

SNL Writing Instructor Laura Baltuska recently attended the Chicago Composition Symposium on new strategies for assessing and responding to student writing. Here she sums up what she learned from Nancy Sommers of Harvard University on responding to student writing.

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Responding to Student Writing:  Workshop, Nancy Sommers

Sommers began the session by exploring questions she poses for her students at the beginning of each semester:

• What was your best writing experience?
• What was your worst writing experience?
• How did instructor comments on drafts affect this?
• What comments do you remember the most?
• What is the purpose of instructor comments?

Key points about comments:

All comments on student drafts should be written to the student as opposed to the paper, and the best comments will push students to improve for next time (push for revision) (ex.  Maybe next time, take a risk…To open a paper, try to ask a question or focus on a detail to grab your reader…Ask a question you don’t have an answer to (This is important because college writing is all about asking questions you don’t have answers to.), etc.).

There are lots of things you want to teach, but it’s important to really think about whether the comments you’re leaving on student drafts really teach these skills.

For each comment you write on a draft, think of specific lessons you can teach a student (maybe 2).  Think about why and how these comments would teach these lessons.

The language you use in the comments you make should reflect what you’ve talked about in class.  The same goes for the language used in all of your assignment prompts.

Give time to let your comments set in and for the students to work on revision.  Use classroom time for revision, and have students come up with specific goals for revision that they’ve talked about with you so they are focused and know what to work on for improvement.

• After revisions, Sommers also stresses that students come up with “Dear reader” letters (cover letters) for their audience (you, peers, etc.).  It’s good to ask students to put in the letter for their rough draft, “If you had two more days to work on this paper, what would you work on?”   Doing so lets you know if the student is able to assess his or her own writing skills and gives you a way to enter into the paper. 

Speak to your students about comments in general:

• Here’s why I write comments….  Include this manifesto in your syllabus.
• Here’s what I’d like you to do with my comments.
• Ask students about your comments at midterm.  They should give you feedback on your feedback so you can improve.
• Comments should be treated as a text in the class. You spend time writing them, so students should examine them as a text.
• Ask students what they do with your comments, and clarify what they are supposed to do with your comments.  Comments establish a dialogue with students, and they are to engage with your comments to enter into this dialogue.
• Clarify that your comments are just as important as their writing, and that your comments are an invitation for students to ask questions about them.  Comments are part of a dialogue, not a monologue.

Consider adapting a response pattern to student papers in the form of a comment sheet, written as a letter:  Last time I asked you to do this…Moving forward…. For the next time you write….  For the next assignment….  Make your comments personal to the student.

• Comments of this sort are good as a rough draft approach.  Your comments may differ for a final draft.

You can also have students talk back to you about your comments answering the following:  What do you understand about these comments and what will you do with them?  They can write you back a letter, too, which should amount to a ½ page to 1 full page revision plan for the paper before it’s submitted the next time.

In terms of responding to grammar, focus on the big picture issues in first drafts (not surface errors) and perhaps grammar related to content issues in later drafts (ex.  Comma splice before quotes).

Most teachers tend to comment on grammar because it’s easier, but it’s best to choose perhaps 2 rhetorical lessons that are harder to come up with and make you think before you address grammar issues. 

What you want to do is avoid becoming the student’s copy editor, “fixing” the paper for him or her.

If you see any “trends” in grammar issues, take time to go over these in class and note, “After I teach it, you should do it right.”

At midterm, you should take the time to ask students what they want you to comment more on, and they should respond in their “Dear reader” letters.  If they respond that they want more grammar help, then do mini grammar boot camp sessions in class. 

When writing comments, focus first on claim/thesis, then maybe transitions, then incorporating source material, then grammar. 

Keep your comments brief.  

• Reading a 6-10 page paper should take you about 10 minutes.

We have lots of things we need to teach, and individual instruction in comments and conferencing forces you to prioritize.  Use each student’s priorities to take out the most helpful things he or she should focus on, and then that student will always refer back to what you’ve talked about.

We have a short attention span and so do they, so keep comments brief and specific.

DePaul's School for New Learning Helps Students Parlay Their Writing Talents into Careers by Deborah Snow Humiston

A writing-intensive curriculum is helping a growing number of graduates from DePaul University’s School for New Learning (SNL) strengthen their writing skills and even parlay them into careers as writers, playwrights and authors.

And while SNL has long been committed to writing across the curriculum, in recent years it has strengthened its focus by establishing a writing program and hiring full-time writing instructors to further help students and faculty members.

Tailored for adult learners, SNL incorporates writing in all its courses, not just writing-focused ones, a practice known as “writing across the curriculum,” said Michelle Navarre Cleary, SNL writing coordinator and an assistant professor.

“SNL is by its very nature extremely writing-intensive, and that helps students hone their writing skills,” Navarre Cleary said. “It really pushes them to experiment with different writing forms and processes.

SNL graduate Mark Wolverton (B.A. ’01) agreed. “SNL provided me with invaluable educational and professional opportunities that allowed me to build upon a rather unconventional and varied background and develop my talents and skills to forge a brand-new career path,” he said. Wolverton has written three books; scripts produced for radio, film and television; and had his plays presented in Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Chicago and elsewhere. His latest book is “A Life in Twilight: The Final Years of J. Robert Oppenheimer” (St. Martin’s Press, 2008). He also writes for national magazines, including Air & Space Smithsonian, American Heritage of Invention & Technology, Scientific American, Popular Mechanics, Popular Science and Sky & Telescope. “SNL is the perfect place to find yourself and realize your full potential both personally and professionally,” Wolverton said.

Other notable SNL graduates with writing careers include:

● Mark A. Bryan (B.A. ’86), an internationally recognized expert in creativity and innovation and author of five best-selling books. He is best known for his self-help books, including “The Artist’s Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity,” which he co-authored with Julia Cameron. “It was my admission to Northwestern and eventually to Harvard that made me realize just how well SNL prepares its students,” Bryan said. “They managed to teach me enough to get into a first-tier graduate school despite my struggle when I started.”

● Penny Pollack (B.A. ’07), dining editor at Chicago Magazine, who co-authored with Jeff Ruby the book “Everybody Loves Pizza: The Deep Dish on America’s Favorite Food” (Emmis Books, 2005). “My mentors at SNL helped me hone my critical thinking skills. They gave me a new way to think about what I was learning and how to view things through different lenses,” Pollack said.

● Robert Knight (M.A. ’96), whose latest book, “Journalistic Writing: Building the Skills, Honing the Craft” (Marion Street Press), debuted April 27 at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. Knight was a professional writer before coming to SNL, but said, “SNL forever broadened the palette that I work from. It taught me to think more clearly and deeply than I ever have about philosophy, leadership and a world view.” He added, “I feel that I gained an extra layer of humanity – and humility. The more I get of one, the more I seem to need of the other.” Knight has worked as a writer and/or editor at United Press International and Chicago’s famed City News Bureau. He has written freelance articles for more than 40 publications and news services, including Christian Science Monitor, Reuters and The Washington Post. He is also author of “The Craft of Clarity” (Iowa State Press, 1998).

● Marion S. Orem (B.A. ’81), a digital storyteller and author of “Women Who RV and Their Kindred Spirits” (Authentic Voices Productions LLC, 2007). “Almost 30 years later, my DePaul degree still serves as the foundation for an ongoing Web-based portfolio of writing.” 

● Leslie Fox (M.A. ’93), who self-published a book on Bowens Family Theory, a theory of human behavior applied to leadership and change management, based on her SNL graduate work. “In DePaul’s writing-intensive program, I was encouraged to present my ideas to the wider business community by publishing articles and papers, which challenged me to sharpen my written communication skills,” said Fox, CEO of Care Communications Inc., a national health information management consulting firm. “Eventually, that experience led me to publish a book on leadership.” Fox is the author of numerous articles, papers and publications, including “The Art of Change Management to Lead Successful Projects.” Currently, she is co-author of the “Hands-On Help” column that appears monthly in ADVANCE for Health Information Professionals. 

Navarre Cleary came to SNL in 2005 with the task of significantly strengthening support for both students and faculty in the improvement of student writing. Under her leadership, SNL has created a writing program, hired two new full-time writing instructors in fall 2009, offers an individualized writing workshop, provides help with a website and offers additional writing support at DePaul’s Loop and suburban campuses.

“SNL is light-years ahead of other schools that have been working on writing across the curriculum and writing in the disciplines initiatives and trying to get students to do more writing in more classes besides just the writing classes,” she said. “It’s clear through research that students develop as really strong writers by writing in all kinds of different situations, learning how to move from one context to another and continuously working on their writing.

“Many of our students came to SNL because they know when they leave here they’ll be strong writers,” Navarre Cleary said. “They don’t necessarily come in as strong writers, but they know they need writing skills for whatever it is they want to do. They want to be immersed in an environment in which they’re going to be writing all the time. They want to be pushed.”

Students for Spring Writing Groups Starting Saturday 4/10

Dear SNL Faculty:

As the spring term commences, I hope that you’ll aid the Writing Center in its outreach to SNL students.  Last winter, the Writing Center began offering Suburban Campus Writing Groups (SCWGs) at the Naperville, Oak Forest, and O’Hare campuses.  These groups allow students to, with the aid of Writing Center consultants, work on their writing in an atmosphere that promotes the sort of collaborative and active learning valued by SNL.  Participants have received the program enthusiastically, returning each semester and suggesting the groups to their friends.  Most importantly, the groups allow students to practice reading and responding to the texts of others, allowing them to develop critical reading skills that they can utilize when assessing their own texts—often making their own writing more effective.

Can you help the Writing Center ensure the success of the groups on the Oak Forest, Naperville, O’Hare, and Loop campuses?  If you know anyone who would benefit from participation, please send their names and, if possible, their emails to tmcnamar@depaul.edu.  Also, please encourage your current students to attend.  Writers of all levels are welcome, and, in fact, the program thrives on the diversity of its participants.

Should you have any questions, please feel free to email me (tmcnamar@depaul.edu) or consult the Writing Group page on the Writing Center website (depaul.edu/writing).

Thank you for your continued support!

Tom McNamara

Reading some great papers?

April first is the deadline for 2009-2010 Writing Showcase submissions. As you do your final grading, do not forget to suggest that students submit their A papers to the Writing Showcase. Students can find submission information at http://snl.depaul.edu/writing/WritingShowcase.html 

New Writing Center Outpost in Loop Adult Student Center

New Outpost Location!

The UCWbL is pleased to announce that the Writing Center will have a new Outpost location in the Loop campus beginning Tuesday, March 2. Like our Lincoln Park Outpost in Richardson Library, the Loop Outpost will serve writers on a walk-in basis only. The new Outpost is located in the Adult Student Center, room 11017 of the DePaul Center. It is open to all students and will operate on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 4 to 6 p.m.