Sheri Dean Parmelee has a Ph.D. in Communication Studies from Regent University. She writes books on practical tips for people who become unexpectedly unmarried and is working on her second novel in a series of contemporary romance/suspense novels. She teaches at three colleges, working with students from freshmen to graduate students. Her hobbies include running 8 miles a day and reading biographies and fiction.
Hello everyone: I have several online writing classes throughout the year and one thing I have noticed: Some student work tirelessly to do the minimum possible. Please don’t do that. Always try to go “Above and Beyond.” Look, you are in a writing class, for Pete’s sake, so write. Do your research, so that you have something to write about. (Case in point: I once...
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Hello everyone: Giving an online course introductory posting must be the bane of a college student’s existence, giving the desire to avoid them like the plague. Most online courses do require them, you know, so go ahead and write one. Let me tell you about a few different types. You tell me which is the most interesting. First, there is the non-introduction. Here is an...
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Hello everyone: Plagiarism, in my opinion, is alive and well in college classrooms across the world. However, not everyone agrees. Take, for example, an online college where I have taught for many years. When I first arrived, virtually speaking, I was told that plagiarism would not be accepted in any way, shape, or form. Great! We’re on the same page. Stealing someone else’s work and...
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Hello everyone: I had the opportunity recently to talk to one of my students over the phone. She was having some challenges with scheduling her life around online graduate school. Then I found out why. This gal had plenty of reasons to give up and drop out. But she has some really good reasons to keep on trucking and stick with the program. Physical aliments...
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Hello everyone: It happens all the time. Students submit a document without paying attention to the instructions or my supplemental announcements and think, somehow, that they can resubmit the document until they get the “A” they wanted. Nope, it doesn’t happen. Not in this woman’s classes. Let’s take a look at the situation. You are in a class. You waited until the last minute to...
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Hi folks: If you have a sweet tooth, we are siblings, for certain. Cookies are a delight when they are soft. When they are hard enough to draw blood, crack a tooth, or require extensive dental work, not so much. So how do you keep them moist and soft? A piece of bread will do the trick. Here’s how: Put your cookies in a Tupperware-type...
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Hello everyone: Wow- I had a student lately who wrote sentences that went on for five lines. Or more. Rarely less. Not good. Sometimes folks have a lot to say, or think they do. Well, I’m happy for them but the train of thought school of writing only really works for Virginia Woolff and, the last I checked, she was dead. Before you submit a...
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Hello everyone: As I write this, I will be limiting myself to the ten most common writing mistakes and then I will show you what they should look like. The most popular mistake these days seems to be the difference between a possessive noun and a plural one. A noun that possesses something needs a possessive apostrophe. For example, “Cat’s meow” needs that possessive apostrophe,...
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Hello everyone: You know, it’s the little things in life that matter. Take, for example, a recent visit I made to my local food store. They want you to buy their food, right? I was walking into the store on a Saturday morning, having noticed that one of their workers was scrubbing the sidewalk outside the front door (which also serves as an exit, since...
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Hello everyone: When students take a college class from me, they get two things for the price of one. They are in a communication class but I also teach them how to write, if they will only pay attention. I have students whose writing I correct over and over, only to have them ignore my suggestions. Of course, the thing to remember here is that...
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