Some Vision, More Revision

People say "Advice is cheap" to imply that at least some of it should be ignored. Writing advice is no exception. Your mother might recommend you buy a thesaurus. Friends may tell you to avoid starting sentences with 'I' or 'but'. Faculty urge you to write about something you believe in. Unfortunately, very little advice about writing will have much impact on your writing style unless you do the one thing that all accomplished writers do: revise.

Because most purveyors of writing advice are not linguists, Harvard psycholinguist Steven Pinker's perspective on revision caught my eye as I was re-reading his book The Language Instinct (1994) for a course I am preparing. In his chapter titled "The Language Mavens", Pinker swiftly debunks a couple of dozen language myths that ruffle the feathers of the self-appointed guardians of English--travesties such as slang, dialect variation, and semantic drift--all of which are endearing features of healthy, living languages. Although the language mavens are nearly always wrong about spoken language as it relates to the rise and fall of civilizations, Pinker ends his chapter with a brief but important nod to the difference between written and spoken language:

"The aspect of language use that is most worth changing is the clarity and style of written prose. Expository writing requires language to express far more complex trains of thought than it was biologically designed to do...Overcoming one's natural egocentricism and trying to anticipate the knowledge state of a generic reader at every stage of the exposition is one of the most important tasks in writing well. All this makes writing a difficult craft that must be mastered through practice, instruction, feedback, and--probably most important--intensive exposure to good examples. There are excellent manuals of composition that discuss these and other skills with great wisdom, like Strunk and White's The Elements of Style and William's Style: Toward Clarity and Grace. What is most relevant to my point is how removed their practical advice is from the trivia of split infinitives and slang. For example, a banal but universally acknowledged key to good writing is to revise extensively. Good writers go through anywhere from two to twenty drafts before releasing a paper. Anyone who does not appreciate this necessity is going to be a bad writer. Imagine a Jeremiah exclaiming, 'Our language today is threatened by an insidious enemy: the youth are not revising their drafts enough times.' Kind of takes the fun out, doesn't it? It's not something that can be blamed on television, rock music, shopping mall culture, overpaid athletes, or any of the other signs of the decay of civilization. But if it's clear writing we want, this is the kind of homely remedy that is called for." (p. 401-402)

Gaines' Graduate Writing Resource

Faculty and graduate mentors often ask for writing resources tailored to the needs and issues of our graduate students. While the standards for depth-of- study and documentation of sources are typically higher for a graduate student, the writing issues of graduate students closely resemble those of undergraduate students: how to narrow my topic? organize my material? write clearly and concisely about difficult or emerging ideas? balance my personal experience with what I learn from the scholarly literature?

Writing advice for students of all levels abounds on the World Wide Web. Not all of it is equally valuable. This week we found Dr. Kendra Gaines's Graduate Writing Resource which addresses a small but well chosen set of topics that concern graduate students. Her website is uncomplicated and offers one-click access to articles that include:

• "Knocking the Research Topic Down to Size"
• "Learning the Language of the Literature Review"
• "Academic Writing: Balancing Objectivity & Persuasion"
• "Reporting Your Own Research: Principles & Practice"

Gaines' writing style is simple and to the point. She also invites visitors to email her personally with questions. There is no hint of a fee for her assistance. As some graduate students are encouraged to hire an editor to help them with writing their thesis, Gaines may be someone who would be willing to work with a graduate student in this role. Of course, all PC graduate students can work for free with writing coaches at the Learning Commons' Writing Center. Gaines and her website look to be good alternatives if a student wants additional support.

Lingua Franca Goes With the Flow

With all the writing done on the way to a graduate degree at Prescott College, many students become intrigued by the rules of written English and how they got that way. Professional organizations such as the American Psychological Association or the Modern Language Association are the self-appointed gurus for published writing in their respective areas. In each edition of their style manuals, they present the accepted conventions and linguistic biases of the moment as agreed upon by committee. 

Yet as writing technology, academic values, English usage, and reading practice change, so do the style manuals. They have to. These dense tomes are but scattered boulders in the river of discourse in and on writing in English. Their static pronouncements do not convey how the norms of one dialect daily tumble into the innovations of another in a continual flow of debate over what is correct and what is gaining or losing prestige among readers as we speak.

To read the considered opinions on written English of a small group of practicing linguists and editors, we recommend Lingua Franca, a blog hosted by The Chronicle of Higher Education. Because it is tied to the free online version of The Chronicle, Lingua Franca has a distinctly academic focus, even when the topic is British sportscaster speech. 

The blend of accessible linguistic analysis with practical writing advice makes it ideal for graduate students taking a break from bouts of thesis-writing. The blog format allows you to comment on posts or ask questions of other readers about current usage and evolving conventions. The posts are short, often humorous, and full of appreciation for the attention to detail required of serious writers. “The Top 10 Edits to Academic Book Manuscripts” is a recent post that offers expert tips from a professional book editor to anyone preparing a thesis or dissertation.

Reading Lingua Franca on a regular basis helps you keep in mind the fluid nature of our linguistic conventions. As a graduate student, you have to settle on a fixed set of rules for what you write today, but those rules are not cast in stone for the sole purpose of blocking your journey to graduation.

Using Mango Languages Here and Abroad

Mango Languages is an attractive language learning site available free to all PC students and staff through the Library web page. The site boasts colorful, interactive lessons in 45 languages that can introduce you to a new language or refresh your memory before you travel abroad. The most popular languages have lessons that can take you from basic travel phrases to simple conversation in about 10-40 bite-sized chapters. Here's how to access and use Mango Languages whenever you're ready:

• Click on the Mango Languages link on this blog or log onto the PC website and browse to the main Library page.
• Click on the link for Mango Languages.
• Type in your PC library bar code (14 digits) to log into Mango.
• Type in your PC username and set a password; store this information in your Mango profile for safe-keeping.
• Once you're in, click on the "Courses" tab to see all 45 courses. Click on any one you want just to see what the courses look and feel like. It's free and you can always pick a different language anytime.
• Use stereo headphones with a mic to get the most out of every lesson.

The graphics and audio are easy on the eyes and ears, respectively. You can take lessons in Castilian Spanish or Latin American Spanish. Brazilian Portuguese is also available. Because all languages have multiple dialects, you may not always find the speakers producing the language exactly as you remember it. If you study a language that is entirely new to you, keep in mind that some variation in pronunciation and vocabulary is the norm, especially if the language is spoken in a large or isolated geographical area. 

You can now download the Mango Languages app to iPhones, iPods, and iPads. That means that not only can you access Mango language lessons from anywhere with wi-fi, but you can literally carry them with you in your pocket. 

The courses on Mango also include English courses for speakers of other languages. That means you can use Mango to help you teach someone else how to speak English. 

Using Mango Languages won't make you a fluent speaker, any more than any other virtual program can (and that includes the very expensive Rosetta Stone). But it can get you learning a new language quickly as you plan a course or a trip. We hope you'll take advantage of this PC perk and then contact the PC Learning Commons for more information on building towards fluency in the language of your choice.