Blog Post: How-To

Learning to write is just like learning to play Beethoven at the piano. The key to both is doing it every day. You know the old joke: How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Practice!

We learn to write by doing it often, even every day. We become comfortable "speaking" through the keyboard. We come to naturally sit down in front of the computer and "talk." So one of the goals of these weekly blog posts is to encourage you to write.

Your first order of business when doing that should be to get the mechanics right, to write cleanly and correctly. That means getting the grammar and punctuation right. That means structuring sentences and paragraphs correctly. That means writing like a pro.

So please don't think of this weekly assignment as just a chore to be tossed off at the last minute to fulfill a class requirement. Think of this as your chance to get good at it, your chance to practice your professional writing skills — important for ALL majors.

Features of a good blog post:

1) At least 300 words for a regular post. Of course, you are free to write as much as you like! (Highly encouraged for motivated students.)

2) For a KEY POST, it's 500 words minimum and evidence of extra effort. The mock trials and EOTO presentation we do throughout the semester will culminate with Key Posts. 

3) Always includes at least one link to show where you're getting your information from and to direct us to, for example, a news article about the topic you're discussing. Not including a link is sometimes a type of plagiarism!

4) Something visual — photo, illustration, chart, graphic, video.

5) Short journalism-style paragraphs — two to three sentences apiece.

6) Paragraph style = no indent, one-line space separating paragraphs.

7) Usually, a personal tone or point of view. The goal is to reflect on the lesson or material your are blogging about.