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Writing Craft Talks

Writing is an integral part of life as an Honors College student. In acknowledgement of this significance, Honors professors are in the second year of running a series of well-attended craft talks to give students a deeper perspective on the craft, some tips for improvement, ideas about creativity and argument, and thoughts on the process.

2012 Craft Talks

All events at 2 pm in Cemo Hall 100D unless otherwise noted.

  • November 9 - UPDATED: Two Topics, 1 Event

    Revising Your Paper: When Vising Just Isn't Enough with Prof. Jesse Rainbow
    AND
    Developing an ePortfolio, with Karen Weber and Christine LeVeaux-Haley

Revising Your Paper: When Vising Just Isn't Enough with Prof. Jesse Rainbow An “A” paper is not simply a rough draft without the typos. Revising your paper improves not only the quality of your prose, but also the quality of your thinking, and the best ideas are those that emerge from a recursive writing process. Preliminary drafts are not busy work, but a series of rehearsals for the final, polished product. In this craft talk, Dr. Rainbow will teach three approaches to revision, including the Holy Grail of all paper writing techniques (time permitting).

Developing an ePortfolio, with Karen Weber and Christine LeVeaux-Haley We will discuss why a student should create an ePortfolio and how to go about developing this professional online presence. Dr. Christine LeVeaux-Haley and Karen Weber will present with Honors students at this lecture.

Previous Events in the Series

  • August 31 - What Difference Does It Make? Developing a Compelling Argument with Professor Robert Cremins 

Join Human Sit. instructor Robert Cremins as he explores the beginnings of the writing process—in the act of reading. Get an insider’s guide to what makes for an argument worth reading. And learn why “YBM” are three letters you never want to see on your graded paper.

  • September 21: Coloring in the (Out)lines: Organizing Your Thoughts into Arguments with Professor Jonathan Zecher

Come join Professor Jonathan Zecher as he discusses how outlining can shape your thoughts as you shape your papers. He will introduce tips and tricks of organization, explore why it is that arguments must have an order, and, if we have time, discuss the history of Christian Doom Metal. NOTE: Special time for this lecture is 3 pm.

  • October 12 -Engaging the ‘Other’ Side Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Argument, with Professor Sarah Spring

Protagoras is said to have argued, “There are two sides to everything.” This timeless truth will drive this craft talk. Join Prof. Sarah Spring to learn how to engage opposing or conflicting positions in your writing. To this end, the talk will teach some old Sophist trickery (debate strategy) to help you begin to write in conversation with other viewpoints to create reflective and strong arguments.