Sin Boldly: Dr. Dave's Guide To Acing The College Paper

Front Cover
Basic Books, Jul 20, 2000 - Education - 200 pages
Tired of correcting the same mistakes year after year, hoarse from endless repetition of the same rules, at long last frustrated by the inability of students to grasp his words of wisdom, Professor David Williams has put it all down in a book: the dirty truth about what college professors and other teachers are really looking for as they grade student papers. Outrageous and wise, Sin Boldly! goes where no other how-to-write handbook has dared go before. Personal, perceptive, and purposefully provocative, this book offers students crucial advice on the entire writing process. From choosing a paper topic to adopting a persuasive voice, shaping an argument, and organizing an essay; from political correctness (or lack thereof) to matters of style, punctuation, and usage, Sin Boldly! is crammed with information, ideas, and examples that will entertain and instruct even the most confident students in their quest for the A+ they all think they deserve.

From inside the book

Contents

Some Really Crude Basics
1
Choosing a Topic and Telling Your Story
9
In the Beginning Pulling Your Creation Out of the Void
25
Choosing a Voice
35
PlainStyle American Populism
49
Choosing Words
61
Arguing Your Case
77
How to Lose Your Case
91
The Social Sciences
141
Grammatical Horrors
155
Some Common Stupid Mistakes
163
Punctuation?
177
Citing Sources Successfully
187
A Sample Quiz Just for Fun
195
Concluding Sermon
199
The Authors Rap Sheet

For Instance Two Examples
101
Literary Games
115

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About the author (2000)

David R. Williams, a.k.a. Dr. Dave, earned a Masters at Harvard Divinity School trying to figure out the meaning of the word "God," and a Ph.D. in American Civilization at Brown University, where his weekly newspaper column offended every faction on campus. He teaches full-time as a part-time English professor at George Mason University, where he was honored with the 2000 Teaching Excellence Award. He lives in Swampoodle, Virginia. Visit his web site at www.sinboldly.com.