Well, in these articles, as The Study Dude, I’ll try to give you the study tips you need to help make your learning easier. I’ll also give you straight and honest opinions and personal anecdotes?even the embarrassing ones that you wouldn’t ever dare read about from any other study tip guru.

This week’s Study Dude looks further at Reason & Rigor: How Conceptual Frameworks Guide Research by Sharon M. Ravitch and Matthew Riggan. They show you how to both speak up in an academic conversation and share your thoughts.

Fight with Theory; Enter the Conversation
Do you identify as female? Do you have a disability? Do you come from a marginalized group or race?

Then, here’s a shoe-in to an A+: get a book on either critical theory, race theory, queer theory, disability studies, or feminist theory. Read it cover to cover.

Why? Because if you include a theoretical framework in your essays, your prof’s pupils will pop. Nothing speaks grad quality more than an essay plump with theory.

Here’s the structure: after you reveal your thesis statement, and before you start your essay body, mention that You’re using, say, critical theory as your theoretical framework. Summarize a bit about the theory you’ve chosen. Then write that A+ essay.

Does that sound tough? Not at all. Just sprinkle in quotes from your chosen theory book?as long as the quotes advance your thesis statement. You could make your thesis statement about racism in the classic book Heart of Darkness: race theory. Or you could talk about how transgender people could be better addressed in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs: feminist theory. Limitless ideas.

If you see people omitted, in the closet, or made fun of, then defend them with theory.

And the best part? You can reuse that theory in other undergrad essays?and perform like a prize grad student. Of course, the assignment will dictate whether your essay’s ripe for theory, but when in doubt, ask your prof. Chances are, your prof will view you as a budding colleague.

Ravitch and Riggan explore various ways you can enter the conversation:
– Look at what the big researchers say about your topic. See what parts of your topic fire up arguments. Get in the middle of that argument. It makes you look avant-garde.
– See how you can explore one of the researcher’s views, but use different research angles. For instance, if a researcher uses feminist theory to discuss women in Trudeau’s 2016 politics, you could use disability theory to show what “2016” politics excludes.
– Find a common thread among top researcher’s views on your topic. This thread is your “synthesis.” If you see a heated debate on climate change, then make your thread “Climate change policies work best through gradual, not sudden, implementation.” Yes, slip in your view.

Reflect on You: Concept Maps, Memos, and Journals
Every academic author says, “Reflect.”

My brother thinks objectivity leads to truth. But, let’s face it, research lacks objectivity. That’s because you come into play: the researcher. You’re biased.

So, why reflect? Because your interests, your personality, and your life all help you selectively research what you deem important. Imagine never seeing a Sunfire car in your life. Then, after buying one, you see Sunfires everywhere. Ah, selective attention in action.

So, spend time making memos and journal entries. Record your thoughts and biases. And make your thinking public, if you dare. After all, transparent research is the mark of academic integrity.

Sadly, many researchers hide their thinking in fear of appearing as fakes or frauds. But not you!

Ravitch and Riggan share their views on tools for reflection, including concept maps, memos, and journal entries:
– Reveal your secret agenda for studying your topic.
– Reveal what part of your personality or your life motivated you to study this topic. Be honest.
– Concept maps are like mind maps, but concept maps emphasize the relationships between ideas.
– Use memos to discover relationships and to dream up research questions.
– Journals help you document your struggles, thoughts and feelings on your research journey.
– Make your research journal public if you’ve got the courage. [See if your prof will give you bonus marks for posting your journal entries on your research blog.]

So, there’s nothing to fear. The Study Dude is determined to make right for you all the wrongs I made in grad school?one A+ at a time.

ReferencesRavitch, Sharon M., & Riggan, Matthew. (2012). Reason & Rigor: How Conceptual Frameworks Guide Research. Los Angeles, CA: Sage.

Well, in these articles, as The Study Dude, I’ll try to give you the study tips you need to help make your learning easier. I’ll also give you straight and honest opinions and personal anecdotes?even the embarrassing ones that you wouldn’t ever dare read about from any other study tip guru.

This week’s Study Dude looks at Reason & Rigor: How Conceptual Frameworks Guide Research by Sharon M. Ravitch and Matthew Riggan. They show why our supervisors’ explanations of lit reviews or conceptual frameworks spawn dizzy spells.

Many-Faced? The Conceptual Framework
When I dreamt about conceptual frameworks and theoretical frameworks, I spaced out.

I eventually learned a bit about theories: one should focus mostly on theories published as whole books. And use multiple theories if possible. And disagree with parts of a theory if supportable.

But, I didn’t know the difference between conceptual and theoretical frameworks. And, I bet, neither do you. And your likely professor doesn’t know the difference either. That is, until now.

And once you learn what a conceptual framework really is, you still won’t know. That’s because everyone’s got their view, and you’re about to hear the biggies.

Ravitch and Riggan reveal what they think conceptual frameworks are:
– A conceptual framework is “an argument about why the topic one wishes to study matters, and why the means proposed to study it are appropriate and rigorous” (Ravitch & Riggan, p. xiii).
– A conceptual framework is also theory, methodology, lit review, and the researcher’s personal views and experiences.
– But some people think a conceptual framework is merely the same thing as the theoretical framework.
– Others say a conceptual framework has three parts: 1. Theoretical literature, 2. Empirical studies from prior researchers, and 3. One’s own experiences, values, and views.
– Others still say a conceptual framework is a visual model of the study’s structure or of key theoretical findings.
– As a hint, when using theories in your conceptual framework, try not to make your data fit a single theory. Try to use multiple theories that complement one another.
– Put together a lot of contradictory views in your conceptual framework. (Contradictory views feel like an argument among academics that you mediate. Readers love conflict with a clear winner?or at least with a Rocky going the distance.)
– Synthesize your lit review to fit the unfolding of your research. In other words, let your lit review evolve with your emerging findings.

A Many-Eyed Being: The Lit Review
If you go to graduate school, you’ll write a literature, or lit review.

But like conceptual frameworks, I bet you really don’t know what a lit review is. That’s because lit reviews have many shades. If you see only one shade, you don’t see the picture.

On the brighter side, some say lit reviews are like conversations. Imagine the giants on your topic in a room debating, but with your voice peeping through. Your peep could be what you glean from the conversation through selective hearing.

Or better yet, you can speak up and agree with Dr. X. Or you could disagree with Dr. X based on something you heard Dr. Y say. Or, if everyone gangs up on Dr. X, you could gang up on him too, but, let’s face it, rarely does one care to hear the conformist view?unless you reveal something no-one mentioned about him. But, if everyone gangs up on him, and you side with him, pointing out a moral failing of the majority, then you’ve got our attention. Make your peep count.

Also, if you say something, give it strength. Puff up support: facts, expert testimonies, research, stats, news stories, surveys, interviews, focus groups, social media trends, government Websites, think tank Websites, analytics, artifacts, visual media, audio media, multimedia, edible things?even stenches. (Stenches spark conversation.)

Be heard.

If you go to grad school, expressing your voice is a lot easier. As a grad student, you’ll discover that many methodologies beg you to bear your soul.

Ravitch and Riggan explore the many shades of lit reviews:
– Many academics have different views of what a lit review actually is.
– Some think lit reviews show off your knowledge.
– Others think lit reviews are a way to place your research in the larger picture.
– Some think lit reviews are a conversation that you enter.
– The problem with seeing a lit reviews as a conversation? There’s no agreement on how much or how little a student can voice his or her views.
– When doing lit reviews, see the clusters of similar or differing views. Ask yourself what questions are left unanswered.
– Lit reviews help students know what’s relevant in their areas of study. Lit reviews also help students build from the work of other researchers.
– Just focus on the most important literature when doing a lit review.
– Lit reviews also let us know where more research is needed in the general field of study.
– Lit reviews also help us know what methodology and research design we should undertake.
– Synthesize other’s research to come to your own conclusions.
– You need to research the “conversation,” figure out how to insert your own voice, and use that to help you choose your methodologies and theories.
– The lit review’s primary purpose? To learn.

So, there’s nothing to fear. The Study Dude is determined to make right for you all the wrongs I made in grad school?one A+ at a time.

ReferencesRavitch, Sharon M., & Riggan, Matthew. (2012). Reason & Rigor: How Conceptual Frameworks Guide Research. Los Angeles, CA: Sage.

Well, in these articles, as The Study Dude, I’ll try to give you the study tips you need to help make your learning easier. I’ll also give you straight and honest opinions and personal anecdotes?even the embarrassing ones that you wouldn’t ever dare read about from any other study tip guru.

This week’s Study Dude looks at Mark A. Dunaway and Marcella H. Dunaways? book Study Smarter, Not Harder: The College Student’s Guide to Success. The Dunaways go straightaway into study tips basics and pre-exam prep.

The Next Literary Great: Your Notes
Do you ever puzzle over what perfect notes look like? I squint when I read study tip books that model oh-so-perfect lecture notes.

You see, note-taking gurus say, “Do the impossible”: listen to lectures while mulling-over how to summarize?as if You’re penning the next Pride and Prejudice. And then they tell you not to multitask. So, how do you write, think, and listen at the same time?

It depends on your learning style. I write fast and messy, capturing nearly everything the professor says. But I use abbreviations and math symbols as shorthand. I star important ideas and add question marks beside the confusing stuff. I sprinkle acronyms and mnemonics in the margins.

Some students write slowly and neatly. If That’s your style, use shorthand abbreviations and math symbols. Do use stars, exclamations, and memory devices. But, pick-up your speed: don’t miss key ideas. After all, You’re taking notes, not crafting a calligraphy Christmas party invite.

Mark and Marcella Dunaway don’t runaway without revealing note-taking tips and more:
– Whenever you watch a class lecture or video, take notes.
– If you get a print-out or handout, still take notes.
– When watching lectures, always have a pen and notebook ready.
– Use a notebook or binder ? never rely on loose-leaf papers alone.
– If in a physical class, sit near the front. Top students sit in the first two rows.
– Use a computer to take notes if you don’t need to jot down diagrams or pictures. But You’re better off taking paper and pen notes. If you use a computer, keep a pen and backup notepad handy.
– Pick out the key points in the lecture. don’t write verbatim.
– Do use abbreviations, such as b/c for because, w/o for without, = for equals, and so forth.
– Write down whatever the professor repeats or emphasizes.
– Ask questions.
– Put away your cell phone and iPad. Keep distractions away.
– Participate in class; be a keener.
– Only miss a class if you have an emergency that you can back up with official documentation. (Work doesn’t count as an emergency.)

Teach to Learn: Exam Prep
You’re about to be quizzed on advanced math or French grammar. What do you do? You teach it before you get tested. Yes, find a student.

I would suggest your pit bull if You’re in a pinch. But if your pit bull bites, then audiotape a lecture, make a matching PowerPoint, and post on YouTube instead.

Or, submit your lecture notes for sale on special sites. You could make three bucks every quarter year, just like my self-published Kindle book. But if that all sounds like work, then memorize by rote, acronyms, or mnemonics.

What’s rote? Repetition. Less fun than making videos.

What’s mnemonics? Crazy and wild images used for memorization. For example, you can remember the word “sycophant” by picturing a psycho ant flattering you while luring you into the Bad Ant Motel. (Psycho-ant sounds like sycophant.)

Mark and Marcella Dunaway give-away secrets to exam prep:
– Do not study during the last thirty minutes before an exam.
– While waiting for the test, do not seek out your friend, Ed, to discuss possible questions and answers. Ed may spin you into panic mode.
– Eat protein and sugar and drink coffee just before the exam.
– During the exam, heave heavy breaths and give yourself positive pep talks. If any negative thoughts arise, substitute them with positive ones.
– When you get the test, spot all the questions that you can answer. A confidence booster.
– Allow a five- to ten-minute buffer at the end of test to go over any missed or questionable answers.

So, there’s nothing to fear. The Study Dude is determined to make right for you all the wrongs I made in grad school?one A+ at a time.

ReferencesDunaway, Mark A., & Dunaway, Marcella H. Study Smarter, Not Harder: The College Student’s Guide to Success. San Bernardino, CA: N.P. 2014.

Well, in these articles, as The Study Dude, I’ll try to give you the study tips you need to help make your learning easier. I’ll also give you straight and honest opinions and personal anecdotes?even the embarrassing ones that you wouldn’t ever dare read about from any other study tip guru.

This week’s Study Dude looks at Peter J. Feibelman’s book A PhD Is Not Enough! A Guide to Survival in Science. You need hero-mentors and top-notch presentation tools.

How to Sparkle with a PhD
We all need a mentor.

But, are you serious about a PhD and the tenure fantasy? Then, you need a mentor like you need blood.

I had two mentors: both of them professors. One, a lover of Mother Teresa. The other, Mother. Well, not really Mother. A kind of mother-in-law that disowns you and hunts you down.

Mother Teresa mentor acted as my supervisor, but her inexperience left me in limbo. This beloved mentor let me go because our progress was that of a Windows 10 upgrade?which no sane person wants.

The other mentor?Mother?loved and hated me. I loved and hated her, too. We fought. We competed. We performed psychological warfare on each other. But I dropped her (or she dropped me?) because our progress was that of a Windows 10 automatic upgrade?one you reboot, panicked, halfway through installation. A nightmare.

So, I stood alone in the MA program. My thesis sucked. The PhD dream faded. But, one day, I told myself, I would rise again. And choose a mentor wisely.

Peter J. Feibelman says without a mentor, tenure fades. On top of that, Feibelman shares more tricks on how to succeed beyond the PhD:
– You need ‘science survival skills’ to make it through and beyond the PhD. A mentor is a requirement for most PhD students.
– After grad school, the clock starts ticking: sink or swim on your way to tenure. Fast.
– Present and publish your research. A must.
– No-one teaches you what research problems to choose. Unless you find a mentor, that is.
– Make sure your post-doc supervisor gives you assignments that you can reasonably finish in a short amount of time.
– In your field, read all the literature. Voraciously. Become an expert.
– Only collaborate with others when you both bring something unique. Doubled-up research jobs lead to jealousy.
– Choose a mentor who is not your supervisor or boss.
– Know the scientists you work with in the labs. Make connections.
– Avoid young thesis advisors. Jealousy may arise.
– Older advisors won’t compete with you. Long in tooth, but not short in support.
– Make sure your supervisor can communicate with newbies, meet with you weekly, and teach you how to survive the PhD and beyond.

PhD Presentation? Ticket to Tenure
Did you ever know something so delicious, you couldn’t wait to tell? (Gossip doesn’t count.)

Well, did you ever think something so crazy you thought you could win a Nobel prize? I did. I went off a sedating medicine and the world grew magical?glorious. Every little movement of the world mystified me; I stumbled on what I later realized is called ?motion parallax?: the trick of the eye where the streetlights seem to move faster than the distant mountains when you speed on by.

But I noticed so much more. I called my heightened awareness ?The Garden of Eden.? And I ate from the Tree of Knowledge. So I spent every hard-earned penny of my scholarship on AV material: video cameras, still cameras, and audio devices; and I recorded tens of hours of crazy footage. Then I scheduled myself to present my findings?through multimedia?to the faculty. I invited the entire science department: one scientist plus five-or-so academics sat in the audience.

My time came to dazzle. But, at the get-go, the video projector stuttered. Thus, the crux of my argument?the video clips?went unwatched. Horrified, without even the words ?Motion Parallax? to guide me, I stumbled on.

But the audience grew hostile. A professor shouted, ?Mere trick photography.? Others barked, too, quizzing whether I had copyright permission to use the photos?my own photos. A flash on the screen lit up the room: the video projector started. Yet, the audience still resisted: Did you get copyright permission for the soundtrack? (I did.) And the scientist without background in motion parallax said science knew all that I revealed. You see, I’d lost my audience.

My great idea? Silenced. The moral? Learn how to work a projector. Better yet, learn the art of presentations.

Peter J. Feibelman shows you the craft:
– Get a theme for your presentation (like a thesis, but in language geared for a young teen).
– Say why your field rocks and what your field’s biggest puzzles are.
– Give a historical sketch of your field.
– Reveal where you piece of the pie fits in the cake mould.
– Pretend your audience holds both know-it-alls and know-littles. Cater more to the know-littles.
– Leave the equations for your written thesis. Presentations get boring quick once you pull out an algorithm for cryptography or a T-Test for a multiple regression. (Yawning yet?) Avoid overly technical stuff. It’s dull.
– Turn your presentation into a story. Add an inciting incident, a climax, and an ending.
– Show your excitement for your topic. If your topic bores you, why study it?
– Show confidence. Speak up.
– Fit in your best stuff before time runs out. Rehearse with timers.
– don’t bore with an outline of your speech. Feibelman asks, Would you want an outline of a movie before the movie starts? Nope. Add suspense.
– don’t list all your collaborators. Put them on a PowerPoint page, but don’t read them aloud.
– Say what ignited your passion for the topic, or why researchers swarm to it, or why the public hungers for it. In other words, who cares for your topic and why?
– Avoid animations. Use lots of white space. Use large font.
– Feibelman says your presentation should use one cartoon, a couple of figures, and plain text. [I beg to differ. Most experts on presentations would argue for less text and more visuals. And put the omitted text in a handout at the very end.]

So, there’s nothing to fear. The Study Dude is determined to make right for you all the wrongs I made in grad school?one A+ at a time.

ReferencesFeibelman, Peter J. A PhD Is Not Enough! A Guide to Survival in Science. New York: Basic Books. Jan. 11, 2011. Digital.

Well, in these articles, as The Study Dude, I’ll try to give you the study tips you need to help make your learning easier. I’ll also give you straight and honest opinions and personal anecdotes?even the embarrassing ones that you wouldn’t ever dare read about from any other study tip guru.

This week’s Study Dude looks at Charles Lipson’s book Cite Right: A Quick Guide to Citation Styles?MLA, APA, Chicago, the Sciences, Professions, and More. Lipson lets loose on the basics of citations. I zero in on his talk about MLA and Chicago.

Skinny on Citing
Did you ever wonder, Why cite? Or, Why stare at style guides?

To save you headaches, That’s why.

As an undergrad, I dreamed of publishing. So, I interviewed community leaders and wrote my piece. Sadly, I sent my article to an editor who took a month to start, which sparked conflict between us. Although she finally delivered, I failed to complete my bibliography. But I also had a deadline.

So, I hired an eager friend to find the missing bibliography entries. Months went by with endless nagging until he finally let on?he hadn’t started. And the deadline passed.

To make matters worse, later, I contacted one of the community leaders I interviewed. I hoped to hire him as a comedian. But, because of my article flub, he didn’t take me seriously.

So, I hired a dancer instead. After the event, the comedian phoned to see if my event failed?like my article failed. I told him the event rocked, which shocked him.

The moral? Record your citations the moment you pick up a book or download an article. Make sure you follow the citation manual’s style—to the tee. And do it yourself—so you don’t miss the deadline.

Charles Lipson gives the gist on citations in general:
– Citations give credit to authors, show support for your arguments, and help readers know what articles to chew-on for second-helpings.
– If you say Donald Trump is President of the United States, don’t cite Yahoo as your source. Everyone on the planet knows Trump. [And cite Yahoo? You might as well cite the self-interest of Soros instead.]
– If you didn’t read the book or article, don’t slip it in your bibliography. If you just read a chapter, cite that one chapter. Honesty is integrity.
– You can use a secondary citation. A secondary citation occurs when you didn’t read the actual source?you heard it second-hand. So, you bundle together in your citation mention of both the second-hand source and the actual source.

But which style guide is for you? Lipson gives a quick list and some advice there as well:
– Ask your prof which style guide is best for your discipline. And stick to that style guide, if you can. Make your style a fine wine.
– MLA is the style guide for English (the humanities).
– APA is the style guide for education, social sciences, and business.
– CSE is for biology.
– AMA is for medicine.
– ACS is for chemistry.
– Chicago is for social sciences and the humanities.
– AMS is for mathematics and computer sciences. (I never encountered AMS my entire time as a math undergrad. Not sure when it pops up.)
– IEEE and ASCE are for engineering.
– Footnotes and endnotes are the same cream puffs, just one’s in the fridge, the other’s in the breadbox. (Footnotes are at the bottom of the page; endnotes are at the chapter end or at the back of the book or article.)
– If your style guide fails to offer a certain citation rule (say, for podcasts), try to mimic similar patterns in the style guide while filling the blanks with your own version. Just be consistent.

The Road to A’s: Chicago, MLA, and APA
Have you ever wondered which citation style is best?

I love APA. In Communications, profs always request APA. But, as a TA, I discovered a student’s paper that shocked me. A beautiful paper. Much better than anything I could ever write. The paper used footnotes and a bibliography. The footnotes were comments, not references. Meaningful comments.

Later, I ran across a book called Tibetan Yoga and Secret Doctrines by Evans-Wentz. Like the student’s paper, the footnote comments took up half each page.

What citation style did they use? Maybe MLA or APA. Both work. You see, APA and MLA allow ? but don’t recommend ? comments in the footnotes. Why? Footnotes are costly to publish (as cited in owl.english.purdue.edu).

Chicago style uses footnotes for citations?but allows footnotes for comments, too.

Now, here’s my next question: which citation style treats authors you cite as people with pulses?

Well, APA is the least human. No first names. Just initials.

MLA is the most human: You’re on a first name basis with the author. At least, in your bibliography. For this reason alone, MLA is decent to learn.

Similarly, Chicago style uses first and last names in the bibliography or notes.

Why care? Well, do you want to be known as S. Dude? Likely not.

Charles Lipson feeds us the how-to for Chicago and MLA styles:
– Chicago Style has two choices: (1) a full first reference in the note (such as the footnote) and shortened subsequent references in the note, or (2) shortened notes with a bibliography. You must stick with one of the two choices throughout your entire paper.
– For Chicago Style, you don’t use in-text references, but you use superscript numbers like this: 2.
– For MLA citations, you use in-text citations like this: (Dude 12).
– In MLA, you don’t need an in-text citation if your sentence mentions the author and title. Why? MLA likes it brief.
– MLA uses the authors? full names in the “Works Cited” page.

But the reference below? That’s in APA style. The one I love and the one that The Voice uses.

So, there’s nothing to fear. The Study Dude is determined to make right for you all the wrongs I made in grad school?one A+ at a time.

ReferencesLipson, C. (2001) Cite Right: A Quick Guide to Citation Styles?MLA, APA, Chicago, the Sciences, Professions, and More (Chicago Guide to Writing, Editing, and Publishing). 2nd ed., Digital., University of Chicago Press.

Well, in these articles, as The Study Dude, I’ll try to give you the study tips you need to help make your learning easier. I’ll also give you straight and honest opinions and personal anecdotes?even the embarrassing ones that you wouldn’t ever dare read about from any other study tip guru.

This week’s Study Dude takes notes from It Was the Best of Sentences, It Was the Worst of Sentences: A Writer’s Guide to Crafting Killer Sentences by June Casagrande. This book slams most long sentences. Most. Except the book’s own nineteen-word title?and other classics.

Star of Subordinate Clauses
Do you want an A for Christmas? Well, the Study Dude’s got you a gift: secrets of subordinate clauses?from Casagrande’s book.

Read this: When taking a selfie while standing on the Grand Canyon’s edge, if you scream freefalling due to carelessness, you may miss your ride.

Doesn’t that suck? The sentence, that is. You see, your subordinate clauses build up to the dull ending: “you may miss your ride.” When your subordinate clauses reek more excitement than your main clause, go see a psycholinguist.

Or better yet, fix your sentence. Change it to When taking a selfie while standing on the Grand Canyon’s edge as your ride approaches, you might freefall to a final scream.

Save the best for the main clause.

Casagrande gives all kinds of tips for subordinate clauses. Here’s some:
– Subordinate clauses appear like full sentences, but start with words like “because,” “although,” “after,” and “while.” For instance, here’s a subordinate clause, “Because he loved to train ? .” Attach that subordinate clause to an independent clause, and you get, “Because he loved to train, Cuddles ate the fridge bare.”
– (In the last example, we’re not sure whether Cuddles was bare or the fridge was bare, but Cuddles is handsome, so I kept the sentence. Typically, you’d rewrite the sentences: “Cuddles devoured the fridge’s gut.” A metaphor.)
– Put in a strong verb and a clear subject in the main clause.
– Put the strongest action in the main clause; the dullest, the subordinate clause.
– Try not to use the word “while” in place of the word “although.” While is time-based; although is not. It confuses us.
– Try not to use the word “since” for “because.” Since is time-based; because is not.
– The word “than” in comparison leads to confusion. For instance, when you say, “I love you more than Grandma,” spell it out. Say either “I love you more than I love Grandma” or “I love you more than Grandma loves you.”

The Clash of the Relative Clauses

Did you ever write a paper that had long sickly sentences? I did. My thesis.

I crammed in relative clauses like cramming pudding into a Christmas stocking. A stocking that was a used sock: one with a hole in the big-toe. And then I fed it to the prof. But I passed. Not first-class, not second-class, but classless.

Now I write in phrases; incomplete sentences. I call it style. You call it stammer?

But there’s a happy medium. Casagrande gives us rules for relative clauses:
– What’s a relative clause? It starts with a relative pronoun, such as “who,” “whom,” “which,” or “that.” Relative clauses modify nouns. For instance, spot the relative clause here: “Cuddles, who writes fiction, deserves a million-dollar book-contract for Christmas.” Here’s another relative clause: “To pass first class, which is every grad student’s dream, I need a wall-high stack of the Study Dude.” Spot the relative clauses?
(Note: In the examples immediately above, I rewrote the main clauses so that they were more exciting than the relative clauses.)
– Yes, relative clauses are a special type of subordinate clause. Relative clauses are also like adjectives.
– Some relative clauses (called sentential (or connective) relative clauses) can modify not just nouns, but also clauses: “I loved him, which everyone can see.”
– Have no more than one relative clause per sentence. Don’t do like this next sentence: “To pass first class, which is every grad student’s dream, and comes true for undeserving elitists, I need a stack of Study Dudes as tall as the ivory tower.” Okay, so I might get away with more than one relative clause, but typically you want to combine the two relative clauses?or cut one out altogether.
– You can even have what is called a “zero relative” where the relative pronoun is deleted.
For instance, you could say, “The Study Dude is the article I would pay for if given the chance.” In that sentence, you left out the word “that”: “The Study Dude is the article that I would pay for if given the chance.” If you want, you can leave out the word “that” in any relative clause. Up to you. But, zero-relative clauses use up less space. I like ’em.
– While I knew a zero-relative clause could delete the relative pronouns “that” and “whom.” I wasn’t sure, though, whether a zero relative would delete “which” or “who.” But, I found the answer: yes, zero relatives can delete “which” and “who” as well. You see, zero relative clauses happen a lot in sentences starting with “there” or containing “[have] got.” For instance, you could say, “There are the books [which] I never read anyway,” leaving out the “which”. You could also say, “I got the book [which] I never planned to read anyway,” again leaving out the “which.”
– Make your relative clauses brief and few. Don’t swamp your sentences with those nasties. Also, avoid using relative clauses to slip in backstory or history. Confuses us.

So, there’s nothing to fear. The Study Dude is determined to make right for you all the wrongs I made in grad school?one A+ at a time.

ReferencesCasagrande, June. (2010). It Was the Best of Sentences, It Was the Worst of Sentences: A Writer’s Guide to Crafting Killer Sentences. Ten Speed Press.

Well, in these articles, as The Study Dude, I’ll try to give you the study tips you need to help make your learning easier. I’ll also give you straight and honest opinions and personal anecdotes?even the embarrassing ones that you wouldn’t ever dare read about from any other study tip guru.

This week’s Study Dude takes notes from Writing that Works, 3e: How to Communicate Effectively in Business by Kenneth Roman and Joel Raphaelson.

Sizzle
Did you ever want someone to look spectacular? I hosted a charity event, and I wanted a celebrity newscaster?my emcee?to sizzle.

As backstory, I met the celebrity at another event he emceed; at that event, the coordinator said he fizzled. But I knew what went wrong?and how to fix it. You see, newscasters read teleprompters. So, give a newscaster a speech to read. Duh!

So I hired a doctoral student and the speech read beautifully. Short punchy lines. Humor. And the applause? Deafening. The lady who said he fizzled asked, “How did you get him to shine?” Well, would you get an astronaut to build the ship? No. Give him the ship.

Roman and Raphaelson share tricks to make your business writing sizzle:
– Write short: short paragraphs, short sentences, short words. (Academic writing uses longer paragraphs and sentences, but sprinkle in your shorts. Now That’s a play on words you don’t want to take literally.
– Use big words when they are more concise.
– But beware, big words are more abstract; they often suggest you lack clarity. But if your big words are concise, consider them gems.
– Use active voice. If first-person (I or me) isn’t allowed, then you may be stuck with passive.
– Use clear and specific adjectives and adverbs: don’t say, “we’ll soon be late.” Instead, say, “Tomorrow will be too late.”?quantify.
– Use adjectives and adverbs that add to the meaning and don’t just repeat it: don’t say, “highly proficient.” Instead say, “Nobel-prize proficient.”
– don’t use jargon. Uses down-to-earth words instead.
– Write like you talk.
– Know the definition of every word you write.
– Cut out the extra words. don’t say, “Despite the notion that?” Instead, say, “Although?
– don’t write clauses inside clauses.
– Write like you would talk to your best friend, and then touch it up with formality.

Complain to the Prof
Did you ever tell-off a prof?

I had a feminist studies professor—an unprepared professor. I hungered for feminist theory, but she taught Mork from Ork. Yes, Robin Williams in his 80s sitcom.

But first, let’s back up. What sparked my interest in feminism?

I once politically campaigned with a radical feminist; she sat the eager me in a board meeting of a feminist magazine. But I was a misfit?a high-school dropout; I knew more about Value Village than the right to vote. Yet, I upgraded and enrolled in university, rushing to take a feminist class.

On the first day of feminist class, the professor asked, “What would Mork from Ork, an alien from another planet, say about Earth’s women?”

The second day of class, the same Mork from Ork question. Most days, Mork from Ork. The professor had a life, just not in school.

Later, I overheard a student curse the professor for too much Mork. But, the student got it wrong: don’t get even?get results.

Let’s look at the art of complaints, according to Roman and Raphaelson:
– When saying no, be ultra compassionate. don’t say, “Your paper lacked substance. Poorly written. You got a C.” Instead, say, “I can imagine how difficult it will be to hear this. I’m sorry, but you got a C on your paper. Here’s why I gave that grade ? If you still feel you deserve a higher grade, please let me know where I might have got it wrong.” Sincerely explain your reasons for saying no.
– When complaining, don’t aim to tell-off someone; aim to get results. Write about all the actions the person needs to do to resolve your complaint fairly.
– When responding to a complaint, don’t read into it. If It’s fair, say how you’ll address it. Say sorry. Ask for continued relations.

So, there’s nothing to fear. The Study Dude is determined to make right for you all the wrongs I made in grad school—one A+ at a time.

References
Roman, Kenneth, and Raphaelson, Joel. (n.d.). 3rd Ed. Writing that Works, 3e: How to Communicate Effectively in Business. Harper Collins e-books.

Well, in these articles, as The Study Dude, I’ll try to give you the study tips you need to help make your learning easier. I’ll also give you straight and honest opinions and personal anecdotes?even the embarrassing ones that you wouldn’t ever dare read about from any other study tip guru.

This week’s Study Dude further explores Michelle McLean’s book Essays and Term Papers. She shows how to write cause-and-effect essays (coke causes gas) and critical essays (coke rots).

Essay 1: Cause and Effect
Has someone ever asked you why you overreacted, and you had not one?but many?reasons why?

I did. I hosted snacks and lunches for training for geeks. Yes, Einsteinian geeks. Who would have guessed, but these geeks ate organic.

My hosted snack platter? Diet coke, brownies, Nanaimo bars, and cake. The Montreal caterers had a bias toward junk, and secretly, so did I.

After days of munching on midmorning baked goods, one geek sputtered, ?Why all the diet coke??

I knew this geek, and all the others listening, would soon evaluate me in the post-event survey. So, I cited reasons from low-calories to fizzy taste to caffeine rushes.

The truth: I had a Coca-Cola addiction.

And as the event continued with the odd audience belch, I knew either McGill needed a better catering menu or I needed a new job.

When giving your reasons, make sure they’re authentic. Michelle McLean tells you how to spin your reasons into cause-and-effect papers.
– Your essay can have (1) one cause for one effect, (2) multiple causes with one effect, (3) one cause for multiple effects, or (4) multiple causes for multiple effects: a smorgasbord!
– Cause-and-effect essays can also be persuasive.
– Your topic will have a cause-and-effect pattern such as eating excess sugar and fats, not exercising, and smoking can lead to obesity. Pick your best causes or effects if you have too many for one paper.
– You can even make a chain reaction paper: smiling can cause endorphins to shoot which can cause increased happy states which can cause increased door-time with Jehovah Witnesses canvassers. (I love Jehovah Witnesses. One unknowingly saved my life.)
– don’t just have one cause and one effect if your essay is more than two pages.
– Start by brainstorming the causes and effects of your topic.
– Back up your claims with external sources, such as citations, facts, statistics, surveys, interviews, objects, events. Stockpile more than you need.
– For introductions, start with a gripping opening statement. Then state your thesis. Then summarize your three key arguments. You can have two or four arguments; however, we humans psychologically prefer three, and any comedian would agree.
– For the introduction, the thesis could be your one effect, and the arguments could be your three causes. Or, the thesis could be your one cause, and the arguments your three effects. And so on.
– For the body, take each of your three arguments and provide all of your evidence. Make sure you’ve got a ton of evidence to back up each of your arguments; otherwise, you’ll have a skinny essay.
– If your writing about a chain reaction, your essay body could have cause and effect events in chronological order with evidence for each stage. The author recommends chronological order, but you can also try order of importance.
– For your conclusion, restate your thesis, summarize your arguments, and end with a zinger. [Consider writing your ending first. Make it a roadmap of fun. You can always change it later. Also, to make a conclusion fun, cover patterns that you found. Every hobbyist loves a pattern; every prof does, too.]

Essay 2: Critical
Has something you bombed at become your vocation?

I dreamed of a PhD, but sucked at writing.

You see, in grad studies, I underwent a Harry Potter-like initiation. I dawned a make-believe cyborg mask with magical powers: one that turned my writing into drivel. You know, academic writing.

But, my writing needed one ingredient: incomprehensibility. I wrote gobbledegook, and got a master’s degree with no hope of a PhD.

Would I ever write again?

I mustered the courage to write book reviews, which led to writing for The Voice, which led to writing professionally for magazines.

And maybe for a PhD.

So, if critical writing rubbed the red off my face, what can it do for you?

Michelle McLean shows you how to write a critical essay:
– Critical essays include book reviews and article reviews.
– You don’t slam an author’s work with a critical review; instead, you examine and analyze it.
– You need to summarize what you review with a topic. Then, you analyze what you review, using that same topic.
– Some profs just want you to use the book or article or film you are reviewing. Other profs will want you to use external sources. Check with the prof.
– To brainstorm your topic, break down the book or article or movie into headings. You might have characters, plot, setting, and themes as headings. Under each heading, jot down related ideas.
– To choose your topic, pick the angle that most excites you and has lots of citations in the literature.
– You can analyze the book or article however you want, just as long as you have lots of support from external sources or from the reviewed work itself.
– You could pick the theme of ?excessive desire destroys lives? as your topic, for instance, if it applies.
– For intro, state your reviewed book’s name and author and provide a summary. State your thesis. Provide any relevant background (such as an author bio bit if relevant to your topic) or summarize your arguments.
– For the essay body, find evidence within your reviewed book and external citations. If you talk about a theme for your thesis, then discuss elements such as symbolism, imagery, scenes, and character that advance your thesis.
– For conclusion, restate the book title, book author, and your thesis and cap up your arguments. Close with a zinger.

So, there’s nothing to fear. The Study Dude is determined to make right for you all the wrongs I made in grad school?one A+ at a time.

ReferencesMcLean, Michelle. (2011). Essay & Term Papers. Pompton Plains, NJ: Career Press.

Well, in these articles, as The Study Dude, I’ll try to give you the study tips you need to help make your learning easier. I’ll also give you straight and honest opinions and personal anecdotes?even the embarrassing ones that you wouldn’t ever dare read about from any other study tip guru.

This week’s Study Dude looks at the article by Alice Bloch (as cited in Seale) called Doing Social Surveys. Alice teaches how to gather data and how to word your surveys.

Wed the Data Do you want to gather data for your research project? As a final year undergrad, you’ll entertain a research methods course; as a grad student, you’ll wed one.

Even better, do you want to make thousands of dollars on one survey? You can!

I worked for a market research company. A single survey would syphon tens of thousands of dollars out of government grips. And my boss? A salesman; he farmed out the heavy work.

To him, the know-how of proposal writing and PowerPoint seemed secondary to the “connections.”

How did he gain his connections? Maybe through the greenbook: a directory of market research service providers. But I doubt it. The greenbook lists direct competitors and costly services. Perhaps their services fit in the budget of a scholarship-crazy PhD student. Not in my budget. Neither in my lavish boss’s.

And my boss must have had a list of techies to create instant online surveys. Just a nod from him and a Web survey would pop up.

The process for my boss making a five-digit dollar survey? Seamless and behind the scenes.

But somebody did all the heavy-lifting: not me or my boss. We formed a leisurely office of two: he wining-and-dining; me bored at the desk.

Alice Bloch (as cited in Seale) fleshes out ways to gain survey data:
– Face-to-face interviews: These use either interview guides or questionnaires. Interview guides (the qualitative approach) have topics to discuss, but you don’t need to follow the exact order of the guide’s topics. Questionnaires (the quantitative approach) have the exact same words and same order of questions for every respondent. Semi-structured interviews have a combination of both the qualitative and quantitative approach, although you need to code the qualitative parts into categories for statistical analysis.
– Self-completed questionnaire: These can be done through the Web, email, or mail. Make the questions as simple as you can. These questionnaires are cheap and can cover greater terrain than face-to-face interviews.
– Telephone interview: You can use computer-assisted telephone interviews. You enter the respondent’s answers into the computer. These telephone interviews remove the bias that your physical presence has during face-to-face interviews. Telephone interviews can also include a larger geographical area of respondents than face-to-face.

A Double- or Single-Barrel? Yes or No?
When you see a survey question asking your household income, does your finger twitch at the $100,000 plus a year choice? Mine does. Reminds me of buying a lotto ticket while dreaming of 7-11 chicken strips?with plum sauce of course.

As I ponder the high costs of bottled pop, I tend to bias my answer to the double-barreled question “Does Trudeau have nice hair and create economic growth?” The second quarter of contraction of negative 1.2% sums it up: It’s a toupee.

And does Bono have the necessary knowledge to give geopolitical advice? You bet, on low tax hot spots.

Alice Bloch (as cited in Seale) exposes the secrets of correct survey word-choice:
– Write up short, quick, and clear survey questions.
– Pretest your surveys to catch any ambiguity or confusing wordings.
– Avoid double-barrelled questions that ask two questions in one: “Does Trudeau have nice hair and create economic growth?” Well, yes for the hair, no for economic growth. But, you’ve got only one choice: yes or no. A double-barrel.
– Avoid leading questions: “Do you think Bono, given his lack of smarts, has the necessary knowledge to give geopolitical advice?” Now That’s biased.
– Avoid prestige bias: “Do you write A exams?” Well, of course I do. Cough.
– Clarify the frame of reference: “Are you good-looking?” Yes, my grandmother thinks so. Instead, clarify the frame of reference; ask, “How many hours a week do you exercise on average?” or “How many hours of grooming on average do you do each day?” or “How much do you spend on average on clothing and grooming per month?”

So, there’s nothing to fear. The Study Dude is determined to make right for you all the wrongs I made in grad school?one A+ at a time.

ReferencesAlice Bloch. “Doing Social Surveys”. In Clive Seale (Ed.). Researching Society and Culture. (2nd Edition). London: SAGE.

No? Well nobody said the dude can’t be flexible. So I’ll give you what it takes to avoid it as well.

Here is the list of the top ten ways to nail an F in English 101, and underneath, what you need to do if you want to avoid it:

Number 10: Read your paper aloud while rapping Snoop Dogg.
When editing your paper, read it aloud. Cut anything that stifles the rhythm of your tongue.

Number 9: Go psychedelic when reading Dr. Seuss.
Read widely on books that challenge you. Scan tables-of-contents and indexes. Mark-up book margins with key ideas or engaging tidbits. Look up definitions of words that stump you.

Number 8: Make your paper as active as a Quiznos employee.
Wherever possible, avoid the passive voice. The passive voice uses variants of the verb “to be” and has no actor. An example of the passive voice is “The paper was marked.” Who marked the paper? Dunno.

Profs usually disallow first-person, however, so you may be forced to use the passive voice anyway.

Number 7: Give your verbs less punch than the last match of Rhonda Rousey.
Use short, lively verbs with lots of action. For instance, words like grope, sparked, sprinkled, and shone.

Number 6: Mistake your audiobooks for the hiccups.
Vary your sentence structure. At least once every paragraph, slip in a subordinate clause at the start of a sentence. Follow-up a long sentence with a short snappy one.

Number 5: When stuck without an adjective, consult slogans on Coke machines.
Use adjectives and adverbs that add meaning. If your adjectives or adverbs repeat the meaning, delete them.

Number 4: Thank your grandma for recycling your papers in the outhouse.
Write as if you are speaking to your dearest friend. Leave an impression. Once you’ve written from the heart, polish the paper.

Number 3: Let NASA hire you as a translator for E.T.
Write in everyday English. Avoid multisyllabic words unless they are more precise than a shorter alternative. Only once you’ve drafted your piece, replace the wordy stuff with the concise.

Number 2: Chew more fat than Donald Trump.
Once you get to a list of three, stop. Don’t list four or five items. Order your three items from least to most wordy or exciting or abstract.

Number 1: Make your paper a firewall for WikiLeaks.
Avoid too many abstractions in your writing. After all, you’re writing English, not code. Instead, use metaphors and analogies, replacing abstractions with things you can see or touch or smell or hear or taste.

In English 101, when you get your F, say the Study Dude sent you.

And you know The Study Dude won’t take an F for an answer.