Video Tutorials

Most links below take you to a post made up of a brief motivation for learning about a writing topic, a video tutorial, a sample document, and related research. The video tutorials are between 9 and 15 minutes long. I would like to find time to update/shorten them, but that won’t happen any time soon.

The topics are based on the chapters in the 3rd and 4th editions of my co-authored workbook, Revising Professional Writing in Science and Technology, Business, and the Social Sciences (RPW). To hear the teaching philosophy behind these tutorials, check out Lectures in a writing class. Oh my! and Amateurs need explicit knowledge — not platitudes.

Sample Rubric for Evaluating a Document

1. General nonsensitive-document-rubric-with-video-links (MS Word file)
2. General sensitive-document-rubric-with-video-links (MS Word file)

Putting It All Together

• 3 Lessons from Great Performers for Workplace Writers (or “Why do practice exercises?”)

Analyzing Rhetorical Context

• Get clear about your purpose before you write for workplace readers (Ch 1 of RPW)
• Learn to analyze a workplace audience to deliver an effective message (Ch 2 of RPW)

Developing Content

• Insure readers understand your message with the right content (Ch 3 of RPW)
• Persuade readers with an appeal to logos (Ch 4 of RPW)
• Help your readers see what you mean with informative graphics (Ch 5 of RPW)

Organizing Content

• Improve your reader’s efficiency — and win their gratitude — with bottom line placement (Ch 6 of RPW)
• Manage what your readers think you mean with effective paragraphs (Ch 7 of RPW)
• Create logical flow between sentences to promote accurate and efficient reading (Ch 8 of RPW)
• Lead your reader through your content with transitions (Ch 9 of RPW)
• Think long-term and be kind to readers with well-formatted documents (Ch 10 of RPW)

Managing Style

• Learn to identify needless words and promote clarity (Ch 11 of RPW)
• Use parallel structure in lists to increase reading efficiency (Ch 12 of RPW)
• Choose active vs. passive voice strategically (Ch 13 of RPW)
• Choose your words carefully — when it counts (Ch 14 of RPW)
• Control your tone to avoid negative attention from your reader (Ch 15 of RPW)

Mastering Mechanics

• Punctuation (Comma Splices & Sentence Fragments), referring to an Internship Application Letter
• Subject-verb Agreement, referring to an Internship Application Letter
• Spelling