Month: November 2025

Hi everyone!

Thanksgiving Break is quickly approaching! Our hours in the Writing Center next week are Monday, 1pm-8pm, and Tuesday, 1pm-8pm. Essay due dates tend to get overwhelming at this point in the semester. The Writing Center is your friend during this busy time; we’re always here to help. Happy Thanksgiving to all, and take time to enjoy your breaks in the midst of your crazy semester!

~ Lauren

The Importance of Outlines! Hey, everyone. Since outlines are such a useful tool in writing, I will provide you all with a general example to build off of. 🙂 I hope you find it helpful, and remember, this is just a starting point and can be adjusted as needed!!

Title:

 

Specific Purpose:

 

Introduction

1. Attention-getter: 
2. Thesis statement:
3. Preview the main points:  

[Transition…]

 

Body 1

Main Point— 

[Transition…]

 

Body 2

Main Point— 

[Transition…]

 

Body 3

Main Point— 

[Transition…]

 

[In the final analysis…]

Conclusion

I. Summarize the main points

II. Restate the Thesis Statement

III. Add a closing line that relates back to the Introduction

 

References

Edwards, Renee, et al. “Relationships among Misunderstanding, Relationship Type, Channel, and Relational Satisfaction.” Communication Research Reports, vol. 37, no. 5, Sept. 2020, pp. 298–308. EBSCOhost, https://doi-org.bucks.idm.oclc.org/10.1080/08824096.2020.1864313. 

Joy, Shaylyn, “Lost in Translation: Emotion and Expression through Technology” (2009). Honors Scholar Theses. 87. https://opencommons.uconn.edu/srhonors_theses/87 

Morgan, L., Paucar-Caceres, A. & Wright, G. Leading Effective Global Virtual Teams: The Consequences of Methods of Communication. Syst Pract Action Res 27, 607–624 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11213-014-9315-2 

Vignovic, J. A., & Thompson, L. F. (2010). Computer-mediated cross-cultural collaboration: Attributing communication errors to the person versus the situation. Journal of Applied Psychology, 95(2), 265–276. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0018628

Thank you!!

~ Devin

Grammarly is a great tool to use for your writing! It notices grammar mistakes, as well as issues with concision. However, when using it for your revision process, it should not be used as your ONLY source.

• Why Grammarly should be used with caution in your revision process:
  • It takes away from your own style and voice: Sometimes, Grammarly edits it the way IT wants, but it steals your OWN voice or original intention when you had written down your thoughts.
  • It can be detected as AI if used too much throughout your paper: Although this type of misunderstanding would certainly be understood by your professors if AI were detected in your paper, it’s still something to consider, as you never want your writing regenerated too much by an AI source (even like Grammarly).
  • Having a technology program make edits to your paper still doesn’t quite offer the feedback and assistance you could get from someone like a peer reading over your paper, or even a tutor here at the Writing Center: Having a real person read over your paper during the revision process can be so beneficial, as you can get feedback beyond just grammar: content, structure, voice, formatting styles, and any other areas that need attention.

Grammarly is a wonderful tool to use, but it’s always a great choice to come to the Writing Center to have someone read your paper during the revision process with you and work collaboratively alongside you for the issues Grammarly can’t catch!

~ Lauren

Language is symbolic – The connection between words and ideas/things they represent is arbitrary 

• FIVE
• CINQ – “5” in French
• 00110101 – computer code for “5”

Semantic rules 

• Reflect the ways in which we assign meaning to words
  • “Bikes” are for riding and “books” are for reading
• Without semantic rules, each person would use words in unique ways with no shared meaning 

Equivocal Language

• Statements that have more than one commonly accepted definition

Relative Language

 

• • • Words gain their meaning by comparison

Ex. Fast and slow, long and short, large and small

Static Evaluation 

• • Statements that contain or imply the word “is” lead to mistaken assumptions that people are consistent and unchanging 
    • Instead of “Mark is a nervous guy,” say “Mark appears to be nervous when meeting new people.”

Understandings & Misunderstandings:

Abstract Language

• • • Vague in nature 

Ex. “You need to have a better attitude”

Behavioral Language

Specific to things people do or say

Ex. “You need to complain less every time we have to work late.”

Syntactic Rules

• • • Govern grammar
    • While we may not be able to describe them, we recognize when they are violated

Pragmatic Rules

• • Govern the way speech works in everyday interaction
    • Communication is a kind of “cooperative” game and success depends on all players following the same set of rules 
      • Coordination
    • Shared by most people in a culture 

Naming and Identity 

• • • Names are more important than a simple means of identification
    • Shape the way others think of us, the way we view ourselves and the way we act
    • Studies show that people with unusual names or spellings often suffer psychologically and emotionally 

Affiliation

• • • Speech can build and demonstrate solidarity with others 
    • We are attracted to those whose style of speaking is similar to ours

Convergence

• • • The process of adapting one’s speech style to match that of others 
      • Vocabulary, pauses, politeness, etc.

Divergence 

• • Speaking in a way that emphasizes one’s differences from others 

Powerless Language:

• Language patterns can add to or detract from a speaker’s power to influence others

Ex. Women tend to ask questions; men make statements 

• Powerless speech: less authoritative and socially attractive 
• Even in cultures that value assertiveness, language that is too powerful may intimidate 
• A mixture of powerful and polite speech is usually most effective 

Examples:

• Hedges = “I guess I’d like to…”
• Hesitations = “Uh, can I have a minute to…”
• Tag questions = “It’s time to go, isn’t it?”
• Disclaimers = “I’m not really sure, but…”

Disruptive Language:

• Three linguistic habits to avoid

1) Fact-Opinion Confusion

• “Paying that much for a pair of shoes is a waste of money.”
• “In my opinion, paying that much for a pair of shoes is a waste of money.”

2) Fact-Inference Confusion

• Problems can arise when we confuse factual statements with inferential statements or conclusions that we arrive at from our own interpretations

3) Emotive Language

• Seems to describe something but actually announces attitude toward it
• “Tactful” vs “Beating around the bush” 

“It” Statements:

• Avoid responsibility 
  • Ex. “It’s nice to see you” vs “I’m glad to see you”

“But” Statements:

• Cancels the thoughts preceding it
  • Ex. “You’re doing great work, but we have to let you go.”

“I” and “You” Language:

• “You” language is judgmental and can cause defensiveness 
• “I” language shows that the speaker takes responsibility by describing his/her reaction to someone’s behavior without making a judgment

“We” Language:

• Implies that “we are in this together”
• Can help to build a constructive climate  

Content 

• • Female friends spend more time discussing: 
    • Relationship problems, family, health
  • Male friends spend more time discussing:
    • Current events, music, sports, business, etc.
  • Differences can lead to relational frustration when men and women try to converse with one another 

Reasons for Communicating 

• • Men and women use language to build and maintain social relationships 
    • Men are more likely to engage in joking or teasing
    • Women’s discussions tend to involve feelings, relationships, and personal problems

Conversational Style

• • Myth – women are more talkative than men; no scientific evidence 
  • In mixed-sex conversations, men are more likely to use sentence fragments and women are more likely to use emotional references 
  • Men’s speech is more characteristically direct, succinct, task-oriented 
  • Women’s speech is typically indirect, supportive, and focused on relationships
  • Women are also inclined to ask more questions 

Non-Gender Variables

• • Ways in which women and men communicate are actually more similar than different
    • Male and female supervisors behave the same way and are equally effective
  • Gender roles influence language use 
    • Conversational styles of partners reflect power differences in the relationship more than the biological sex of communicators 

Verbal Communication Styles 

Language styles can vary across cultures:

• • • Low-context cultures 
      • Value using language to express thoughts/feelings; looking for meaning in the words 
    • High-context cultures
      • Value social harmony and discover meaning in non-verbal behaviors of speaker and in the context of which the message is delivered 
    • Elaborate or succinct 
      • Arabic vs English
    • Formality or informality
      • Korea vs North America

That’s all for now! I hope that you find this information helpful in using language in your life through both written and verbal contexts! 🙂

~Devin