Reminder: APA Seminar Today (7/21)

We wanted to remind all graduate students that our writing advisor, James Hayashi, will be hosting an APA Writing Seminar today from 3-3:50 p.m.  Useful handouts will be distributed--and there will be plenty of opportunities to ask questions.

APA Seminar

Topics: Formatting according to APA guidelines, quote integration, rules of citation

Date: Tue, 7/21  

Time: 3-3:50 pm 

Location: WPH 205

If you have any questions, contact James Hayashi at jhayashi@rossier.usc.edu

Upcoming Writing Seminars

Greetings graduate students! Our writing advisor, James Hayashi, will be hosting a couple of upcoming writing seminars.  

If you would like a preview of what these seminars might cover, please follow this link.

We highly encourage you to attend so you can ask any questions and collect useful handouts.  

APA Seminar

Topics: Formatting according to APA guidelines, quote integration, rules of citation

Date: Tue, 7/21  

Time: 3-3:50 pm 

Location: WPH 205

Intro to Grad Writing/Academic Style 

Topics: Common errors to avoid, the steps to be a better self-editor, improving academic writing style

Date: Tue, 7/28  

Time: 3-3:50 pm 

Location: WPH 205

If you have any questions, feel free to contact James Hayashi at jhayashi@rossier.usc.edu

Kortschak Center Workshops

KCLC Workshop Schedule – Spring 2015

All workshops will take place in the Kortschak Center (STU 311) Conference Room and will last 50 minutes.

MONDAYS at 11 am

“KCLC Writing Strategies: Anatomy of an Essay"

This workshop will discuss how to construct an essay. From paragraph formation to thesis structure, the goal of this session is to help you become a more confident writer and feel more comfortable with the writing process.

MONDAYS AT 1 pm

“Unlocking Your Power: Mindfulness and Positive Thinking”

Learn how to combat negative influences and patterns of thinking. This workshop will focus on how to remain present, reframe your thoughts, and embrace unexpected sources of happiness that can positively impact your academics and overall well-­‐being.

TUESDAYS at 12 pm

“ Sleep 101: Getting Your ZZZ’s”

Are you tired of being tired? In this workshop, you will learn not only learn how sleep deprivation can impact academic performance and overall well-­‐being, but also get tips on how to improve your sleep habits and feel more well-­‐rested.

TUESDAYS at 3 pm

“Life Hacks: Prioritizing for Personal Productivity”

Find your optimal wellness by learning to organize your time efficiently. Using Stephen Covey's time management quadrants, this workshop will show you a framework for managing your time in order to get the most out life!

WEDNESDAYS at 12 pm: Learning Enrichment Workshops

Feb 11 Reading for Content

Feb 18 Writing Papers

Feb 25 Why Critical Thinking?

March 4 Practicing Mindfulness While Preparing for Exams

May 4 Practicing Mindfulness While Preparing for Exams

WEDNESDAYS at 2 pm

“Say Goodbye to Test Anxiety”

This workshop will help you understand the causes of test anxiety and provide practical tips on how to reduce anxiety before taking an exam.

THURSDAYS at 10 am

“Effective Reading Strategies: Read Smarter, Not Harder”

This workshop will provide strategies for how to read articles and textbooks more effectively in order to help you tackle large reading assignments. You will learn tips for how to reduce your reading time as well as strategies to improve your understanding of the material.

THURSDAYS at 2 pm

“Developing Effective Communication Skills”

This session will explore the barriers that we face every day with communication and what we can do to overcome them. In this workshop, you will learn practical strategies for how to improve your communication skills that can be used in your daily interactions with both peers and professors.

Please visit our website https://kortschakcenter.usc.edu to RSVP for workshops and more information

USC Rossier School of Education fall 2014 co-curricular offerings

Fall 2014 Co-Curricular offerings

APA Formatting, Citations, and Quotations Usage

This offering will include the following:

APA formatting of quotes; APA citations; miscellaneous APA rules;

what constitutes plagiarism at the university level, and how to avoid it;

direct quotation vs. paraphrasing; integrating quotes into your own work

Monday, September 15^th 3:00-4:00pm Location: WPH 107

Tuesday, September 16^th 3:00-4:00pm Location: VKC 161

Developing Your Professional Identity (Open to MPO & MAT Students)

Come learn more about what to consider before beginning

 your job search process and begin to develop your professional identity. 

Monday, October 13^th 3:15 – 4:00 pm Location: SOS B47

Introduction to Graduate Writing

This offering will include the following: Writing as a multi-step process;

techniques for self-editing & revision; common grammar & mechanics errors;

comma usage; passive vs. active voice; grammatical person

Monday, October 6^th 3:00-4:00pm Location: WPH 107

Tuesday, October 7^th 3:00-4:00pm Location: VKC 161

Assessment 101: Learning the Basics of Assessment

Attendees to the workshop will gain fundamental knowledge on

developing effective survey items and creating valuable learning outcomes.

They will learn essential skills that are required for evaluation purposes.

Wednesday, October 22^nd 3:00 pm – 4:00 pm Location: WPH 201

Gearing up for the Job Market: How to Enhance Your Resume

Need some additional help polishing up your resume? Come and learn how

to revise your resume and enhance your marketability before starting the job search.

Late October. Location TBD.

For additional information, please contact the 

Rossier Master’s Programs Office at

(213) 740-3255 or rsoempo@rossier.usc.edu

 

Higher Education in Review Call for Papers and Web Content

Weekly Writing Tip # 33: Restrictive vs. Non-Restrictive Info (and Commas)

Dear Master’s student,

Happy New Year and welcome back to classes!  I hope no one has fallen off the New Year’s resolutions bandwagon just yet.  Actually it’s not too late to add one more resolution to your list: improving your writing. 

We’ll start this first blog entry of the year on a topic that I don’t consider crucial to strong writing, but one about which I still get plenty of questions: that, which, and commas.

First, let’s talk about “restrictive” vs. “non-restrictive” clauses.  A restrictive clause is one that provides information that is necessary to identify someone or something.  A non-restrictive clause provides “extra” information, i.e. info that a reader would not need to identify someone or something.  Commas are placed before and after a non-restrictive clause.  You’re likely a little confused now, so let’s use examine an example for clarity.

Restrictive:   My sister who normally avoids spicy food wants Thai food for dinner.

Non-restrictive: My sister, who normally avoids spicy food, wants Thai food for dinner.

Do these two examples have different meanings?  Yes, slightly.  In the restrictive example, we know the clause “who normally avoids spicy food” is necessary to identify which sister wants Thai food.  This indicates the speaker must have at least one other sister, because without this spicy info, we wouldn’t know whom the speaker meant.

Conversely, the non-restrictive example, which you can identify by the commas around the spicy clause, is not necessary to figure out who wants Thai food.  From this, you can infer that the speaker has only one sister (because “sister” is sufficient  by itself to identify who wants Thai food). 

Note the use of commas in the first sentence of this paragraph: “the non-restrictive example, which you can identify by the commas around the spicy clause, is not…”  Because there is only one non-restrictive example, “which you can identify…” is extra information—not necessary—so there are commas around that clause.

Lastly, “that” should be used with restrictive clauses.  “Which” should be used to introduce non-restrictive examples. 

For example:

The country that produces the most olive oil is located in Europe.

Spain, which produces more olive oil than any other country, is located in Europe.

In the first sentence “the country” isn’t enough information to identify the specific nation in question.  So “that produces the most olive oil” is necessary (or “restrictive”); thus “that” is used and no commas go around the clause.

In the second sentence, “Spain” is sufficient to identify the country being discussed.  That means the additional information is unnecessary (or “non-restrictive”), and “which” with commas should be used.

Happy Writing!
James

PS:  As a belated holiday gift to yourself, check out our two previous entries on the hyphen vs the dash.

Weekly Writing Tip # 32: The Dash or the Hyphen? (Part 2)

Dear Master’s student,

(Em) Dash

(If you’re a big punctuation wonk, you can read about the difference between the en dash and em dash.)  On traditional keyboards, there is actually no designated key for the dash.  (This is probably one reason people aren’t sure what a dash is, or how to use one.)  Never fear!  If you use Word as your word processing software, creating a dash is pretty simple:

1. Type the word before the dash (do not hit “spacebar” after the word).

2. Hit the hyphen (-) key twice (do not hit “spacebar” after the hyphens).

3. Type the word after the dash.

4. Voilà! Once you hit “spacebar” after the post-dash word, Word will fuse the hyphens into one big dash.

If you’ve never done this before, try it out!  There’s nothing like the thrill of seeing your first dash born of two tiny hyphens.

The dash can be used as commas would be around a phrase to which you want to draw attention:

Barkley—the only person I know to complete all the levels of Ninja Warrior—will join us for dinner.

You could also render this with commas or parenthesis:

Barkley, the only person I know to complete all the levels of Ninja Warrior, will join us for dinner.

Barkley (the only person I know to complete all the levels of Ninja Warrior) will join us for dinner.

All three versions mean the same thing, but there is an implied difference in the importance of that phrase surrounded by the dashes/commas/parenthesis.  The dash is used to emphasize the information; it indicates the phrase it bookends is more important than the rest of the sentence.  Conversely, parentheses typically suggest that something is less important than the rest of the sentence; commas are generally used for information of equal importance.

I hope this tip has been an informative—and enjoyable—read.

James