CogitoVeritas.com

A number of students have commented on the amount of reading that is required in our graduate business program. I agree, there is quite a bit of reading, sometimes well over 1,000 pages of densely-packed text in a single course.

I suggest that you read Peter Kump’s book, Breakthrough Rapid Reading. I have been recommending this book to students for many years, and I receive more hugs of thank you at commencements for having made this recommendation than I receive for my teaching abilities. ;-(

I received a request to explain passive voice. I am glad to help; thanks for asking for my thoughts.

I agree with the process, write as we speak. I frequently recommend to writers that they aurally record their thoughts and then write their comments down, as they play back the recording. I have a microtape transcription machine (it was the only gift that I wanted for my 35th birthday), and I used it for many years, documenting my spoken lecture. Now, I use a digital voice recorder; however, the outcome is the same: I speak first, and then I write. I found that this process of speaking, then writing has helped my podcasting. I am now speaking, writing, speaking.

In general, I judge that you, students, are able to demonstrate a clear command of the course content. Your class discussions are well focused, and your individual formal papers are prepared in a manner that coveys your comprehension the details of each week’s material.

However, in reading many assignments, I have noticed a pattern in your writing.

I challenge us to consider the common phrase, knowledge is power.

Knowledge is power, when it is wielded to advantage. I came to consider this caveat a few months ago, when my wife challenged me with the question, “What are you going to do with all of the books that you read?” What was left unsaid in her question was, what would I do with the knowledge that I gained from reading the books?

Listen to the podcast at Internet Archive.

I hope that I do not sound like a wet blanket with my next comment; it is not my intention to do so. One of the skills that we must learn, as graduate students, is the ability to quickly locate appropriate reference material that leads us to making an informed, logical decision. One of the distractions of having a broad and deep reference set available to us is that we can easily be lead down a primrose path, interesting though it may be, it is still not leading us to an informed, logical conclusion.

In business management classes, academic writing should model business writing. Students should be encouraged to write in a clear, succinct manner; a manner that is most likely to encourage recipients to read the words.

It’s a tough question, deciding what is common knowledge and what requires attribution (citation/reference in APA format).

Listen to the podcast at Internet Archive.

I am teaching a introductory course this month, the first course for matriculating juniors.

This week, we discussed the academic writing process, and I felt as if I were knocked upside my head. All of the students admitted to never using an outline before writing a business report or academic paper. Maybe I need to remind us all of the importance of outlining our thoughts and research before composing the introduction, body and conclusion of our work.