Transcript to how to buy things

How to Say What You Mean
Without Confusing, Overlooking,
or Offending Your Reader (and
Other Easy Tasks)
*“A what,” you say? Allow
me to explain…
with
Amber Cook
Senior Writing Specialist*
A Specialist’s Perspective
• Ten specialists
• 300+ papers each week
• Best job in the world
• But we do start to notice
patterns…
A Specialist’s Perspective
#1: Scholarly writing
Either:
(a) too informal
or (b) trying too
hard to be formal
A Specialist’s Perspective
#2: Biased language
Type 1: overlooking folks
Type 2: offending folks
The Plan
• Scholarly language: What and how
• Avoiding bias
• Strategies for using sensitive and
inclusive language
Word Choice: What’s the Big Deal?
• Why does it matter so much?
• Isn’t it all subjective anyway?
• Why can’t I just say what I
mean?
She’s skeptical→
Word Choice: What’s the Big Deal?
Sensitive, unbiased, and scholarly writing:
1. Boosts your credibility.
2. Increases the chances your
work will be read and taken
seriously.
3. Keeps the focus on your
work.
Scholarly Writing
Scholarly Writing: What
How do we know we’re looking at a
scholarly work?
Scholarly Writing: What
–No mention of Britney Spears
–Wording more specialized/requires
previous knowledge
–Presence of original research
Scholarly Writing: What
–Careful citation of sources and
presence of bibliography/reference
list
–Formal language
Scholarly Writing: Formal Language
• So what exactly is “formal
language,” lady?
Scholarly Writing: Formal Language
• Pronoun use
– Is first person OK?
Sure: My workplace is fraught with environmental hazards.
Well, maybe not: I believe that Freud’s theory is stronger
than Adler’s theory.
– Context matters, but Walden and APA approve
Scholarly Writing: Formal Language
• Pronoun use
– The editorial we
We often avoid facing traumatic situations.
– See APA p. 39: Avoid it unless you’re
specifically talking about yourself and your
colleagues
Scholarly Writing: Formal Language
• Pronoun use
– Second person pronouns
You must exercise caution when assessing your own
learning.
Never run red lights. (implied “you”)
– Best avoided (whom exactly are you talking to?)
Scholarly Writing: Formal Language
• Contractions
– Problem: Casual (better for speech than writing)
The manager couldn’t [should be could not] figure out
how to reach her staff.
Children often can’t [should be cannot] follow a lesson
plan without an occasional snack break.
Scholarly Writing: Formal Language
• Colloquialisms
– Problem: Casual, imprecise, not universal
• There are lots of theorists
• The team could smell success
• She got over it
• It was not a big deal
• They had seen better days
Scholarly Writing: Formal Language
• Word variety
– Problem: repetition can be distracting and
implies a limited vocabulary
• The manager believed that his employees were
wasting time looking at match.com and believed
that these employees wasted company resources.
HOWEVER…
Scholarly Writing: Formal Language
–Formal writing is NOT:
•Stuffy
•Unnecessarily complex
•All about big words
Scholarly Writing: Formal Language
Would you rather read:
Author A: The individuals utilized their writing utensils
in order to complete the learning tool in the learning
institution.
Or
Author B: The students used pencils to fill out the
answers on the test at school.
?
Avoiding Bias: What
OK—
so what is bias?
Avoiding Bias: What
• According to The Chicago Manual of Style (15th
“language that
is either sexist or suggestive
of other conscious or
subconscious prejudices that
are not central to the
meaning of the work” (p. 233).
ed.), biased language is
Avoiding Bias: What
• According to sixth edition of APA:
“Scientific writing must be
free of implied or irrelevant
evaluation of the…groups
being studied” (p. 70).
Avoiding Bias: How
• Stay away from generalizations by avoiding
stated or implied “all” or “never” assertions
• Biased:
People from Tennessee are obsessed with
UT football.
Avoiding Bias: How
• Stay away from generalizations:
• Better:
Many Tennesseans are avid fans of UT
football.
Avoiding Bias: How
• Answer the question “says who?”
• Biased:
Third-grade boys are chronically disruptive,
while the girls are always eager to please.
Avoiding Bias: How
• Answer the question “says who?”
• Better:
In Clooney’s (2004) study of Kansas City
third-graders, 35% of the boys and 68% of
the girls were able to complete instructions
for a tedious assignment without showing
signs of agitation.
Avoiding Bias: How
• Be aware of your own biases
– Assumptions about professions
– Beliefs about people’s tendencies
– Preference for familiar people/situations
– “Me as the sun” approach
Avoiding Bias: How
• Let your findings speak for
themselves
• Mention demographical
information only when relevant
• Use sensitive and inclusive
language
Sensitive Language: It Ain’t Just for Sissies
Sensitive Language: Basics
• Have you ever been
personally offended by
something you read?
Why?
ACTIVITY!!!
Activity
Compose a paragraph that
describes participants in your
study. In this discussion, include
relevant details of ethnic
identity/race, gender, disability,
age, and economic status.
Sensitive Language
• Take a look at APA (sixth edition)
pp. 71-76
• Refer to supplement on APA
website:
http://www.apastyle.org/manual/supplement/
Sensitive Language: Age
•Avoid open-ended age rankings
(e.g., over 65; under 18)
•Be specific rather than descriptive,
so “The participants between ages 70
and 84” as opposed to “the elderly
participants”
Sensitive Language: Gender
•Avoid pronoun pitfalls
•Watch out for assumptions or
gender stereotyping
•Keep wording parallel (e.g., man and
woman rather than woman and boy
or man and girl)
Sensitive Language: Sexual Orientation
•Note that the terms lesbians/gay men
are preferable to homosexual
•Separate the gay or lesbian identity
from specific sexual behaviors
Sensitive Language: Racial or Ethnic Identity
•Stay abreast of changes: Preferred
terminology changes frequently
•Be careful of the words minority and diverse
•Avoid using one racial group as the primary
group (e.g., non-Asian)
•Be more specific (e.g., Chinese American
instead of Asian American)
Sensitive Language: Disabilities
• Use “person-first” language
•Avoid loaded wording (e.g., heart
attack victim, suffering from
Alzheimer’s disease)
•Avoid euphemisms like challenged or
special
Questions?
[email protected]
(attn: Amber Cook)
http://writingcenter.waldenu.edu/
http://twitter.com/WUWritingCenter
http://www.waldenwritingcenter.blogspot.com/