"Only connect! . . .Live in fragments no longer.” E. M. Forster, Howards End (1910), ch. 22
‘One
day when I was twenty-three or twenty-four this sentence seemed to form
in my head, without my willing it, much as sentences form when we are
half-asleep, ‘Hammer your thoughts into unity’.
For days I could think of nothing else and for years I tested all I did
by that sentence [...]” William Butler Yeats (Nobel Prize 1923; cited
in Frank Tuohy, Yeats,
1976, p.51 )
PROJECTS
WHAT EXACTLY IS THE PROFESSOR LOOKING FOR IN THIS ASSIGNMENT?
PERFECTION
First of all, I am looking for the perfect grammar and punctuation the world expects from an English major. That is the minimum. Secondly, I am looking for someone who can write. What I mean by that is someone who has a sense of organization, unity, flow, and, especially, perfect word choice, the best possible word in the best possible place.
Why this focus on perfection now? As we become more and more dependent on computers, fortunately or unfortunately, we will need to adapt to their requirements.
First of all, the "publication" of your writing on the world wide web means far more scrutiny of your grammar, punctuation, word choice, organization, flow, etc. than previous English majors faced. For example, even if you do not direct possible employers to the site, they can Google your name and find it.
Secondly, when you use computer software to write sooner or later you come up against the chief requirement of computer code. The code must be perfect, especially in punctuation, capitalization, spelling, syntax, etc. or the program will simply not run. If you have not experienced this yet, you will when you upload your html files to different platforms. The big servers often run UNIX, for example, which is case sensitive, unlike Microsoft products, and thus one or more of your file names may not work. The demand for perfection becomes even more obvious when your write for the MOO: the smallest error can mean your communication fails. To find that error you will need to proofread more closely than you ever did as an English major in the past. So, if you are to succeed in today's marketplace, you will need to get used to this demand for perfection.
How do you achieve these results? Well, Hemingway was asked a related question.
Paris Review: How much rewriting do you do?
Hemingway: It depends. I rewrote the ending to A Farewell To Arms, the last page of it, thirty-nine times before I was satisfied.
Paris Review: Was there some technical problem there? What was it that stumped you?
Hemingway: Getting the words right
Rewriting is the secret of great writing. To get perfect grammar and punctuation you need to be able to "proofread" the writing carefully, often by reading it backwards sentence by sentence. When you read it forward multiple times, unity, or the absence thereof, becomes apparent. Revising becomes discovery learning as you radically revise your ideas and connect to new ones to make the writing more coherent and organized. All this requires the ability to see your writing new, as if you were someone else reading it. For most people, the only reliable way to attain this perspective is to let time lapse before re-reading. Thus the secret of writing becomes time management. Remember that your writing in this class will be published on the "www," the "world-wide web." All the world will see the results of any procrastination. Moreover, because you will have to produce your writing as "html" and upload it to a website, you will need to allow at least two extra days for computer problems, for making sure the files are "html" files rather than "mht" files, for setting permissions so that others can see your files, etc. etc.
You may ask, but how can I make time for rewriting when I am so busy? Ah, now we are at the heart of the problem, I reply. Time Management becomes a question of Motivation. We are at the key questions: Why Are You Here? What Are Your Goals? Are You Ready to Create a New Self? Are You Emotionally Mature Enough For College? Would It Be More Honest to Tell Your Parents that Have No Real Goals Here except to Have a Good Time? If You Do Have Some Goals But They Don't Involve College, Would It Not Be Better to Take Some Time Off to Do What You Really Want to Do? Etc. Etc.
Learning Skills Center Motivation and Goal Setting site
Learning Skills Center Time Management Site
Learning Skills Center Procrastination Site
