Video Clip from our Dub Poetry Workshop

I am so pleased to be able to share this clip from our Dub Poetry/Music Event that took place at our college in January. Our special guest was Jamaican jazz guitarist Maurice Gordon, but this clip features a young man (now studying at Claflin), who did a spontaneous song for us called "I Need Your Love Every Time, Jesus." He was one of the band members who just showed up from various local colleges and the community to form a last-minute band on the stage with Maurice. It was just too cool. The video is shaky because we did it ourselves, and we are just learning, but we are pleased to be able to reach students where they live --- on YouTube, MySpace, Facebook, Blogger, and MOG ! We will be posting students performing their dub poems over the coming weeks; this is our first effort.

Tutoring this week

My tutoring experience this week reminded me of two typical mistakes first year college English students make: students often write as they talk, and students have a hard time writing consistent argumentative essays. To improve both of these weaknesses, I recommend that students study academic documents and journals to see the difference between their writing and more experienced writing. Reading for pleasure is another great remedy to this problem.

With argumentative essays, I recommend analyzing the reason why you have put each topic in your paper. Also, ask yourself if each topic truly supports your thesis.

Happy writing,

Debra

Need Help with Citations??

Students lately have been needing assistance with citations both in-text and on the "works cited" page of their essay. Well WORRY NO MORE...
There is a wonderful website that can help you cite your sources from books, websites/pages, an encyclapedia or magazine and much more!
Go to www.citationmachine.net, simply choose the format that your paper must be written in and then choose what type of source your docement is. You will then answer all questions asked, submit your documents information and then copy and paste your new citation to your essay's works cited page...if you have any questions call the Writing Studio at OCtech!
David Drumheller

Analyzing Poetry

In the near future, I will be assisting a student with the brainstorming stage of an essay analyzing a poem. This has made me think of some tips for tackling this type of essay. Here is the list I have come up with so far. . .

-Pick a poem that you are passionate about. At the least, pick a poem that you really like or can relate to.

-Remember that poems say a lot in just a few words.

-Make notes of what the poem is expressing in each line or stanza.

-See if there is a relationship to the rhythm of the poem and the topic of the poem.

-Look for symbolism! This is often bountiful in most poetry.

Does anybody else have any tips?