College-Level Writing 

What do I mean by "College-level writing"?

Your writing should show a depth of knowledge that can only come through personal learning experience connected to information gathered from our course reading assignments and the selected videos that are shared in each unit. If you attempt to rush through tasks by skipping (or skimming) readings and not watching videos - it will be clear in your written assignments. This is a course at a selective university that expects students to be able to think and write critically from the moment they set foot on campus (or log in to class - whichever best describes your situation). I hope the writing activities in this class can help you develop the skills to communicate authentically, elaborately, and professionally through text!

• • Although your essays are meant to be reflective, the tone of your writing should be formal.

  • Submitted writing assignments should not be first drafts. They should be free of typos and represent a thorough understanding of the concepts of a particular task or unit. 

  • If you use any materials, you should cite and credit the original author.

Please avoid using the following words/phrases in your writing (in any courses!):

1. Any phrase that states the obvious:

   • • In today's society . . .

     • Technology is rapidly changing

     • Technology has changed since . . . 

     • Kids/students today are using new technology

2. Any ten-dollar words that are just fillers when a simple word would work better.

   • • "delineate upon the subject matter" vs. "explain"

     • "partake in the act of nocturnal slumber" vs. "sleep"

3. Empty adjectives/ weak modifiers (e.g., actually, totally, very, so, pretty, fairly)

4. Any phrase that implies that a specific technology is going to "revolutionize" anything (because it does not)

5. It's extremely hard for something to be 'perfect' or 'the best' - avoid using superlatives without sufficient backup explanations and evidence.

6. Run-on expressions such as “so on,” “etc,” “and so forth."

7. “Thing,” “stuff"

8. I want to start by saying . . . 

9. In closing / In conclusion . . . (if it's your last paragraph, the reader knows the end is near)