tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24543299344597768302024-03-13T22:02:48.999-07:00Mission: CriticalA Course Blog for Liberal Studies 7001 -- Critical Reading & Writing -- at the British Columbia Institute of Technology Dr. Stephen Ogdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16765689515656935339noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2454329934459776830.post-53723094918690738732014-09-02T18:00:00.001-07:002014-09-02T18:00:39.915-07:00Course Website FAQHere are FAQ about the course website.<br />
<ul>
<li>The <strong>5 most recent posts</strong> are displayed on the main page. </li>
<li>A <strong>permanent link list</strong>, "Res Perscribere", is always visible on the sidebar of the course website, containing direct links to crucial information.</li>
<li>Also on the sidebar, always visible, is the "Tabulæ" displaying <strong>direct dated links to all posts</strong> on the course website. </li>
<li>An "<strong>Older Posts</strong>" hotlink is always visible at the bottom of the main page which displays the next 5 most recent posts.</li>
</ul>
Dr. Stephen Ogdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16765689515656935339noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2454329934459776830.post-70953882762979733442014-09-02T18:00:00.000-07:002014-09-02T18:00:06.927-07:00Course E-Mail Netiquette<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_yUpVInPLRYs/SThsGdw6WlI/AAAAAAAAAfU/Lh761bvuhbY/s1600-h/miss+manners.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_yUpVInPLRYs/SThsGdw6WlI/AAAAAAAAAfU/Lh761bvuhbY/s200/miss+manners.jpg" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5276085821789330002" style="cursor: hand; float: right; height: 173px; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; width: 166px;" /></a> Here are the points of e-mail protocol for our course :<br />
<div>
<ol>
<li>E-mail (indeed, all communication) between Instructor and student is <strong>a formal and professional exchange</strong>. Accordingly, proper salutation and closing is essential.</li>
<li>Business e-mail is courteous but, of professional necessity, concise and direct. It rejects roundabout or ornate language, informal diction, and any appearance of what is termed in the vernacular, 'chat.'</li>
<li>Customary response time for student e-mail to the Course Instructror is two to three office days. E-mail on weekends will ordinarily be read the Monday following.</li>
<li>Use only your BCIT account for e-mail to the Course Instructor.</li>
</ol>
In general, Course e-mail is for matters of Course administration solely. All questions about understanding of lecture material, course reading, assignment criteria, and deadlines are reserved for Classes and Office Hour.<br />
<br />
<em>Missed classes and deadlines are <u>not</u> to be reported by e-mail</em>: if a medical or bereavement exception is being claimed, the supporting documentation is handed in, along with the completed assignment, either in person or to the Instruc<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_yUpVInPLRYs/SThqJsveoLI/AAAAAAAAAfE/h78Z_L2z2gM/s1600-h/miss+manners.jpg"></a>tor's mailbox outside the Department Office.</div>
Dr. Stephen Ogdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16765689515656935339noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2454329934459776830.post-74815819367946567412014-09-02T17:56:00.000-07:002015-11-02T11:02:13.045-08:00Stephen Ogden's Contact InformationDr. Stephen A. Ogden <br />
Instructor, Liberal Studies <br />
BCIT, SW2, Room 108, <br />
3700 Willingdon Ave. <br />
Burnaby, B.C. V5G 3H2 <br />
<a href="mailto:stephen_ogden@bcit.ca">stephen_ogden@bcit.ca</a><br />
<br />
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<a href="http://www.sfu.ca/~ogden/BCIT%20LIBS/Ogden1975.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.sfu.ca/~ogden/BCIT%20LIBS/Ogden1975.jpg" height="315" kba="true" width="320" /></a></div>
I began my IT career in 1979 as a Computer Operator: by 1986, Manager of Computer Operations, Western Region, for <a href="http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/history2/6/GEAC-Computer-Corporation-Ltd.html" target="_blank">Geac Computers International</a>, which was a wonderful Canadian corporate success story 'back in the day'—the company effectively created on-line banking technology. In 1987 I moved to SFU to take my Ph.D., working also full-time as an IT technician.<br />
<br />
From 2003 to 2011 I was Lecturer in the Department of English at SFU, teaching and publishing in scholarly fields relating to Victorian literature, 20th C. British literature, and Japanese literature, classical & modern. I now teach here in Liberal Studies at BCIT: developing and teaching Courses in English, Humanities, Sociology, and Philosophy, framed in advantageous technical and professional contexts.<br />
<br />
Two pertinent sample areas of practical and academic experience:<br />
<ul>
<li>Professional writing and Technical writing. From 1992 to 2002 Chairman of the Advisory Committe to the Professional Writing Program—"Print Futures"—at Douglas College.</li>
<li>Online course incorporation, and development of pedagogy that advances individual independence as a necessary faculty for higher professional excellence. Developed online courses for international banking as early as 1981, and worked on Distance Education modules at SFU.</li>
</ul>
Dr. Stephen Ogdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16765689515656935339noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2454329934459776830.post-18631559324313096022014-09-02T17:18:00.000-07:002014-09-02T17:18:02.009-07:00A REALLY Important reason to Spell Properly<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_yUpVInPLRYs/TJpm_TNfhoI/AAAAAAAAAqA/ceQ1saKy6II/s1600/Spelling.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_yUpVInPLRYs/TJpm_TNfhoI/AAAAAAAAAqA/ceQ1saKy6II/s200/Spelling.jpg" height="147" px="true" width="200" /></a></div>
<a href="http://www.wsbt.com/news/local/Billboard-Spelling-Error-Creates-Embarrassment-103312449.html">This news report</a> shows both (<em>a.</em>) the necessity of using the language properly and (<em>b.</em>) the lamentable reality that the billboard was intended to deny.Dr. Stephen Ogdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16765689515656935339noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2454329934459776830.post-49431990498558163412014-09-02T17:17:00.001-07:002014-09-02T17:17:48.621-07:00Revolution in Post-Secondary Learning<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/13/science/13teach.html">Here is a recent UBC study</a> concluding the inefficacy of lecture as a means of communicating understanding.<br />
<blockquote>
In one of the initiative’s most visible studies, Dr. Wieman’s team reports that students in an introductory college physics course did especially well on an exam after attending experimental, collaborative classes during the 12th week of the course. By contrast, students taking the same course from another instructor — who did not use the experimental approach and continued with lectures as usual — scored much lower on the same exam. </blockquote>
Dr. Stephen Ogdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16765689515656935339noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2454329934459776830.post-36241887722456323592014-09-02T17:17:00.000-07:002014-09-02T17:17:28.324-07:00BCIT Writing Centre<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">I'd like to let you know about - or remind you of - BCIT's Writing Centre, which is located in the Library.</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Students can make an appointment and meet one-on-one with a writing centre peer tutor for help with course-related academic, technical or business writing, including use of citation. This service is free for all BCIT students.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial;">Last term 86.5% of visitors to the Writing Centre gave it a 5/5 satisfaction rating.</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span">The Writing Centre is located in the BCIT Library; the Coordinator is our COMM colleague John Storm. The web site says that the Centre "cannot provide proofreading or editing services but we can help with acquiring these skills." </span></span></div>
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times;"><br /><span style="font-family: Arial;">For information about the Centre, visit: </span><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span class="Object" id="OBJ_PREFIX_DWT321"><a href="http://www.bcit.ca/learningcommons/writing.shtml" target="_blank">http://www.bcit.ca/learningcommons/writing.shtml</a></span></span></span></div>
Dr. Stephen Ogdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16765689515656935339noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2454329934459776830.post-17783150340868100822014-09-02T17:15:00.002-07:002014-09-02T17:15:44.628-07:00How to Take Lecture Notes, Post-Secondary <blockquote>
"<em>Learn how to listen and you will prosper even from those who talk badly</em>.” <strong>Plutarch</strong> (AD 46-120) Greek Biographer & Philosopher.</blockquote>
The <a href="http://learningcommons.sfu.ca/">Student Learning Commons</a> at the <a href="http://www.lib.sfu.ca/about/bennett/">W.A.C. Bennett Library</a> at Simon Fraser University has an exceptionally helpful on-line guide to effective note-taking at lecture. (It is a trifle disconcerting reading for the Lecturers themselves, because it implies--indeed, all-but declares--that many of us are dull, confused, inarticulate, habituated and otherwise deficient in our craft.)<br />
<br />
The guide is available online in .pdf format <a href="http://learningcommons.sfu.ca/sites/default/files/218/multi-note.pdf">at this hotlink</a>.<br />
<br />
The Student Learning Commons additionally has an entire page of links to on-line resources to improve the student's "Listening & Note-Taking" <a href="http://learningcommons.sfu.ca/strategies/learning-studying/listening-note-taking">at this hotlink</a>.<br />
<br />
Note-taking in lecture is one of the skills that one learns at post-secondary institutions that has material applicability in life. Arguably, learning how to take written notes from oral delivery is one of the most practically valuable benefits of a post-Secondary education. <br />
<br />
In professional, governmental, community appointments, inability to properly take notes in meetings is a <em>significant</em> handicap to success. Leaning <em>now</em> the art and skill of note-taking will position you to rise above the many and, in brute language, <em>succeed</em>.<br />
<br />
Thaink about what proper note-taking actually <em>is</em>. It is the learned ability to <strong>listen</strong> and <strong>observe the speaker's body language</strong> and then <span style="color: red;"><u><strong>recognise, </strong><strong>record, and reorganise to your own requirements</strong></u></span> the <em><u>truly</u></em> valuable <strong>information</strong>, <strong>insight</strong>, and <strong>intelligence</strong> that the speaker is giving. This is money--free, found money-- simply picked up for nothing by those who have <em>taken the trouble to learn note-taking</em>.<br />
<br />
It is the wisdom beside the famous Shelrock Holmes rebuke to Watson: "you see, but you do not <em>observe</em>." Holmes has trained hmself in that skill and so takes for himself all the value that lesser others are unable to access. Be Holmes: raise yourself above the many <br />
<br />
These resources linked here are immensely valuable: especially as it is increasingly common for undergraduates to confuse note-taking with copying down PowerPoint slides. It is rule worth learning that nowhere is PowerPoint the Lecture: <em><strong><u>lectures are what happen when you are distracted by copying down PowerPoint slides</u></strong></em>.Dr. Stephen Ogdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16765689515656935339noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2454329934459776830.post-65127599649549771002014-09-02T17:15:00.001-07:002014-09-02T17:15:17.886-07:00Copy-Editing Abbreviations<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_yUpVInPLRYs/SRKTd-AOD7I/AAAAAAAAAY4/XaQde0oh-jg/s1600-h/Copy+Editing.gif"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_yUpVInPLRYs/SRKTd-AOD7I/AAAAAAAAAY4/XaQde0oh-jg/s320/Copy+Editing.gif" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5265433057418940338" style="cursor: hand; float: right; height: 272px; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; width: 320px;" /></a>Follow <a href="http://www.wordsru.com/hard-copy-editing.php">this link</a>, as well as <a href="http://webster.commnet.edu/writing/symbols.htm">this other link</a>, for a legend of the standard copy-editing symbols used in the marking of your essays <br />
<div>
<br /></div>
Some of the more frequently-used are the following.<br />
<ul>
<li><strong>SYN</strong>: faulty syntax</li>
<li><strong>GR</strong>: faulty grammar</li>
<li><strong>AWK</strong>: awkward wording or awkward expression of idea.</li>
<li><strong>SP</strong>: faulty spelling</li>
<li><strong>PRON</strong>: missing or faulty pronoun.</li>
<li><strong>AGR</strong>: faulty agreement (grammar.)</li>
<li><strong>T</strong>: incorrect tense (grammar.)</li>
<li><strong>M</strong>: incorrect mood (grammar.)</li>
<li><strong>//</strong>: lack of correct parallelism</li>
<li><strong>¶ : </strong>faulty paragraph structure</li>
<li><strong>CAP</strong>: capitalise</li>
<li><strong>MM</strong>: mixed metaphor</li>
<li><strong>NO CAP</strong>: don't capitalise</li>
<li><strong>WDY</strong>: excessive, roundabout or unhelpful wording that obscures the argument.</li>
<li><strong>ARG</strong>: argument required.</li>
<li><strong>DEV</strong>: faulty or missing development of the argument</li>
<li><strong>D</strong>: faulty diction (<em>e.g. </em>use of jargon or informal idiom.)</li>
<li><strong>PASS</strong>: passive (usually adjectival rather than adverbial) form </li>
<li><strong>WC</strong>: faulty word choice</li>
<li><strong>WW</strong>: wrong word</li>
<li><strong>PURPLE</strong>: gradiloquent section: ornate, florid or overly-written piece of incongruous writing.</li>
<li><strong>LITOTES</strong>: unnecessary and unhelpful use of negative construction.</li>
<li><strong>RELEV</strong>: irrelevant remark.</li>
<li><strong>PETITIO</strong>: a <em>petitio principii ('begging the question')—</em>assuming as a conclusion that which needs to be established as a premis. Often in essay argument, a statement delivered as a proof which itself is as yet unproven.</li>
<li><strong>UNCL</strong>: unclear expression of an idea</li>
<li><strong>ARTIC</strong>: missing or mistaken use of grammatical article.</li>
<li><strong>REP</strong>: repetitive wording or repetition of a previously-presented idea. </li>
<li><strong>REL</strong>: faulty relation of idea <em>or</em> no clear relation to surrounding idea. </li>
<li><strong>TRUISM</strong>: statement of the obvious: unnecessary.</li>
<li><strong>C&E</strong>: mistake between cause and effect</li>
<li><strong>P</strong>: faulty punctuation.</li>
<li><strong>INTROD: </strong>faulty (<em>e.g.</em> weak, missing or unclear) introduction of idea or item.</li>
<li><strong>DEL</strong>: unnecessary text requiring deletion</li>
<li><strong>PLEON</strong>: pleonasm</li>
<li><strong>REPORT</strong>: book report--<em>i.e.</em> absence of argument. </li>
<li><strong>CIT</strong>: missing citation</li>
<li><strong>DANGL</strong>: dangling modifier.</li>
<li><strong>STR</strong>: faulty or absent argument structure.</li>
<li><strong>R-O</strong>: run-on sentence.</li>
<li><strong>FRAG</strong>: sentence fragment</li>
<li><strong>THESIS</strong>: misplaced thesis-level sentence </li>
<li><strong>X</strong>: false statement.</li>
<li><strong>SS</strong>: faulty sentence structure</li>
<li><strong>ARR</strong>: faulty arrangement of the sentences in relation to the argument.</li>
<li><strong>INDIR</strong>: indirect expression of idea--often weak or padded syntax.</li>
<li><strong>EVAL:</strong> an evaluative opinion of quality, in word or phrase, rather than argument.</li>
</ul>
Dr. Stephen Ogdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16765689515656935339noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2454329934459776830.post-19355117559626209342014-09-02T17:15:00.000-07:002014-09-02T17:15:10.326-07:00Writing & Language Support at BCITThe Communication Department and Learning Commons will be starting a free one-to-one riting support service as part of the Library’s Peer Tutoring program. This support program will be offered at the Library’s new Writing Centre through to next summer. <br />
<br />
At the Centre, writing tutors be available to help your students develop the capacity to plan, organize, write, and revise various types of assignments. Tutors will assess a student’s writing needs and develop a plan to improve that student’s work. Tutors will also be able to assist in areas such as ESL and citation. While the Writing Centre will help work out strategies for writing problems, the Centre will not proofread assignments, develop topic ideas, or predict or comment on grades.Dr. Stephen Ogdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16765689515656935339noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2454329934459776830.post-62684158029319752472014-09-02T17:14:00.000-07:002014-09-02T17:14:08.087-07:00Short Analysis EssayHere is <a href="http://www.sfu.ca/~ogden/BCIT%20LIBS/LIBS%207001/Analysis%20Essay.doc">the link to the assignment sheet</a> for the short Analysis Essay due on your own schedule anytime before the end of Course Week Fifteen.<br />
<br />
The link gives the assignment criteria and a checklist, and you see in <i>Res Perscribere</i> a sample essay.<br />
<br />
The two-fold intention of this assignment is to afford you an excellent opportunity to (<i>i</i>.) beef up your writing ability, and (<i>ii</i>.) earn a high grade on this 15% assignment. It is with these in mind that the student-scheduled deadline for the essay has been structured into the assignment. In the words of Pascal, "This letter would have been shorter had there been more time". The more concise and economical the prose, the better the result. The expectation, then, is that you will start off with a prolix draft that you will in successive version prune, cut, and pare down to the short 600-800 word limit.<br />
<br />
And thus you have been given all the time that there is.....<br />
<br />Dr. Stephen Ogdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16765689515656935339noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2454329934459776830.post-20896815067219654242014-09-02T17:07:00.000-07:002014-09-02T17:07:16.147-07:00The Power and the Glory of DILBERTIt is arguably little exaggeration to say that everything that one needs to know about life in the workplace (BCIT excepted) can be learned from Dilbert. Here are two strips pertinent to our course.<br />
<ul>
<li><a href="http://dilbert.com/strips/comic/2011-09-28/">On the questionability of PowerPoint</a>.</li>
<li><a href="http://dilbert.com/strips/comic/2011-09-08/">On the need for clarity in communication</a>.</li>
</ul>
Scott Adams, wise man with pen and paints.Dr. Stephen Ogdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16765689515656935339noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2454329934459776830.post-55386061499330959412014-09-02T17:06:00.000-07:002014-09-02T17:06:45.706-07:00Expanding Vocabulary and Upward Mobility<span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia, serif, serif; font-size: 15.199999809265137px; line-height: 21.274999618530273px;">From E.D. Hirsch, Jr. in The City Journal, "<a href="http://www.city-journal.org/2013/23_1_vocabulary.html">A Wealth of Words</a>".</span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia, serif, serif; font-size: 15.199999809265137px; line-height: 21.274999618530273px;">So there’s a positive correlation between a student’s vocabulary size in grade 12, the likelihood that she will graduate from college, and her future level of income. The reason is clear: vocabulary size is a convenient proxy for a whole range of educational attainments and abilities—not just skill in reading, writing, listening, and speaking but also general knowledge of science, history, and the arts. <b>If we want to reduce economic inequality ... a good place to start is the language-arts classroom.</b></span></blockquote>
Dr. Stephen Ogdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16765689515656935339noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2454329934459776830.post-20335281579815257332014-09-02T17:05:00.000-07:002014-09-02T17:05:56.797-07:00Grammar is Attractive...According to Match.com....<br />
<br />
<a href="http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2013/02/top-qualities-single-men-and-women-seek-in-the-opposite-sex/">Click here>>>></a>Dr. Stephen Ogdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16765689515656935339noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2454329934459776830.post-22739583965632247172013-01-22T21:22:00.000-08:002014-09-02T17:14:42.784-07:00Exemplary Analysis EssayYou may wish to compare your essay drafts to <a href="http://www.sfu.ca/~ogden/BCIT%20LIBS/7001%20Analysis%20Essay%20Example.docx">this online copy</a> of a classfellow's submission from a previous Term.Dr. Stephen Ogdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16765689515656935339noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2454329934459776830.post-75497179420866110112013-01-08T17:32:00.000-08:002014-09-02T17:17:09.634-07:00Expertly-Written Nurse's Letter on Vancouver Riots<div style="border: currentColor;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-w_TC6x4fuqU/TghJlC1DF_I/AAAAAAAAAsA/JkM4QpOkynY/s1600/asian+rioter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-w_TC6x4fuqU/TghJlC1DF_I/AAAAAAAAAsA/JkM4QpOkynY/s320/asian+rioter.jpg" height="211" i="i" true="true" width="320" /></a>Click <a href="http://riot2011frontlines.tumblr.com/post/6682186192/a-e-r-nurses-thoughts-on-an-instigators-apology" target="_blank">on this hotlink</a> for the brief epistolary essay sent from a Vancouver nurse in reponse to a rioter's apologetical utterances upon being indentified as a destructive participant in the hooliganism by supporters of the Vancouver Canucks. The letter is a champion example of the modes of persuasive appeal, and makes me wonder if the author is a LIBS 7001 graduate...</div>
Dr. Stephen Ogdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16765689515656935339noreply@blogger.com0