When we decided to create a new textbook about Advanced Writing, we made one major goal: that it NOT be boring. (We hope you agree!) So we chose this interactive online venue with cool tech we thought you'd enjoy: embedded videos INSIDE the textbook, lots of images and graphics, embedded quiz and discussion questions, even live links so you don't have to leave the textbook to go to a web page. Plus, you can read it on a computer, tablet, and even your phone!
My majestic office view. #nofilter (Image by the author.)
But more importantly, we tried to talk to you like people. (We're assuming you're people.) We know a lot of textbooks can sound dry and boring and far away, but we wanted to teach you like you're sitting right there in front of us. So we've added stories and analogies that come from our lives and tried to make connections to culture and experiences that you'll relate to. Because, you know, we're people, too.
So to help you reach your goals, we're going to give you a window into the world of good writing. Here's the actual view from my office window as I write this. Can you believe those mountains? We're going to be your guides as we climb the proverbial mountains to get the skills and knowledge you need to succeed as writers (cue song from The Sound of Music). We hope you'll do like our motto here at Brigham Young University:
Enter to Learn, Go Forth to Serve
We promise that if you'll work hard in this course, your efforts will pay off. You'll emerge from this journey stronger and with a broader vision of how you can influence the world as a better writer, a better learner, and a better person.
Sincerely,
Cristie Cowles Charles, Editor
Check Out the Tech
Here's some of the cool tech you'll encounter in this book. Check it out so that you know what to do when you encounter these things later.
Embedded Videos
Videos are embedded into the text so you can just click on them inside the textbook and watch them there with no ads. Don't worry, these are simply fancy links that make it so the creators of the videos still get to count your click for their statistics. Here's a cool three-minute video about why these young men from inner-city Chicago choose to write. Try watching it by clicking directly on it.
Note: If you ever want to watch a video outside of the textbook, look at the bottom right corner and you'll see a link for Vimeo or YouTube that you can click on. Or the video's URL will also be listed directly under the video.
https://vimeo.com/137388474
Embedded Websites
When we want you to go to a particular website, we'll always provide ahyperlink to it (and include the actual address: lib.byu.edu), but even better, we'll often put it in an iframe, which is a fancy embedded link. This is just like going to the actual website--you can access everything the same way you would normally--but you don't have to leave the textbook to do it. So convenient! Here's an iframe that connects to our BYU Library web page. Try scrolling on it and then look up your favorite book.
lib.byu.edu
Chapter Questions
Throughout the book there are questions that ask you to think about what you're reading or ask you to try out some of the writing techniques we're teaching. Your teacher might assign you to do these for credit, but even if not, they'll still be valuable for your learning.
Average Reading Time
To help you plan, we've included the average time it takes readers to read each chapter. This includes watching videos but doesn't include any writing activities, discussion questions or quizzes. You'll find this at the beginning of every chapter.
Spoiler Alerts
Previewing a book is a good way to get a feel for it and anticipate what's coming. In the olden days, we would literally pick up our textbooks from the campus bookstore and physically leaf through the pages in anticipation, but that's not possible online. So here are some spoiler alerts so you'll know what's coming in the rest of this book. We've divided this textbook into three main units: Writing Tools, Academic Audiences, and General Audiences.
In Unit 1: Writing Tools, you'll get help understanding how academic writing differs from other types of writing and learn the tools you need to get your message across.
In Chapter 1 What's Advanced About Advanced Writing?, we'll talk about how writing in your chosen field represents a discourse community whose style, forms, and vocabulary you'll need to learn. Chapter 2 Writing Toolsdeals with the rhetorical strategies you learned in your first-year writing class and how we'll build on those strategies in this course. Chapter 3 Writing Processes addresses the steps involved in creating a piece of writing and how best to approach a writing assignment. Chapter 4 Grammar & Mechanics will review the most important grammar, spelling, and punctuation concepts that will convince your audience that you know what you're talking about. In Chapter 5 Style, we'll delve into the nuances of language that can take your writing from good to great. And finally, in Chapter 6 Design, you'll learn about visual design and how to use images, fonts, color, and other visual elements to best get your message across.
In Unit 2: Academic Audiences, we'll focus on what writing is like in scholarly settings and how to create some of the most useful types of documents.
In Chapter 7 Writing for Academic Audiences, we'll discuss how best to write formally for an academic audience and what is valued in an academic discourse community. Chapter 8 Finding and Evaluating Sources will help you see how research and evidence are the main currencies of academia and will teach you how to find and analyze sources using online databases and other tools. Chapter 9 Discussing and Citing Sources deals with the best ways to talk about your sources (summary, paraphrase, and quotation) and how to give credit to others' work (using style guides)--an essential skill that can also keep you out of trouble. In Chapter 10 What Is a Literature Review?, you'll learn the definition of a literature review, how it differs from a typical research paper, and how literature reviews are used in academia and beyond. Chapter 11 How to Plan a Literature Review will go through the first steps for writing a literature review: taking good notes, structuring, and outlining. Chapter 12 How to Write a Literature Review follows with the final steps for creating a literature review: drafting, writing an abstract, and revising. And finally, Chapter 13 Proposals will cover the genre of the proposal and the best ways to formally ask for anything--especially money for research and other projects.
The final unit, Unit 3: General Audiences, will deal with how to write for less academic, more general audiences and will also cover different types of public writing.
To that end, Chapter 14 Writing for General Audiences will cover strategies for getting your message across to a general audience and explain how that differs from academic writing. Chapter 15 Job and Graduate School Applications will delve into some specific genres for applying for jobs (such as resumes, cover letters, and online profiles) and graduate schools (CVs and personal statements). In Chapter 16 Public Texts, you'll learn about other typical genres for general audiences such as strategies for writing effective memos, emails, social media posts, blog posts, infographics, and opinion editorials. And finally, Chapter 17 Presentations will take you through the steps to creating a killer presentation--whether it be a traditional oral presentation or a poster presentation.
We believe this (hopefully not boring) textbook will give you the skills you need to succeed in your future at the university, in your career, and in life.
End-of Chapter Surveys
How often do you get to tell textbook authors what you think? Now you can. And we can take it--we really want to know what you liked and didn't like or what was confusing or helpful. (Hey, if we talk the talk of seeking feedback, we should walk the walk, right?)
So please be sure to take the surveys at the end of each chapter so we can improve our own writing. It's for posterity!
Previous Citation(s)
Charles, C. C. (2020). Welcome to Advanced Writing! In C. C. Charles (Ed.), Advanced Writing. BYU Open Textbook Network. https://open.byu.edu/-aDvz Charles, C. C. (2020). Welcome to Writing in the Social Sciences!. In C. C. Charles, Writing in the Social Sciences. EdTech Books. Retrieved from https://edtechbooks.org/writing/welcome
This content is provided to you freely by EdTech Books.
