'College-Level' Writing 

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

"College-level writing" - it's not the best phrase, but the most descriptive that I can think of for what I'm looking for in your writing. A number of you are taking this course as an elective outside of your major - but "college-level" writing is expected regardless of your career goals. No matter your major - the ability to write well and reflect on your understanding is a skill that will bode well for you throughout your career. 

Your writing should show a depth of knowledge that can only come through personal experience connected to information gathered from our course tasks (e.g., readings, videos, and activities). As I value your time and effort in writing activities, I read every line of your awesome work. However, if you attempt to rush through tasks by skipping (or skimming) readings and not watching videos, it will be evident in your written assignments. I am not looking for simple answers to the questions. This is a course at a selective university that expects students to think critically and write effectively from the moment they set foot on campus (or log in to class—whichever best describes your situation). 

Please do not use the following words/phrases in your writing (for any course!):

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

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

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

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

  • Any phrase that states the obvious:

    • • technology is rapidly changing

      • technology has changed since . . . 

      • kids/students today are using new technology

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

  • “Thing,” “stuff"

  • I want to start by saying . . . 

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