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0:00From VOA Learning English, this is the Education Report. Today we continue our series of expert suggestions for academic writing. Our guest is Jennifer Ahern Dodson, Assistant Professor of the Practice in Writing Studies at Duke University in North Carolina. Ms. Ahern-Dodson starts a conversation With both students and professors planning to write a paper or essay, she asks about their earlier writing experiences. Were they negative or positive? She advises that you are not alone if you have had problems with your writing. She says everyone struggles with writing. is hard. All writers struggle at some point, and even if writing has come easy for you at some point in your work as a student, that eventually
1:07you're going to hit a roadblock. And so part of what I like to get folks thinking about besides Writing Cards for Everybody is to really take a moment to think about their past writing experiences and when the writing was going well, what was happening? When the writing wasn't going She says most people's negative writing experiences happen because a very special formula is required for a paper, including an exact length.
2:00Another problem can arise when the need to do well on a paper is extremely important.
2:33Then, she and the people she's helping move to more positive projects. She says usually when writing comes easily, the writers feel they have something important to say. The teacher advises asking yourself questions. What personal understanding of the subject can you bring to your paper? Why is this subject important? For whom is it meaningful? Who will be reading it? Think about who your audience is and what it is that you really want to say to them. What that can do is help you switch the focus from the final product and what it can look like, and really more on what you have to offer in your particular perspective. She says that is an important change for all writers. And that's the VOA Learning English Education Report.
3:43Coming soon, Jennifer Ahern Dodson talks about doing research, sitting down to write, and sharing your writing with others. I'm Jerry Watson.
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