Secrets and Other Things That You Should Know
Do you sometimes think that there are things going on about which
you know nothing? Do you find yourself wishing that someone would
just come out and tell you what you need to know?
Well, that's what this part of my website is all about. I want my
students to do well, but I'm morally opposed to giving away good grades.
You'll have to do your part to get ahead, but here's where you
can find some help.
One of the best secrets that I can tell you isn't really a secret after all:
try really hard. Your instructors can tell when you're putting forth effort,
and most of the time they can even tell when you're faking it. Even if they don't
always show that they know you're sluffing off, they probably do. Put forth
some effort and you just may do wonders for your grades.
There are also a few things that you should do for every assignment that you turn in -- and I recommend taking these same steps in ALL of your classes, not just in mine:
*Spellcheck and proofread everything. Remember, "spellcheck" is not synonymous with "proofread"; proofreading involves checking for proper punctuation, formatting, capitalization, and spacing as well as checking for mistyped words or misspelled names.
*Make sure that your project adheres to all of the specifications of the assignment. It's always a very good idea to double-check the assignment sheet to make sure that you met all of the requirements. You'd probably be quite surprised at the number of assignments that instructors receive in a format completely different from the one specified. If your instructor doesn't hand out assignment sheets, take good notes when the instructor announces an assignment and check those notes prior to turning in your work.
*Leave enough time to allow for computer or printer errors. Unfortunately, these things happen, but don't let them lower your grade by making you turn in late work.
*Make sure that you use care whenever you write anything to an instructor -- even e-mail messages. While you may be in the habit of quickly dashing off a line or two via e-mail without thinking about spelling, grammar, or formality, remember that your instructors are more likely to see you as a good writer if you're careful about everything that you write to them.
*Take advantage of the Writing Center on the third floor of Taper Hall. The consultants who work there are all trained to help Writing 140 students -- and some of them have been Writing 140 instructors. Some students avoid the Writing Center, thinking that only the worst students would dare go there -- but the situation is usually the exact opposite. Generally, the better students make use of this beneficial (and free) resource. If you are not able to secure an appointment at the Writing Center, have a trusted friend review your work. He or she might help point out areas that are hard to understand, or help find mistakes that you've overlooked.
*Don't ever assume that, simply because you work hard, you deserve a grade of "A". Writing is incredibly difficult, and even when you devote a great deal of time and energy to your writing, it still may not deserve an "A" grade. I realize that this is a very unfortunate truth, but it's best that you realize now, if you haven't already realized this, that you aren't likely to be wonderful at every activity at which you work hard.
At the bottom of this page, you'll find links that I've included elsewhere
on the website, but I've got them grouped here so that
you can more easily find what you need. Here's a quick summary of
what you'll find by accessing the sites to which this one is linked:
Common Errors in English -- This is Professor Paul Brians incredibly detailed site regarding the most commone errors in English usage. Many of the homophones and confusing words from my own page can be also found here, so if you don't like my clarifications, please try Professor Brians's page for help.
Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary and Thesaurus -- This is a VERY helpful site.
You type in a word, press "enter," and the definition comes up right before your eyes.
I believe that's what prompted the people who maintain this site to call it a "dictionary."
One word of caution for using the thesaurus function: if you've never heard of
a word before, it's probably not a good idea to use it (it may have a meaning that you
don't really intend, and thus it won't help your piece of writing to use it).
USC's Electronic Resources Page -- This will help you with research throughout your time here at USC. This site directs you to a huge amount of information on an incredible variety of subjects, including online articles. I strongly suggest keeping this page bookmarked until you have your Bachelor's degree in your hand.
Homophones and Other Confusing Words -- These are words that seem confuse
many freshman composition students. Homophones are words with different meanings that are prounounced the same
but spelled differently. So, choosing the word with the wrong spelling will change the meaning
of your writing, and that will hurt your grade. This site also has some word sets that sound
mostly alike, and that also can prove confusing to some writers. There is also a short
list of words that are often written as multiple words, but which are actually only one word (for
example "nonetheless" is sometimes mistaken written as "none the less"). Lastly, there is a small list of words that are often mistyped. If you use a
word that appears on any of these lists, make sure that you've used it correctly. Use the link to the
Merriam-Webster page if you need to double-check the meanings of these words -- it'll help your grade. One caution: this page is still under construction, so you may have to link to an online dictionary (or resprt to a hard-copy dictionary) to find the word that you need.
Ms. Strong's Pet Peeves -- This page lets you know what sorts of mistakes really stand out
when I'm grading your essays. This is a good page to print out and keep by your side when you're writing
your papers; I don't expect to see ANY of the errors described on this web page AT ALL in ANY of your writing (yes, that even includes e-mails to me), so
make sure that your writing is free from ALL of these mistakes.
Writing Guides and Other Tools
USC's Electronic Resources Page
Common Errors in English
Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary and Thesaurus
Secrets and Hints for Writing 140
Homophones and Other Confusing Words
Ms. Strong's Pet Peeves
Other Writing 140 Website Pages
Ms. Strong's Homepage
Writing Class Homepage
Course Policies
