Transcript Slide 1

Entrance Into the World of
Scholars
The Walden University
Writing Center Staff
An Overview
Written Communication in an Asynchronous Setting:
• What is expected?
• What is appropriate to expect from others?
• Viewing written correspondence as the
intersection of audience, purpose, and tone.
• Email etiquette, discussion post etiquette, cyber
civility, and modeling excellence.
Take a Minute to Reflect
Be honest with yourself.
Have you ever:
1. Compared yourself to a classmate based on what
he or she wrote in a discussion post?
2. Made an assumption about a classmate based on
what he or she wrote in a discussion post?
3. Discredited a classmate’s discussion post
because of the quality of the writing?
4. Experienced any of the above in the workplace
when reading emails, memos, and so forth?
What would you do if…
You read this on a discussion thread:
The move from a structuralist account in which capital is
understood to structure social relations in relatively homologous
ways to a view of hegemony in which power relations are subject
to repetition, convergence, and rearticulation brought the
question of temporality into the thinking of structure, and marked
a shift from a form of Althusserian theory that takes structural
totalities as theoretical objects to one in which the insights into
the contingent possibility of structure inaugurate a renewed
conception of hegemony as bound up with the contingent sites
and strategies of the rearticulation of power.
All one sentence!
http://www.denisdutton.com/bad_writing.htm
“We are pleased to announce winners of the fourth Bad Writing
Contest, sponsored by the scholarly journal Philosophy and
Literature. Judith Butler, a Guggenheim Fellowship-winning
professor of rhetoric and comparative literature at the University of
California at Berkeley, admired as perhaps `one of the ten smartest
people on the planet,’ wrote the sentence that captured the contest's
first prize. Professor Butler's first-prize sentence appears in
‘Further Reflections on the Conversations of Our Time,’ an article
in the scholarly journal Diacritics (1997).”
Is that what you thought about the author?
What would you do if…
You were assigned to write a persuasive group paper
about insects and one of your teammates
contributed this:
Inflammatory language
The country of Alvania has a problem. That problem, specifically, is the
lack of laws governing insect cruelty in Alvania. Several groups of activists
have banned together to pass laws so that crickets and cockroaches no
longer have to suffer at the hands of the heartless, emotionless Alvanian
people. Evidence exists that suggests that the young boys and girls in
Alvania suffer mental illness because of the way their parents slaughter and
consume insects. The point is that killing and eating insects in Alvania is an
injustice.
Citation?
What would you do if…
You received this message:
“We are getting less than 40 hours of work from a large
number of our EMPLOYEES. As managers, you either do not
know what your EMPLOYEES are doing or you do not
CARE. In either case, you have a problem and you will fix it
or I will replace you. NEVER in my career have I allowed a
team which worked for me to think they had a 40-hour job. I
have allowed YOU to create a culture which is permitting this.
NO LONGER. You have two weeks. Tick Tock!” (Delves,
2001)
What do These Examples Show?
Colleague Morale Matters
• The previous quote was from Neal Patterson,
chairman of the board, chief executive officer and
co-founder of Cerner Corporation.
• After the email was released, company stock
plummeted 22% as analysts questioned the
impact on company morale.
What do These Examples Show?
Present Yourself Well
• Pay attention to how your words will be received
based on word choice and the evidence you
present
• Pay attention to how your words come together to
form a coherent thought
• Pay attention to how your words come together to
reflect a strong understanding of written English.
What do These Examples Show?
Be Courteous
• The golden rule still works; do unto others as you
would have them do unto you.
• Pay attention to your emotional reaction and
present a civil tone even when you do not agree
with the content of a post or message.
• Be aware of your audience, purpose, and tone to
create a culture of communication excellence.
Asynchronisity
• Most of the communication you will have while
here at Walden and in the professional world will
be asynchronous, meaning that it does not happen
in real time.
• Unlike a traditional classroom environment (e.g.,
raising your hand, classroom discussion), your
written self will represent you as a Walden
student
Asynchronous Etiquette
• Most asynchronous communication you have
comes in the form of email and discussion posts.
• Exceptions exist, but the following information can
enhance the quality of asynchronous written
communication and help facilitate online
discussion.
Email: Subject Lines Rock!
Good subject lines are arrows to the message
that you are sending:
• All important information should be
available in the subject line.
• People are less likely to lose the email.
• People are less likely to ignore it.
Email: Use Salutations
In initial electronic communication, use
salutations to ease into back and forth
electronic conversations.
RE: Request to attend conference
RE: Request to attend conference
No can do.
Hi, Maria. Sorry . . . We just don’t
have money in the budget right
now.
-B
- Betty
Email: Reply vs. Reply All
Questions to ask when you choose Reply All:
• Does everyone need to know?
• Do I want everyone to know?
• Could this message upset anyone on the original
email?
• Who is my audience for this piece of
communication?
Email: Be Concise
• Using an economy of words is essential.
Paragraphs vs. Bullet Points
Before we get started with the project,
we need to make sure that we nominate a
team leader (I am willing to volunteer),
create a calendar of timelines and due
dates, set up our group work space on
eCollege, and set up an appointment
with the Writing Center.
Before we get started with the project, we
need to:
- Nominate a team leader
- Create a calendar of timelines and due
dates
- Set up our group work space on
eCollege
- Set up an appointment with the Writing
Center.
Email: Be Concise
• Having read your message, the reader should
know exactly what you need and should want to
do what you’ve asked.
– Is the purpose of the message in your opening
paragraph or line?
– Do you ask your reader for a specific action?
– Does your reader understand your time limitations?
Email: Punctuation and Spelling
• Use proper punctuation and correct spelling
• Typos or run-on sentences could convey
that the sender sent the email in haste
Your recipient may wonder why he or she should
take time for a detailed response if you as the
sender did not take time composing the message.
Email: Avoid Acronyms
Unless you are positive everyone reading your
message knows all of the acronyms, avoid
their overuse.
TO: Jim G.; Kris P.; Ernesto E.; Velma Q.; Susana R.; Enrico A.; Robin R.
RE: IMF needs a Q-RET before the ASC3 is filed with a PET
All: Received your IMF. Did you talk to the folks in Q-RET about first
getting a DERT? The new REM in PET will need you to fill out an ASC3
if you are going to pursue TXMX certification. Thx.
Email: Avoid Curt
Be concise but not clipped.
One boss lost her star employee based on a two-word
email she sent to him following a major presentation that
stated simply:
Good job
The employee felt it was a sarcastic jab, and he started
sending out resumes. The issue was cleared up in an exit
interview. His boss said later that she lost a lot of money
by omitting one exclamation mark.
Email: Avoid Emotional Responses
Compose in Haste; Regret in Leisure
• Avoid immediately sending an email or posting a
response to a discussion thread that you
composed while angry.
Email: Avoid Emotional Responses
Emails are not the place to express anger.
• Do not send an email that you would not
read out loud to the person if they were
standing in front of you.
• If an email is questionable, save to
your draft folder and return to it
later.
Email: Passive Aggressiveness
• Passive aggressiveness is easy to spot in
asynchronous communication.
• Your initial response to a school colleague’s
writing or a work colleague’s email might be
sarcastic, but jokes and tone are often
misunderstood in an asynchronous
environment.
Email: Passive Aggressiveness
Passive Aggressive
Our deadline is tomorrow and someone
needs to edit and post our work to
eCollege. I know I sent out an email
about this last week, but, apparently, it
seems it might not have been read?
Direct
Our deadline is tomorrow, and Jane, I
know you volunteered to edit and post
our work to eCollege. Will you still be
able to meet this deadline?
Email: Patience is a Virtue
Email is a form of mail.
• We do not assume an immediate response
when we put a letter in the mail, but we get
impatient while waiting for a response to an
email.
BUT
• Responding to a discussion, contributing to a team
assignment, providing peer commentary or
review, communicating with your faculty or
capstone chair, and many other forms of academic
and professional communication requires
attention to deadlines.
• In addition, such communication requires
attention to word choice, grammar, and etiquette,
so set aside time for proofreading your emails
before sending.
Email: CAPS LOCK
• Using all caps looks like yelling.
• Don’t do it.
– Even if you feel like yelling (actually,
especially if you feel like yelling).
Non-Walden Real Life Example
AS OF THIS POINT I HAVE NOT RECEIVED A RESPONSE FROM
ANYONE. THE DIRECTORS WERE BUSY MISSING THE
FORECAST BY 200 HOURS YESTERDAY SO THEY DID NOT HAVE
TIME TO RESPOND. BEFORE I SEND THE DAILY REPORT I AM
GOING TO GIVE YOU 4 HOURS TO REVIEW THE NUMBERS
YOURSELF.
I AM SPENDING A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF TIME ON THESE
REPORTS AND I DO NOT INTEND FOR IT TO BE WASTED
IT DOES NOT HAVE TO BE SAID BUT I WILL SAY IT ANYWAY PROFITABILITY IS A FUNCTION OF YOUR JOB RESPONSIBILITY
Thanks, Sam
Walden Real Life Example
• To: [email protected]
I HAVE TRIED to schedule an appt. NO open times through
April!!!! No white spots to sign up! On waiting list but that is
not really helpful.....WHY can't i sign up??????????? I ned a
DISSERTATION EDITOR.
I need March 15, March 22, or March 29 or last resort, April
12. WHat is going on that I don't see any white spots for me
to sign up for an appt??????????????????????????????
Email: Answer and Anticipate
• As a recipient of these types of emails, try to
recognize patterns and answer
preemptively.
– Send an email acknowledging the receipt
• No matter the delivery, respond to emails
using proper etiquette.
Email: Ignoring is an Answer
• Avoiding an email is one way to deal with
contact that is not professional.
• By not replying to an email, you are
indicating that you do not want to
communicate your response.
• All econversations end.
Email as Mail
• What do you do to letters addressed to
“Dear Occupant”?
• Personalize the response.
• Remind yourself that this is communication
between you and another person.
Discussion Posts
Similar rules apply to discussion posts:
• Be concise
• Use proper spelling and punctuation
• Avoid acronyms, curt and passive aggressive
phrasing, and caps lock
Treat your discussion post like a
minipaper.
Posts: Objective, Scholarly Voice
• Write smoothly
– “Devices that are often found in creative writing – for example: setting up ambiguity,
inserting the unexpected, omitting the expected, and suddenly shifting the topic,
tense, or person – can confuse or disturb readers of scientific prose” (APA, 2010, p.
65).
• Write concisely
– “Say only what needs to be said. The author who is frugal with words…writes a
more readable manuscript…Short words and short sentences are easier to
comprehend than are long ones” (APA, 2010, p. 67).
• Write objectively
– “Precision is essential in scientific writing; when you refer to a person or persons,
choose words that are accurate, clear, and free from bias…For example, using man
to refer to all human beings is simply not as accurate as the phrase women and men”
(APA, 2010, p. 71).
Posts: Objective, Scholarly Voice
• Just as in course papers, avoid contractions
and colloquialisms
don’t
do not
“write up”
“write”
• Do not include feeling words (e.g., feel,
believe)
Posts: Evidence
• Use information from your sources to
enhance your initial posts and responses
• Ask yourself if using personal experience is
appropriate for the prompt
Best Practice Suggestions
Elementary Principles of ecomposition:
• In email messages, keep paragraphs short.
• Make the paragraph the unit of composition (the
paragraph is the house for one idea to live in).
• Use the active voice.
• Omit unnecessary words.
• Put statements in positive form.
• Use definite, specific, concrete language.
Questions
Thanks for joining us this evening!
• Use the Question box to ask for clarification
• For more information on scholarly voice
and academic communication, see
http://writingcenter.waldenu.edu/312.htm
Resources
• Walden Library:
http://library.waldenu.edu/
• Residencies:
http://residencies.waldenu.edu/
• Center for Research Support:
http://researchcenter.waldenu.edu/
Contact Information:
Email the Writing Center
anytime at
[email protected]