SNL alum and writing faculty member Rita Leganski recently announced that her novel, The Silence of Bonaventure Arrow, has just been accepted by Harper Collins. Publication date is forthcoming.
The Silence of Bonaventure Arrow weaves a tale of heartbreaking loss, perceived guilt, and atonement gone terribly wrong. And then there comes a healing, brought about by a silent and gifted little boy who shares his name with a mystic-turned-saint. Set against the background of New Orleans and the fictional town of Bayou Cymbaline from the 1920s to the 1950s, the story is rich with the character of a culture that is full to overflowing with conjured charms and sanctified spirits.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Thoughts on the L4 Competence: Academic Writing for Adults
by Joan Travers
Recently, we asked SNL student Joan Travers to share some thoughts about her choice to take the Academic Writing for Adults course over the L4 Proficiency Exam. Her reflection follows:
One of the things SNL stresses to students in introductory classes is the writing intensive nature of the program. Not only do all the classes rely on writing as the primary form of expression and evaluation but so do the experiential ILP’s. This can be exceedingly intimidating to an adult returning to school, especially if that student hasn’t spent time writing in several years.
As a returning student myself, I found this to be incredibly daunting. At one of my first meetings at SNL, I was told that my writing skills were sufficient enough to take the L4 proficiency exam. And while I liked the price and the limited time commitment of the exam, I opted to enroll in Academic Writing for Adults. If such a high premium was placed on writing then I figured I could use the practice. Even if my skills were believed to be up to par, at least I would understand for myself the expectations actually needed for success in a class designed to concentrate solely on writing and the writing process.
Since I had a limited background in writing, having taken a few creative writing classes in the past, I was not completely comfortable with all my writing skills. I lacked the ability to write research papers and how to cite properly. Through taking this writing class, I was able to learn and practice some of these skills. I also grew confident in my abilities to express my ideas at a level necessary for SNL. And I learned techniques to help me overcome some of my apprehension I’ve always had about writing, like procrastination and proofreading.
As an assignment for the class, I tried my hand at writing my first ILP. I turned to my creative writing background and used some of the new skills and techniques I learned in the course to write a paper about my interaction with physical science and the environment during a skydiving experience I had. I started by writing about my experience as if telling the story or events, and then applied some technical research to explain the events. I used this as an opportunity to develop my research and citing skills, using the feedback I received from working with my writing teacher. The end product was not only an ILP I could submit for an additional class credit, but also an example that I have the ability and know-how to complete a satisfactory ILP.
So while this writing course took longer than a proficiency exam and cost a bit more, the benefits were invaluable. I learned new writing skills and got constructive writing practice, but ultimately I gained the confidence to be a competent student at SNL. This course helped me to write better, but also to manage my time better and to understand and respect the process of learning.
Click here to read Joan's skydiving ILP. Her essay, "My Skydiving Mishaps: A Quick Lesson in Physics," won a Writing Showcase award in 2010. She plans to graduate in 2011 with a Focus Area of Wilderness Education.
Recently, we asked SNL student Joan Travers to share some thoughts about her choice to take the Academic Writing for Adults course over the L4 Proficiency Exam. Her reflection follows:
One of the things SNL stresses to students in introductory classes is the writing intensive nature of the program. Not only do all the classes rely on writing as the primary form of expression and evaluation but so do the experiential ILP’s. This can be exceedingly intimidating to an adult returning to school, especially if that student hasn’t spent time writing in several years.
As a returning student myself, I found this to be incredibly daunting. At one of my first meetings at SNL, I was told that my writing skills were sufficient enough to take the L4 proficiency exam. And while I liked the price and the limited time commitment of the exam, I opted to enroll in Academic Writing for Adults. If such a high premium was placed on writing then I figured I could use the practice. Even if my skills were believed to be up to par, at least I would understand for myself the expectations actually needed for success in a class designed to concentrate solely on writing and the writing process.
Since I had a limited background in writing, having taken a few creative writing classes in the past, I was not completely comfortable with all my writing skills. I lacked the ability to write research papers and how to cite properly. Through taking this writing class, I was able to learn and practice some of these skills. I also grew confident in my abilities to express my ideas at a level necessary for SNL. And I learned techniques to help me overcome some of my apprehension I’ve always had about writing, like procrastination and proofreading.
As an assignment for the class, I tried my hand at writing my first ILP. I turned to my creative writing background and used some of the new skills and techniques I learned in the course to write a paper about my interaction with physical science and the environment during a skydiving experience I had. I started by writing about my experience as if telling the story or events, and then applied some technical research to explain the events. I used this as an opportunity to develop my research and citing skills, using the feedback I received from working with my writing teacher. The end product was not only an ILP I could submit for an additional class credit, but also an example that I have the ability and know-how to complete a satisfactory ILP.
So while this writing course took longer than a proficiency exam and cost a bit more, the benefits were invaluable. I learned new writing skills and got constructive writing practice, but ultimately I gained the confidence to be a competent student at SNL. This course helped me to write better, but also to manage my time better and to understand and respect the process of learning.
Click here to read Joan's skydiving ILP. Her essay, "My Skydiving Mishaps: A Quick Lesson in Physics," won a Writing Showcase award in 2010. She plans to graduate in 2011 with a Focus Area of Wilderness Education.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Deadline for Writing Showcase Entries is April 1, 2011
Please ask your students to submit their best written work to the SNL Writing Showcase by April 1, 2011. Students can see previous winners and download the 2010-2011 application here:
http://www.snl.depaul.edu/writing/WritingShowcase.html
http://www.snl.depaul.edu/writing/WritingShowcase.html
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
How Effective are Plagiarism Detection Services?
According to Debora Weber-Wulff at the University of Applied Sciences in Berlin, plagiarism detection software is not making the cut. She recently tested 26 plagiarism detection services, finding that the most effective services detected only 70% of plagiarism.
The top 5 systems were deemed "partially useful" and received a grade of C-:
1: PlagAware
2: Turnitin
3: Ephorus
4: PlagScan
5: Urkund
At the bottom of the list were the following "useless systems for education":
22: PlagiarismSearch
23: PlagiarismChecker
24: Grammarly
25: PercentDupe
26: ArticleChecker
The University of Applied Sciences in Berlin makes the following recommendation: "The focus should be on teaching students about plagiarism and how to avoid it instead of investing time in using software."
The test overview and summary can be found in English here:
http://plagiat.htw-berlin.de/software-en/2010-2/
Debora also writes a blog dedicated to plagiarism:
http://copy-shake-paste.blogspot.com/
The top 5 systems were deemed "partially useful" and received a grade of C-:
1: PlagAware
2: Turnitin
3: Ephorus
4: PlagScan
5: Urkund
At the bottom of the list were the following "useless systems for education":
22: PlagiarismSearch
23: PlagiarismChecker
24: Grammarly
25: PercentDupe
26: ArticleChecker
The University of Applied Sciences in Berlin makes the following recommendation: "The focus should be on teaching students about plagiarism and how to avoid it instead of investing time in using software."
The test overview and summary can be found in English here:
Debora also writes a blog dedicated to plagiarism:
Monday, February 21, 2011
Writing instructor Tom Dow co-authors new writing textbook
Tom Dow, an SNL writing instructor, recently co-authored a writing textbook for students titled, Why White Rice? Thinking Through Writing.
A brief description of the textbook from the authors:
"This book on writing comes from four community college teachers with different backgrounds and training (with contributions from students, as well) in a collection of voices that speaks directly to students and writers. It drops the pretense of traditional textbooks and talks honestly with students in a way that has them reading and responding in some surprising ways."
Congratulations to Tom and the co-authors.
A brief description of the textbook from the authors:
"This book on writing comes from four community college teachers with different backgrounds and training (with contributions from students, as well) in a collection of voices that speaks directly to students and writers. It drops the pretense of traditional textbooks and talks honestly with students in a way that has them reading and responding in some surprising ways."
Congratulations to Tom and the co-authors.
Resource for SNL Students Interested in ILPs or Independent Studies
Students interested in doing an ILP or an independent study might find some of MIT's Open Courseware (OCW) resources helpful. Their OCW Scholar courses are designed for students who have limited access to additional resources. Videos and simulations accompany many of the courses.
More information can be found here:
http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/ocw-scholar/?utm_source=Featured-Course_1-12-11
More information can be found here:
http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/ocw-scholar/?utm_source=Featured-Course_1-12-11
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Study finds that writing about worries before an exam results in better performance
A recent University of Chicago study found that students who write for 10 minutes before a test decrease the brainpower they are using to be anxious and thus increase the brainpower they are using on the test material. Students in the study who wrote about the anxiety they were experiencing before an exam scored significantly higher on a sample exam than students who did not write about their anxiety.
"Writing about your worries for 10 minutes before an upcoming exam leveled the playing field such that those students who usually get most anxious during exams were able to overcome their fears and perform up to their potential," according to primary investigator and University of Chicago professor of psychology Sian Beilock.
Beilock found that students performed better on the test when they wrote specifically about the test anxiety itself. Beilock suggests that these findings are useful for particularly anxious students who should consider writing for 10 minutes about their anxiety before a class in whcih they must write an exam. Even if instructors do not invite students to write about their anxiety before an in class exam they might consider suggesting that particularly anxious writers spend ten minutes writing about their anxiety before beginning an essay, homework assignment, or test.
The full article can be found here:
"Writing about your worries for 10 minutes before an upcoming exam leveled the playing field such that those students who usually get most anxious during exams were able to overcome their fears and perform up to their potential," according to primary investigator and University of Chicago professor of psychology Sian Beilock.
Beilock found that students performed better on the test when they wrote specifically about the test anxiety itself. Beilock suggests that these findings are useful for particularly anxious students who should consider writing for 10 minutes about their anxiety before a class in whcih they must write an exam. Even if instructors do not invite students to write about their anxiety before an in class exam they might consider suggesting that particularly anxious writers spend ten minutes writing about their anxiety before beginning an essay, homework assignment, or test.
The full article can be found here:
Writing about worries eases anxiety and improves test performance
Students can combat test anxiety and improve performance by writing about their worries immediately before the exam begins, according to a University of Chicago study published Friday in the journal Science.
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