Synopsis – December 2009/January 2010: Director’s Annotations > Susan Coller Carlson

Welcome to the final issue of our WAC newsletter for 2009! In the spirit of the holiday (which translates to “everyone’s busy preparing for visitors or travel, Christmas shopping and all the other details that go into this special time of year”) we have decided to combine our last issue of 2009 with the first issue of 2010. It’s been a great year at KU, and next year promises to be even better. Since we have moved online a little over a month ago, our newsletter has been read in over a dozen different countries including South Africa, Pakistan, Turkey and the Philippines, and almost all of the United States. (Do we have anyone in Montana at KU?)

Our first article this month begins with Kate Stephenson’s Revising Revision: Teaching Students to Rewrite Essays Effectively. Kate discusses a common impression our students have when it comes to the true meaning of “revision.” Many erroneously believe that “revision” is the same as editing, so it is essential that we not only illustrate the difference, but help students realize why revision is such a crucial step in the writing process. Like most of us, Kate feels that “WAC provides us with a golden opportunity to reinforce” revision skills and help our students become stronger writers and more engaged learners. What are your thoughts about the difference between revising and editing? Is this something you address with your students in the projects they submit in your courses?

In Challenges Faced By Our Students, JoAnn Funk inspires us to become more attuned to our students and work harder to foster an environment that clearly supports their emotional, social, and academic needs. With a more attentive approach, students are happier and retention rates can improve. Chrissine Rios, in her engaging article, Beyond the Text, supports JoAnn’s ideas by showing how a tutor’s relationship with students must be based on “communication beyond the text,” that is, tutors must make an effort to more fully engage students on a variety of levels. Chrissine makes a strong case for communicating beyond the text and points out how the assumptions we make can affect our perceptions—negatively as well as positively.

In The Case for Teaching The Bluebook: A Uniform System, Ally Howell argues that our legal and paralegal students at KU must learn to use Bluebook. Whether one should learn MLA, APA or any other style of documentation always seems to spark controversy, so I can’t help but reflect back to Christie Zgourides article in our September issue, Getting Real About APA: What a Documentation System Can Teach About Every Career—it’s worth a second look. I know many of us struggle with APA (myself included) but it (like all styles of documentation) is simply a formula, a nomenclature. The impetus behind teaching students APA should first focus on ethics: we do not steal another person’s work and so always give credit to the original writer, researcher or creator of a work. Students need to understand why this is essential, and it is our responsibility to instill this culture of integrity prior to digging into the particulars of APA, Bluebook or any other form of documentation.

In our next article, Low-Stakes Writing with a High-Tech Twist, Kella Hammond inspires us with her take on “writing as a form of unevaluated exploration.” Kella refers to Peter Elbow who believes low-stakes writing is not only “livelier, clearer and more interesting,” but oftentimes more understandable than high-stakes writing. Kella challenges us to consider incorporating more “low-stakes” writing assignments into our courses using technologies such as Twitter, Thinkmap’s Visual Thesaurus, and chat room “stop and jots.” If you are using low-stakes writing assignments in your courses—especially if you are teaching a non-composition course—we would love to hear how you do it and what kinds of results you have noticed. Please share your ideas with your colleagues by posting a comment after the article.

On the heels of Kella’s thought-provoking article is Stretching Bodies and Minds: A Disciplined Writing –Yoga Connection by Joni Boone. Joni makes a strong connection between the discipline needed for yoga and writing, but hints that discipline does not have to carry negative connotations. It is the consistent practice of writing, whether formal or informal, serious or playful, that truly strengthens one’s skills, and I think we can all glean some inspiration from Joni (and her adorable daughter, Harper).

Mike Jensen reveals what he hopes Santa will bring him this year in his amusing article, On the Lighter Side: All I Want for Christmas Is To Be A Math Teacher. And wrapping things up for this issue, Diane Martinez explores how we can show students that writing does matter beyond the halls of the university and beyond the scope on one’s career goals in Going Beyond a Utilitarian Approach to Teaching Writing. Self-discovery and insight into the world in which we are a part of can be enhanced by writing no matter which discipline one belongs to, but the catch is that we need to find meaningful ways to incorporate the writing process into our courses so that students have time to hone these skills. Has anyone noticed an overriding theme this issue?

So as I sit at my kitchen table in the wee hours of morning and wait for the first major snowstorm of the season, I leave you with this thought. We know that helping our students become strong writers (better yet, strong communicators) has to be one of our highest priorities for 2010 and beyond. We have formally incorporated the WAC General Education Literacy (GEL) into our courses, and so now it is time to “make good” on this GEL and actively support its functionality and foster its effectiveness. If you are not a writing teacher per se and don’t know where to begin, we understand. Please know that you have a team of people ready to support you. Contact the Writing Center staff, attend our faculty workshops, read our newsletter, and become involved in the KU community of writers—we are here for you just as we are here for our students.

A colossal thank you goes out to all our contributors (and especially our editor, Diane Martinez) and all our readers for making this newsletter a success. I sincerely wish everyone a safe and happy holiday and a wonderful New Year! Two inches of snow per hour? Did I just hear the weatherman correctly?

Best,

Revising Revision: Teaching Students to Rewrite Essays Effectively >Kate Stephenson

Bernard Malamud (1988) called revision "one of the exquisite pleasures of writing." Most of my students offer a virtual chuckle (lol) when they read this quotation at the beginning of our Unit 7 seminar on revision. They’re probably wondering why anyone would take pleasure in fixing comma splices and correcting spelling, because for most Kaplan students in beginning writing courses, this is their idea of revision. They expect to do little more than edit their essays. As I continue my tradition of beginning each seminar with inspirational quotations from famous writers (a technique they tend to enjoy), the students are further amused to read Ezra Pound’s words about his famous poem, "In a Station of the Metro," which most of them remember from American Lit in high school: "I wrote a thirty line poem, and destroyed it…Six months later I made a poem half that length; a year later I made the following... ‘The apparition of these faces in the crowd:/Petals, on a wet, black bough.’" (Pound, 1916).

"Seriously?" they type in unison. "Pound thought about two lines for a year?"

"Good thing this class is only ten weeks," I reply.

Students enter our classes assuming that "good writers" don’t revise much, if at all. They quickly realize that great writers spend hours, weeks, even years revising their work, a fact that gives them confidence and comfort. After all, they are now in good company! Revising is not a part of bad writing; it’s a part of good writing. They also quickly realize that while revision includes editing, it involves a lot more than changing "affect" to "effect" or joining two complete sentences with a semi-colon rather than a comma. Revision means grappling with content, organization, audience, research integration, and transitions. It means deleting information that is off topic, streamlining the thesis statement, and adding analysis to that three sentence paragraph in the middle of the paper. Revision means re-seeing their paper as an objective reader might.

To revise effectively and efficiently, students must change their habits. Rather than starting with the easy grammatical corrections, they learn to use a "top-down" method, which saves time because it teaches students to fix global issues, or the higher level problems, first. If they don’t do this, they may spend twenty minutes rewording a section that they later realize does not belong in the paper. Global issues include problems with content or argument. For example, the student may need to add analysis, acknowledge the nuances of an opposing argument, or insert more evidence. As we offer feedback to students, it’s important to engage with their ideas, to push them to think harder about their subject, and to stress that writing is an act of discovery.

For most students, the global issues will revolve around organization. Teaching students how a paper fits together demystifies the writing process and shows them that writing well is not something most of us are born with; it’s something we learn. Approaching writing structurally often calms even the most anxious students and helps them understand that good papers are built upon a solid framework. When students revise their essays, they use a variety of methods to check this structure. Does the thesis serve as a map that previews the main points of the essay? Does each paragraph have topic sentence? We think of the thesis and topic sentences as the skeleton of the paper, the support for the flesh—reasons, evidence, and analysis—of the paper. Without the bones, the body has no shape. To revise the structure, students use a post-draft outline, which is an outline created after the draft is written by pulling out the thesis and main ideas of each paragraph. This exercise allows students to see if a paragraph needs to be moved, the thesis revised, or a topic sentence rewritten. Looking at the skeleton of the paper enables students to see their argument with fresh eyes.

Students move further down the revision ladder by considering individual paragraphs. Are the ideas well-organized within the paragraph? I encourage students to do an exercise that I’ve often used successfully in the face-to-face classroom environment. I tell them to cut up a paragraph into individual sentences and have a friend or family member put it back together. Did the partner replicate the original structure? This method also allows students to rearrange their sentences, an exercise that often highlights problem spots. Students also focus on adding evidence, analyzing the outside sources, and creating transitions between ideas.

Only when students have worked hard on these global issues should they move to the local level revision, which consists of correcting grammatical errors, ensuring a consistent point of view, rewording confusing passages, and fixing spelling errors. Finally, the students arrive where they expected to start! We discuss the most common grammatical errors, such as comma splices, fragments, and noun/pronoun agreement, but most importantly, students see examples from student papers and fix them. Actually, correcting grammatical mistakes together helps them to master the concepts and feel more confident correcting their own errors. Students learn practical techniques for editing their papers, such as reading their writing aloud, having someone else read the paper to them, searching the essay for one problem at a time, and using checklists to guide their revision.

Learning to revise is perhaps one of the most essential parts of the writing process, if only because few of us produce polished writing on the first try. The revision skills students learn will help them in other Kaplan classes and beyond, but students will revert to old habits quickly. WAC provides us with a golden opportunity to reinforce these vital lessons in courses across the university, whether it’s in psychology, biology, business, or criminal justice. As we teach students to revise, we must also help them to continue to see with "fresh eyes." We must continue to inspire and encourage them. To that end, I infuse our discussions with anecdotes about other writers, like James Joyce, who spent seven years writing Ulysses—a 732 page novel that chronicles the events of one day ("Classic Text," 2002, para. 1). Good thing this class only lasts ten weeks…

Reference Page:
James Joyce/Ulysses: the classic text: traditions and interpretations. (2002). Retrieved on October 23, 2009, from University of Wisconsin-Milwaulkee website: http://www.uwm.edu/Library/special/exhibits/clastext/clspg158.htm

Malamud, Bernard. (Sunday, March 20, 1988). Reflections of a writer: long work, short life. [electronic version]. The New York Times. Retrieved October 24, 2009, from http://www.nytimes.com/1988/03/20/books/malamud-reflections.html?adxnnl=0&adxnnlx=1155745869-nTdHqUdudSdYKqL7wfDNSQ&pagewanted=5

Pound, E. (1916). On in a station of the metro. Gaudier-Brzeska. Retrieved October 24, 2009 from the University of Illinois website: hppt://www.english.illiniois.edu/maps/poets/m_r/pound/metro.htm

Did you know...

Kate plays competitive league tennis and has won seven trophies in the last five years? She's also a rabid fan of Duke basketball, Virginia Tech football, Philadelphia Phillies, and her son’s flag football team.

Kate is part-time faculty in the composition department in the School of Arts and Sciences.

Challenges Faced By Our Students >JoAnn Funk

As an adjunct at Kaplan for five years now, I am still constantly amazed at the challenges faced by our learners. If anyone had to flee domestic violence, give a legal deposition about your grandchild having been burned in your house fire, or endure the death of a younger police officer you had mentored, could we write a good essay? These adult online learners have all made the decision to come to Kaplan and pursue a degree, but how long has it been since they last wrote a paper for any teacher? Just knowing that many of our students are at-risk is not adequate; we must move beyond the traditional roles of student/teacher and motivate them to be good writers. Knowing what the needs of our students are and establishing a relationship of trust are key components of retention of those learners and creation of emergent writers.

The needs of adult online learners are often hidden at the other end of the Internet connection. In communications courses, professors teach how to assess the needs of one’s clients. In composition courses, professors spend time discussing the needs of one’s audience, but do we professors think about the needs of our learners? In an ACT college retention report, Lotkowski, Robbins, and Noeth (2004) asserted that retention programs need to create "a socially inclusive and supportive academic environment that addresses the social, emotional, and academic needs of students" (p. viii). Obviously, any retention program should profile the needs of the learners and seek feedback from the faculty that interacts with them on a daily basis. The normal routine of a professor is interacting with students in live seminars, on discussion boards, and by evaluating student projects. The most personal reaching out might be the How is everybody doing? question asked at the start of a Kaplan live seminar. How much time does the average professor have to reach out to a student that may not be participating? In the few weeks of a quarter it is difficult to build a relationship of trust with students in the isolation that is inherent with online higher education. But trust can be fostered.

Most new students are naturally apprehensive and fear can block the feeling of trust that one’s professor is an advocate of theirs to help them seek new skills and knowledge. Students need to see, accept, and appreciate their strengths in order to increase their motivation, confidence, and efficacy, and thereby increase their achievement" (Schreiner & Anderson, 2004, p. 10). Professors need to mentor the over-extended at-risk learners and encourage them when they doubt themselves. If an at-risk learner can believe in a promising future with real opportunities, then society and our economy will benefit. The hope is that they will learn how to learn, develop a yearning for learning, and continually reach out and take advantage of new opportunities to learn new skills. If all institutions, faculty and learners increase awareness, communication, and mentoring, then the chances of successful completion of online higher education programs should also improve.

References
Lotkowski, V. A., Robbins, S. B., & Noeth, R. J. (2004). The role of academic and non-academic factors in improving college retention. ACT Policy Report. Retrieved January 1, 2006, from www.act.org/research/policy/index.html
Schreiner, L. A., PhD., & Anderson, E., PhD. (2004). Strengths-based advising. The Gallup Organization. Retrieved November 4, 2006, from https://www.strengthsquest.com/Content/?CI=25195

Did you know...

JoAnn has a hot air balloon pilot's license?

JoAnn is part-time faculty in the composition department in the School of Arts and Sciences.

Beyond the Text >Chrissine Rios

As a writing tutor, sans grade book and the wedded authority, I am seated even closer to students than I was as an instructor. In a brick and mortar writing center, this closeness is easy to see as tutors and students sit elbow to elbow. Small talk begins and ends the sessions. Nods, smiles, and other nonverbal nuances further the face-to-face conversation. Online, the goal to connect with students as individuals remains the same, but remote communication must also go beyond the text if it is to evoke the human spirit that is so fundamental in all teaching and learning.

Communicating beyond the text first means reading without making assumptions about the writer based on the text. At the AACE e-Learn World Conference, Peterson, VanDam, and Wheeler stated that “the sense of anonymity that comes with online teaching can lull one into a false sense of safety against prejudice and bias” (2009, p. 5). This feeling of safety or belonging has its plusses as Peterson, VanDam, and Wheeler explained: one will participate more when “one is being evaluated on the content of one’s contribution, not anything else” (2009, p. 1). However, online, content can be telling, and any deviation from Standard American English can lead a reader to make assumptions about the writer’s educational level, cultural and linguistic backgrounds, even gender and race.

These assumptions about identity are not always harmful. According to Leiki (2009), “we tend to see the members of our own group as individuals” (ix). When we perceive others as having similar cultural backgrounds, we can accept them as having unique perspectives. Communicating as individuals allows us to shift our viewpoints to accommodate difference and meet in the middle where we can learn from and teach one another. This is essential especially to a writing tutor whose objective has always been to “change the writer, not the paper” (Carter, 2009, p. 8). Conversation logically follows as the cornerstone of Writing Center tutoring, and with the new Writing Coach Pilot, interactive workshops, Live Tutoring, and the Fundamentals and ESL programs’ one-on-one tutoring, the KUWC offers students and tutors more opportunities than ever to consult with students and communicate beyond the text.

Of interest however is the flipside of Leiki’s findings that we “see those who are not of our group as all alike” (2009, ix). Leiki’s concern and mine too as the ESL specialist in the Writing Center is for the multilingual students who write with an accent, who may not appropriately use articles (the, a, and an) because of different perceptions of count nouns, who seem to use prepositions loosely, interchanging “with” and “to” when in Bulgarian, for example, one would say “in relation with” not “in relation to” (D. Geteva, personal communication, November 19, 2009), or the students who use infinitives where gerunds (ing forms) ought to be and vice versa because they don’t hear the difference that a native English speaker does innately. These errors are no mistakes; they are choices informed by culture, one’s native culture as well as the student’s assumptions about the target language, in this case, English.

Communicating beyond the text therefore also requires learning to not always read differences as deficiencies for doing so risks stereotyping all those who write with an accent as being remedial learners. This assumption is not uncommon. The Conference on College Composition and Communication has thus resolved “to educate teachers about the length of the L2 [second language] writing acquisition process, and how, according to Virginia Collier, it takes at least seven years to acquire an academic vocabulary” (Severino, 2009, p.57). Although the KU WAC initiative involves assessing all students on their command of Standard American English, the standard does live along a continuum depending on the paper’s purpose, the subject, the writer, and the readers. I see this continuum most easily when I remember the American part of Standard American English. What is a standard American anyway?

In my effort to communicate with ESL students beyond the text, I hold weekly, one-on-one conferences in an Adobe Connect Pro meeting room. We are not elbow-to elbow, but we have audio and the option of video. We post text to the white board and talk about it. During these conferences, I function more as a cultural informant than a grammarian. I have also created a welcome video so that my ESL outreach is more personal. I honestly feel self conscious every time I view it, but as Peterson, VanDam, and Wheeler stressed, if “we hope to connect with our students in a significant way, we must shed some of that alleged anonymity”(5) that comes with teaching online. My belief is that if the students see me as a real person, an individual, then they might know that I will see them that way too.

References
Carter, S. (2009, September). The writing center paradox: Talk about legitimacy and the
problem of institutional change. College Composition and Communication, 16(1), 133-152.
Leiki, I. (2009). Before the conversation: A sketch of some possible backgrounds, experiences, and attitudes among ESL students visiting a writing center. In S. Bruce & B. Rafoth (Eds.), ESL Writers: A Guide for Writing Center Tutors. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Peterson, T., VanDam, K., & Wheeler, L. (2009, October). Who do we think we are? Dismantling educators’ assumptions in the online classroom. Paper presented at the Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education E-Learn 2009 World Conference on E-Learning in Corporate, Government, Healthcare & Higher Education, Vancouver, Canada. Severino, C. (2009). Avoiding appropriation. In S. Bruce & B. Rafoth (Eds.), ESL Writers: A Guide for Writing Center Tutors. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.


Did you know...
Chrissine backpacked from Minnesota to Guatemala and back by foot, bus, train, thumb, and burro? And this was before there were cell phones and internet cafes!

Chrissine is an ESL specialist in the Writing Center.

The Case for Teaching The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation >Ally Howell

Citation of sources or authorities is the sine qua non of academic and legal writing and avoiding charges of plagarism. Unfortunately, there is no single uniform system or style of citation.

When I was in high school there was the ubiquitous MLA Style Sheet[1] published by the Modern Language Association back when it was, as I recall, a sheet and not a booklet or pamphlet. MLA is still around but seems to have been replaced by the APA[2] (which is advertised for use in used in psychology, business, criminology, economics, education, sociology). As an aside, it amazes me that we defer to psychologists on the citation format in so many areas’ academic papers of various disciplines. Because I am a lawyer and adjunct professor in Kaplan University’s School of Legal Studies, I would normally use Bluebook citation format, but in deference to the publisher will use APA format throughout this paper.

Some disciplines, however, have not deferred to the psychologists or to the MLA, but have instead developed their own citation guides. The ones that I have been able discover are:

• AAA (American Anthropological Association)[3]
• ACS (American Chemical Society)[4]
• AIP (American Institute of Physics)[5]
• AMA (American Medical Association)[6]
• AP (Associated Press) (used in journalism and public relations)[7]
• APSA (American Political Science Association)[8]
• ASA (American Sociological Association)[9]
• Bluebook (properly known as The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation) which I have written in small caps because that is what the Bluebook instructs)
• Chicago (University of Chicago)[10]
• CSE (Council of Science Editors)[11]
• LSA (Linguistic Society of America)[12]
• Turabian [13] (used in many disciplines in humanities, social sciences and natural sciences, and often selected when people do not know which style to use) It is a variation of the Chicago Manual of Style.

Why does it matter what citation style is used by legal studies and paralegal students?

The Bluebook style should be taught to legal studies and paralegal students because it matters to those to whom their “real world”work product is directed. It will matter because lawyers for whom they will work are expected to know and use Bluebook format. The following states have by rule prescribed the use of Bluebook format:

• Alabama[14]
• California[15]
• Delaware[16]
• Florida[17]
• Indiana[18]
• Michigan[19]
• New Mexico[20]
• Texas[21]
• Washington[22]

Most states that have not adopted a formal rule regarding citation format have nevertheless stated, sometimes emphatically, in the published opinions of their appellate courts that they expect attorneys and even pro se litigants to use Bluebook format. The following is a list of those states:

• Arizona[23]
• Delaware[24]
• District of Columbia[25]
• Georgia[26]
• Illinois[27]
• Louisiana[28]
• Maryland[29]
• Massachusetts[30]
• Mississippi[31]
• New Hampshire[32]
• Pennsylvania[33]
• South Dakota[34]
• Tennessee[35]
• Texas[36]
• Utah[37]
• Virginia[38]
• Washington[39]
• Wisconsin[40]

A number of federal courts have by rule also prescribed the use of Bluebook. These include the following U.S. District Courts:

• U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire[41]
• U.S. District Court for the District of Montana[42]
• U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina[43]
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit[44]

Most federal courts have not adopted a formal rule regarding citation format. Nevertheless they have stated, sometimes emphatically, in the published opinions of their appellate courts that they expect attorneys and even pro se litigants to use Bluebook format. The following is a list of those courts:

• U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska[45]
• U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona[46]
• U.S. District Court for the Northern and Southern Districts of California[47]
• U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado[48]
• U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut[49]
• U.S. District Court for the District of the District of Columbia[50]
• U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida[51]
• U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia[52]
• U.S. District Court for the Northern District of llinois[53]
• U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas[54]
• U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts[55]
• U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan[56]
• U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota[57]
• U.S. District Court for the District of Nebraska[58]
• U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey[59]
• U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York[60]
• U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina[61]
• U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania[62]
• U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee[63]
• U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas[64]
• U.S. District Court for the District of Utah[65]
• U.S. District Court for the Eastern and Western Districts of Virginia[66]
• U.S. District Court for the District of West Virginia[67]
• U.S. Air Force Court of Criminal Appeals[68]
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit[69]
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit[70]
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit[71]
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit[72]
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit[73]
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit[74]
• U.S. Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals[75]

If this widespread formal or de jure and de facto adoption of Bluebook citation format is not sufficient to convince one of the need to have Bluebook format taught to Kaplan University’s legal studies and paralegal students and strictly enforced, then perhaps the following statements by various courts will help.

• “Court will not consider improperly cited authority” [emphasis added][76]
  
• Counsel’s “blatant failure to follow proper citation format is inexcusable” [emphasis added][77]
  
• “In addition to innumerable spelling and grammatical errors, the document demonstrates counsel's considerable misunderstanding of the proper rules of citation as set forth by the Bluebook.” [emphasis added][78]
  
• “Absolutely no reference or citation accompanies this paragraph. The court is regrettably aware of the modern trend in which lawyers usurp or assume other's work or ideas within their pleadings. However, attempting to pass off this court's own language as its own in a presentation to this very court demonstrates on the part of plaintiffs' counsel inexcusable carelessness bordering on outright disrespect for the court's integrity and attention to detail. The court would remind counsel that it strongly disapproves of this practice and encourages counsel to learn the established rules for legal citation. See generally The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation (Columbia Law Review Ass'n et al. eds., 17th ed.2000).” [emphasis added][79]

Should we not equip our students with all of the skills that they will be expected to possess? What will it say about Kaplan University if an employing attorney discovers that one of our graduates does not possess the ability to prepare a first draft of a trial or appellate brief with Bluebook compliant citations or does not possess the knowledge to proof read a brief (which in most law offices includes checking the accuracy and proper formatting of citations according to the Bluebook?

Notes
[1] The MLA Style Sheet is based upon the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers 7th ed. (2009).
[2] Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association 6th ed. ( 2009).
[3] The AAA used in Anthropology and is based on the Chicago Manual of Style
[4] The ACS Style Guide Effective Communication of Scientific Information (rd ed.) ( 2006).
[5] AIP Style Manual, 4th ed. (1990) with a 1997 addendum.
[6] American Medical Association Manual of Style 9th ed. (1998)
[7] The Associated Press Stylebook and Briefing on Media Law (2006)
[8] Style Manual for Political Science (2001).
[9] American Sociological Association Style Guide 3rd ed. (2007).
[10] Chicago Manual of Style 15th ed.(2003).
[11] Scientific Style and Format: The CSE Manual for Authors, Editors, and Publishers 7th ed. (2006)
[12] The LSA is used only for the Journal of the Linguistic Society of America
[13] Kate Turabian, A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses and Dissertations 7th ed. ( 2007).
[14] Ala. R. App. P Rule 28(a)(10) (also acceptable are cites complying with the ALWD [Association of Legal Writing Directors] Citation Manual: A Professional System of Citation)
[15] Cal. Rules of Court, Rule 1.200 as to appellate briefs and Cal. Rules of Court, Rule 3.1113 (as to memoranda in support of motions) (also acceptable as to both are cites complying with the California Style Manual) Rule cited in Patterson v. Nestle Waters North America, Inc., 2009 WL 1398476, 3 n. 2 (Cal.App. 4th Dist. 2009)
[16] Del. Sup. Ct. Rules, Rule 14(g), and Del. Superior Court R. Civ. P., Rule 107(c)(4)
[17] Fla. R. App. P. Rule 9.800(o)
[18] Ind. R. App. Proc., Rule 22. Directing counsel to follow the Rule, Webb v. Schleutker, 891 N.E.2d 1144, 1155 n. 7 (Ind.App. 2008) (There are many other cases citing this rule and chastising counsel for not following it going back as far as 2001.)
[19] Mich. Judicial Conference Rules Uniform System of Citation (but conform citations to Michigan citation style)
[20] N. M. R. Ann, Rule 23-112.B. and H.
[21] Tex. Ct. App. Rules, 4th Dist., Rule 8 (2008 Electronic Pocket Part Update) (also to conform to Tex. L. Rev., Texas Rules Of Form (the “Greenbook”)
[22] Wash. General Rules, App. Gen. R., Rule 14
[23] State v. McKinney, 185 Ariz. 567, 588, 917 P.2d 1214, 1235 (1996) (definition and proper use of c.f. also known as cf. when used before citation)
[24] Preston v. Board of Adjustment of New Castle County, 2000 WL 1610716, 4 n. 30 (Del. Super. Ct. 2000) (citation of cases)
[25] Givens v. U.S., 644 A.2d 1373, 1376 n. 5 (D.C. 1994) (definition and proper use of c.f. also known as cf. when used before citation)
[26] Convergys Corp. v. Keener, 276 Ga. 808, 812 n. 4, 582 S.E.2d 84, 87 n. 4 (2003) (proper use of “see” before a citation)
[27] O'Casek v. Children's Home and Aid Soc. of Ill., 229 Ill.2d 421, 892 N.E.2d 994, 1009 n.3, 323 Ill.Dec. 2, 17 n. 3 (2008) (use of italics in case citations); and In re Marriage of Schwieger, 379 Ill.App.3d 687, 693, 883 N.E.2d 556, 562 (2008) (definition and proper use of c.f. also known as cf. when used before citation)
[28] Ledet v. Seasafe, Inc., 783 So.2d 611, 616 (La.App. 2001) (placement of citations in-line or in footnotes) (several other cases in 2001 which were apparently decided at the same time have the same discussion)
[29] Alexander v. Corcoran, 110 Md.App. 62, 76 n. 9, 675 A.2d 1068, 1075 n. 9 (Md. Ct. Spec. App. 1996) (definition and proper use of c.f. also known as cf. when used before citation); and Wilson v. State, 370 Md. 191, 209 n. 8, 803 A.2d 1034, 1044 n. 8 (2002) (improper citation of law review student comment)
[30] Admiral Metals Servicenter Co., Inc. v. Micromatic Products Co., Inc., 5 Mass.L.Rptr. 489 n. 5, 2009 WL 1873783, 3 n. 5 (Mass.Super. 2009) (proper use of “see” before a citation)
[31] Chapman v. Ward, 3 So.3d 790, 796 (Miss.App. 2008)
[32] In re Estate of Bourassa, 157 N.H. 356, 360, 949 A.2d 704 (2008) (definition and proper use of c.f. also known as cf. when used before citation)
[33] Mifflinburg Area Educ. Ass'n ex rel. Ulrich v. Mifflinburg Area School Dist., 555 Pa. 326, 339 n. 5, 724 A.2d 339, 346 n. 5 (1999) (proper use of “see generally” before a cite); and Commonwealth v. Woomer, 2009 WL 2489263, 8 Pa. D. & C. 5th 178 (Pa. Ct. Common Pleas 2009) (definition and proper use of c.f. also known as cf. when used before citation)
[34] State v. Oltmanns, 519 N.W.2d 602, 606 (S.D. 1994) (Henderson, J., concurring) (proper use of “compare” before a cite)
[35] State v. Schiefelbein, 230 S.W.3d 88, 97 n. 2 (Tenn.Crim.App. 2007); and State v. Campbell, 2006 WL 3371126, 6 n. 2 (Tenn.Crim.App. 2007) (Bluebook described in both as “definitive style guide for legal citation in the United States” and discussing proper code citation)
[36] Walder v. State, 85 S.W.3d 824, 828 (Tex.App. 2002) (advising use of Bluebook)
[37] Alf v. State Farm Fire and Cas. Co., 850 P.2d 1272, 1276 n. 25 (Utah 1993) (proper use of “see e.g. before cite)
[38] Williams & Connolly, L.L.P. v. People for Ethical Treatment of Animals, 273 Va. 498, 525, 643 S.E.2d 136 (2007) (proper use of “see generally” before citation); and Farah v. Farah, 16 Va.App. 329, 332 n. 1, 429 S.E.2d 626, 328 n. 1 (1993) (on English law)
[39] Connell v. Francisco, 127 Wash.2d 339, 354, 898 P.2d 831, 838 (1995) (definition and proper use of c.f. also known as cf. when used before citation)
[40] Livingston v. Livingston, 306 Wis.2d 852 ¶ 3, 743 N.W.2d 168 (Table) (Wis.App. 2007) (failure to use pinpoint citations as required by Bluebook, and Wis. Stat. Ann. Appellate Rule 809.19(1)(e) (which is based on Wis. Sup. Ct. Rule 80.02(1)(a)(3))
[41] D. N.H., Local Rule 5.3(c) , and Bankr. D. N.H., Local Rule 1050-1(a)
[42] D. Mont., Rule 10.3(a) (also acceptable are cites complying with the ALWD [Association of Legal Writing Directors] Citation Manual: A Professional System of Citation)
[43] M.D. N.C., Local Rule 7.2(b)
[44] 11th Cir. Rule 28-1(k) (also acceptable are cites complying with the ALWD [Association of Legal Writing Directors] Citation Manual: A Professional System of Citation)
[45] Manser v. Barnhart, 2005 WL 629206, 1 n. 1 (D. Alaska 2005) (directing that “fundamental mistakes in [plaintiff’s] counsel’s case citations should not be perpetuated”)
[46] In re TASER Intern. Shareholder Derivative Litigation, 2006 WL 687033, 1 n. 1 (D. Ariz. 2006) (stating that plaintiffs’ future submissions will be stricken if they do not comply with Bluebook) ; and Rodriguez v. Chen, 985 F.Supp. 1189, 1195-1196 (D. Ariz. 1996) (court found that state Medicaid program’s notices denying and terminating benefits failed to include “accurate citation to legal authority” which the court noted “is easily remedied by converting the cites to ‘Bluebook’ format”) (note: “Bluebook” should be in small caps but it is copied as written by court)
[47] Computer Cache Coherency Corp. v. Via Technologies, Inc., 2009 WL 1766675, 2 (N.D. Cal. 2009) (proper use of “see” before a citation); and Ilaian v. U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, 87 F.Supp.2d 1047, 1048 (S.D. Cal. 2000) (directing compliance with Bluebook format)
[48] June v. Union Carbide Corp., 2007 WL 4224228, 2 n. 2 (D. Colo. 2007) (court changed cites in quoted material to comport with Bluebook); and Ruiz v. City of Brush, 2006 WL 1816454, 4 n. 5 (D. Colo. 2006) (proper use of Id.)
[49] Northern Tankers (Cyprus) Ltd. v. Backstrom, 967 F.Supp. 1391, 1401 n. 8 (D. Conn. 1997) ((definition and proper use of c.f. also known as cf. when used before citation)
[50] Lee v. Reno, 15 F.Supp.2d 26, 41 n. 22 (D. D.C. 1998) (definition and proper use of c.f. also known as cf. when used before citation)
[51] U.S. ex rel. Crenshaw v. Degayner, 622 F.Supp.2d 1258, 1264 n. 5 (M.D. Fla. 2008) (chastising counsel for writing style including “misunderstanding” of Bluebook rules); and Estate of Miller v. Thrifty Rent-A-Car System, Inc., 609 F.Supp.2d 1235, 1251 (M.D. Fla. 2009)
[52] Peery v. CSB Behavioral Health Systems, 2008 WL 4935598, 1 (S.D. Ga. 2008) (proper use of “see” before a citation)
[53] Threatt v. Jackson, 2008 WL 1774986, n. 3 (N.D. Ill. 2008) (“specific reference means including proper Bluebook citations”) (a number of other cases from that district have that same or very similar statement going back as early as 2000); In re Raymond Professional Group, Inc., 386 B.R. 678, 49 Bankr.Ct.Dec. 285 (Bkr.N.D. Ill. 2008) (proper method to cite statute); and Garrett v. Miller, 2003 WL 1790954, 1 n. 2 (N.D. Ill. 2003) (counsel’s “blatant failure to follow proper citation format is inexcusable”)
[54] Grogan v. O’Neil, 307 F.Supp.2d 1181, 1189 n. 14 (D. Kan. 2004) (directing the use of pinpoint cites as provided in Bluebook); and Ratts v. Board of County Com'rs, Harvey County, 141 F.Supp.2d 1289, 1314 (D. Kan. 2001) (warning counsel that a lack of a proper citation amounts to an attempt to pass off a court’s “own language as its own” which “demonstrates on the part of plaintiffs’ counsel inexcusable carelessness bordering on outright disrespect for the court’s integrity and attention to detail”)
[55] U.S. v. Salemme, 91 F.Supp.2d 141, 395 (D. Mass. 1999) (proper use of “compare” before case cite)
[56] Goldman v. Healthcare Management Systems, Inc., 559 F.Supp.2d 853, 864 (W.D. Mich. 2008) (proper use of “accord” before citation)
[57] Northbrook Digital, LLC v. Vendio Services, Inc., 625 F.Supp.2d 728, 733 n.2 (D. Minn. 2008) (chastising counsel for not following Bluebook rules for spacing in citations in order to get around word count limit for briefs in D. Minn. Local Rule 72.2 (for those not familiar with word count rules, the U.S. Courts of Appeals had to go to word count limitations on the length of briefs when counsel began fudging on page counts by using slightly smaller fonts, margins, and then later using footnotes, where font is 10 point versus 12 point in the body of the brief – see Fed. R. App. P., Rule (a)(7)(B)(i), which imposes a 14,000 word limit))
[58] Hansen v. Polikov, 2008 WL 731747, 1 (D. Neb. 2008) (proper method to cite statute)
[59] Goodman v. Goodman, 2007 WL 748445, 2 n. 4 (D. N.J. 2007) (defendant’s counsel failed to use Bluebook format)
[60] Bassomb v. Volunteers of America - Greater New York, 2007 WL 760407, 2 n. 1 (S.D. N.Y. 2007) (“italicizing non-English words”); and In re Adelphia Communications Corp., 324 B.R. 492, 501-502 (Bkr. S.D. N.Y. 2005) (proper use of parenthetical clause)
[61] Fate v. Dixon, 649 F.Supp. 551, 555 n. 2 (E.D. N.C. 1986) (improper to leave out part of quoted sentence without use of ellipsis)
[62] Kerstetter v. Pennsylvania Dept. of Corrections SCI-Coal Tp., Slip Copy, 2009 WL 1256908, 5 n. 2 (M.D. Pa. 2009) (directing plaintiff to use Bluebook format); and U.S. v. Bell, 217 F.R.D. 335, 339 n.2 (M.D. Pa. 2003) (use of Bluebook formatted cites “strongly suggest the assistance of a legally trained person who is ghostwriting Mr. Bell's legal arguments”)
[63] Harris v. Aerospace Testing Alliance, 2008 WL 111979, 3 n. 1 (E.D. Tenn. 2008) (“Court will not consider improperly cited authority” [emphasis added]); and Saint Paul Fire & Marine Ins. Co. v. U.S., 28 F.Supp.2d 472, 476 n. 7 (E.D. Tenn. 1998) (definition and proper use of c.f. also known as cf. when used before citation)
[64] Stephens v. Bell Helicopter Textron, Inc., 2003 WL 22961254 (N.D. Tex. 2003) (directing that briefs follow Bluebook and have pinpoint cites (which this court calls “jump” cites)
In re Gonzalez, 372 B.R. 837 (Bkr. W.D. Tex. 2007) (failure to use pinpoint cites); and Michael v. Metromedia Restaurant Services, Inc., 1999 WL 588291, 1 n. 2 (N.D. Tex. 1999) (noting tht “the Court was constantly confused by Plaintiff’s briefing” which included failure to follow Bluebook rules)
[65] Wade v. Gaither, 623 F.Supp.2d 1277, 1280 n. 2 (D. Utah 2009) (defendant “strongly encouraged to adhere” to Bluebook)
[66] Andrews v. Newman, 2008 WL 2169681, 4 n. 7 (W.D. Va. 2008) (directing plaintiffs to follow Bluebook format); and Billing v. City of Norfolk, 848 F.Supp. 630, 635-636 (E.D. Va. 1994) (definition and proper use of c.f. also known as cf. when used before citation)
[67] Pigg v. U.S., 2006 WL 470608, 1 n. 1 (S.D. W.Va. 2006) (In criticizing plaintiff’s brief, the court said “the document demonstrates counsel’s considerable misunderstanding of the proper rules of citation”)
[68] U.S. v. Sills, 57 M.J. 606, 607 (A.F. Ct.Crim. App. 2002) (proper use of “but see” before a citation)
[69] Matthew Bender & Co., Inc. v. West Pub. Co., 158 F.3d 693, 696-697 (2nd Cir. 1998) (in copyright litigation, noting that Bluebook “recommends-and some courts require-citation to the West version of federal appellate and trial court decisions and New York State court decisions” and thus Bender’s use of those cites did not violate West’s copyrights); and U.S. v. Westcott, 159 F.3d 107, 114 (2nd Cir. 1998) (distinction between and proper use of “see” and c.f. also known as cf. when used before citation)
[70] U.S. v. Milan, 304 F.3d 273, 299 n. 2 (3rd Cir. 2002) (proper use of “see” before a citation)
[71] Pickett v. Petroleum Helicopters, Inc., 266 F.3d 366, 368 (5th Cir. 2001) (proper citation of authority)
[72] Rivera v. U.S., 101 F.3d 704, 3 (Table) (7th Cir. 1996) (calls case without Bluebook cite “a phantom conjured up by Rivera”); and Koval v. Gonzales, 418 F.3d 798, 805 n. 2 (7th Cir. 2005) (definition and proper use of c.f. also known as cf. when used before citation)
[73] Willett v. Lockhart, 37 F.3d 1265, 1268 n. 3 (8th Cir. 1994) (definition and proper use of c.f. also known as cf. when used before citation)
[74] Lopez-Rodriguez v. Holder, 560 F.3d 1098, 1104 n. 12 (9th Cir. 2009) (definition and proper use of c.f. also known as cf. when used before citation)
[75] U.S. v. Daniels, 57 M.J. 560, 562 n. 1 (N-M. Ct.Crim. App. 2002) (proper use of “see” before a citation)
[76] Harris v. Aerospace Testing Alliance, 2008 WL 111979, 3 n. 1 (E.D. Tenn. 2008)
[77] Garrett v. Miller, 2003 WL 1790954, 1 n. 2 (N.D. Ill. 2003)
[78] Pigg v. U.S., 2006 WL 470608, 1 n. 1 (S.D W.Va. 2006)
[79] Ratts v. Board of County Com'rs, Harvey County, 141 F.Supp.2d 1289, 1314 (D. Kan. 2001)

Did you know...
Ally likes to read history books on 20th century subjects?

Ally is a part-time instructor in the School of Legal Studies.

Low-Stakes Writing with a High-Tech Twist >Kella Hammond

Like James Bond, I like my writing (and reading) shaken, not stirred. I seek writing that is provocative, thoughtful, colorful and edgy. Let me read the Louises: Glück, the poet, and Erdrich, the novelist. I love contemporary writers like Vladimir Nabokov, George Saunders, Lorrie Moore, and JoAnn Beard, yet I still turn to Boethius, Basho, and the Brontës.

And like many of you, I will venture to say that as soon as I put forth a writing prompt to my students, one that I think embodies all Ian Fleming hoped James Bond could be, I realize that students sometimes, okay oftentimes, don’t see the sexiness, the danger, or the allure of writing. They see a grade, an assignment, another night’s sleep lost to staring at a blank computer screen, and an upset stomach due to drinking too much coffee, Red Bull or Mountain Dew.

I know all of this because I was "that student." I still battle the dark pull of procrastination or mental drift or whatever you call the semi-permanent, self-imposed pause button, that deadly art that many of us, if we’re being honest, have practiced at one time or another.

So, I think to myself, how can we shake up our students’ writing habits? How can we call them back from the siren song of procrastination and uninspired prose? In a phrase, low-stakes writing.

In the 1997 essay "High Stakes and Low Stakes in Assigning and Responding to Writing," Peter Elbow, the famed writing pedagogy professor emeritus at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, makes a convincing case for integrating low-stakes writing in class:

• 5-10 minutes of writing at the start of class to help students bring to mind their homework reading or lab work or previous lectures.
• 5-10 minutes in mid class when things go dead—or to get students to think about an important question that has come up.
  5-10 minutes at the end of class or lecture to get them to think about what’s been discussed.
• 5 minutes at the end of class to write to us about what they learned that day: what was the main idea for them? What was going on for them during that class? This helps them integrate what they’ve heard, and if we collect it, we learn what’s getting through and what isn’t (Elbow, 1997).

Writing as a form of unevaluated exploration is not a new idea. This is a very basic and classic function of writing and communication in general … to seek, to play, to figure out what one believes and thinks, to disagree with a towering figure that surely won’t listen to the rebuttal until it is hashed out on the safety of paper or screen, and to improve one’s fluency in writing by doing exactly that—writing.

And yet I have felt that if I didn’t review every piece of students’ writing, I am doing them a grave disservice. I am not teaching them; I am slacking. I’ve found I am surely—and sorely—wrong.

Low-stakes—aka, ungraded, though not unread—writing, as Elbow points out, is often "livelier, clearer and more interesting—in spite of any carelessness and mistakes" than high stakes (read, graded) writing (1997). Elbow even goes so far as to say, "I’ve almost never seen a piece of low stakes writing I couldn’t easily understand, but I’ve seen lots of high stakes writing that students have worked very hard on—and found it impenetrable" (1997). I know what he means. I’ve seen students who I know are smart, capable, and contain bucket loads of promise and hard work and I want to cry or laugh when I see them eek out the most confusing, opaque sentences and paragraphs.

But I do think there is hope—the bright and shining technological hope that students already practice low-stakes writing in their Facebook and Twitter updates, in emails to their professors, academic advisors and support services such as the Writing Center, in chat rooms during seminar, and beyond.

Which got me to thinking: How could we incorporate more low-stakes writing in a high-tech classroom?

• Use Twitter to teach students how to write with haiku-like concision. When one only has 140 words to work with, action verbs, strict diction, and a laser-like ability to cut out the fluff are imperative. While many of us use Twitter for class announcements, why not ask students to practice writing topic sentences, emerging thesis statements, and summaries in a Twitter-based workshop? Students who follow class tweets can respond immediately with specific, concrete ideas and receive feedback from one another.
• Incorporate chat room "stop and jots." Have students chat their initial, emerging reactions to controversial ideas, images and concepts in the classroom. It’s amazing how a little wait time can really get student participation and ideas flowing, not to mention how stop and jots encourage critical thinking and low-stakes writing.
• Encourage a sense of playfulness and discovery. Ask students to create word lists with Thinkmap’s Visual Thesaurus as form of ungraded prewiting. Help students see how words and ideas connect, intersect, overlap and influence the stance one takes in his or her writing. See how one word and thought branches out to others. Visual learners will be especially happy to see that writing isn’t a purely text-based pursuit. Images, sounds, sights, and our senses in general prompt us to connect with language and expression. Help students feel the sensual side of writing as Michael Lydon suggests in his essay, "The Art of Phrasing."
• Create sentence-level challenges like Quadrivial Quandary. As the web site says, "Each day we present four words from our favorite dictionary sites. Your challenge is to use them all in one sentence that illustrates their meanings." Create a similar exercise for students as a beginning of class activity based on the ideas you cover in your content area. Push students to make connections, take risks in content-related writing, and reward students who make the effort to write into the unknown.
• Prompt students to respond to real audiences and current events. I think all of us strive to do this, but how cool is it to get students riled about writing when they see their greater role within the marketplace of ideas and not just "a class"? Point out articles, podcasts, blogs, YouTube videos, and other tech-rich texts that require user-generated content and ratings. Remind your students to weigh in and provide their responses and thoughts as global readers and citizens.

I’d also love to hear from others about how they encourage low-stakes writing with technology so students create "livelier, clearer, and more interesting" texts for authentic audiences. Please post your comments below so we can begin to compile a "living" list for those who are interested.

Like Diane Martinez, Writing Specialist at the KU Writing Center, said in response to an article I wrote for the October 2009 edition of the Writing Across the Curriculum Newsletter, "We need to give students room to practice writing. We are sometimes so focused on the end product of a project that we don’t afford students the opportunity to practice. Just how can we incorporate more practice into our curriculum and resources?"

Personally, I think we can incorporate more writing practice into our students’ learning by using low-stakes writing more often in the writing process. We have the opportunity to empower students to find their own words for the issues that really matter by practicing writing that sets the foundation for polished drafts and finished essays. Low-stakes writing promotes active learning in our classes and communities. And let’s not forget: "Low stakes writing takes little of our time and expertise" (Elbow, 1997). We can create a culture of inquiry by reminding students that the most important writing they’ll do, especially once they’re outside of our classes, won’t be for a grade.

References
Elbow, P. (1997). High stakes and low stakes in assigning and responding to writing. In Deane Sorinelli, M. & Elbow, P. (Eds.), Assigning and Responding to Writing in the Discipline. Retrieved from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst’s Faculty Center on November 16, 2009, from http://www.wsc.mass.edu/facultycenter/lowstakes-benefits.pdf
Lydon, M. (2009, October 8). The art of phrasing. Retrieved from Thinkmap Visual Thesaurus on November 23, 2009, from http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/wc/2013/
Quadrivial Quandary. (2009). Retrieved November 23, 2009, from http://www.quadrivialquandary.com/
Thinkmap Visual Thesaurus. (2009). Retrieved November 23, 2009, from http://www.visualthesaurus.com/

Did you know...
Michaella was named after her great-aunt Megella, who was a teeny tiny Sicilian spitfire who chain smoked filtered cigarettes and wore leopard-print outfits? Kella is somewhat taller (um, by a foot) than her namesake, but she channels her great-aunt’s spirit whenever she’s in need of a sassy approach to life.

Kella is a resource specialist in the Writing Center.