Common Writing Mistakes

Whenever I receive e-mails from peers or proofread papers in classes, the most common mistakes involve spelling and usage of these words: they're, their, there, you're, your, it's, and its. Limited character usage within text messages and social applications like Twitter may be responsible for the increase in these errors, but a variety of other factors may be involved. However, some tips that I learned from my teachers while going through elementary, middle, and high school have continued to be helpful to me even as a college student.

• Remember that the apostrophe represents a contraction. For example, when deciding between using "you're" and "your," try to break the contraction into the two words that it represents. Are you trying to say "you are," or "your" for a possessive description?

• Their, your, and its are possessive adjectives, which simply means that they are used to describe an object that belongs to someone.For instance, an easy way to distinguish possessive adjectives from contractions would be to try them both out in the sentence in question. For example, "The dog finished it is (it's) food," or "The dog finished its food." You wouldn't want to have two verbs in the same sentence, so the possessive adjective (the one without the apostrophe) is correct in this case.

These tips are two of the most useful pieces of advice that I've learned to avoid common writing pitfalls, especially with the misuse of possessive adjectives and contractions. Once I made a habit of consciously thinking about word choice in my writing, I've never made these mistakes--even without spell check.

Getting Involved with Writing in College

I've been posting my articles from the WCU Quad because I want to show examples of how I've become more active in publishing my writing as an undergrad. Sure, it's not the New Yorker, but it's a start. As I'm seeking internships, most of the applications request writing samples, and publications from college student newspapers are great to have as clips.

Undergraduate conferences are also opportunities to present intensive, focused writing and research that often takes place outside of the classroom. I had the opportunity to present a research paper at the English Association of the Pennsylvania State Universities Undergraduate Conference this past year. Although my paper had been for a class, I was able to revise it and delve even deeper into my research area as I prepared it for the presentation. Plus, as an English major, having an outside conference activity listed on my resume shows that I have the motivation to pursue independent projects.

Of course, most colleges have their own publications that feature writing in specific areas such as literary reviews, criticism, creative writing, etc. WCU has a publication entitled Daedalus that features fiction, poetry, art, and photography from students and faculty. The Swarthmore Review is another example of a publication, entirely edited by students, that features poetry from the general writing community.

All in all, there are multitudes of opportunities for college writers to get their work noticed within the academic community. From writing articles for the student newspaper to presenting research at conferences, aspiring writers have numerous resources available to them for getting feedback and improving their skills.

Here are the links to some of the organizations mentioned:
Swarthmore Literary Review: http://www.swarthmore.edu/literaryreview.xml
English Association of Pennsylvania State Universities: http://www.eapsu.org/

Quad Article-Artifact Boutique (9/21/09)

Here's an article that I wrote for the Quad's features section. It profiles the new women's botique, Artifact, located in downtown West Chester. Artifact's owner, Lauren Bulack, is a 2006 alum of WCU. I had a great time interviewing Lauren, visiting the store, and writing the article!

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WCU Grad Opens Artifact Botique in Town
By Jen James

Lauren Bulack, a 2006 graduate of West Chester University, recently opened Artifact Boutique located on 200 W. Gay Street.

Artifact Boutique boasts an inventory of women's apparel that is constantly updated to stay on par with the latest trends. But one major factor distinguishes this boutique from its other high-end competitors: everything in the store, including clothing, jewelry, and accessories, is under $60.

Bulack, who had prior experience in retail after graduating from WCU, stated that her idea for opening a "boutique for less" came to her as a result of the current state of the economy.

"My family and I realized that with the effects of the economy, a boutique with a price range of $60 and under would be a great idea," Bulack said.

Bulack was resourceful when making her concept into a reality; she took out a minimal loan and bought the store's fixtures used. The owner also benefited from the help of family and friends with the store's carpentry and painting.

Despite the grim future placed ahead of new businesses due to the economy, business at Artifact Boutique has flourished since its opening in June. The store carries a wide array of women's apparel and accessories, including clothing, handbags, jewelry, gift items, books, scarves, and gift cards. Major fall trends are represented at the store, especially cocktail dresses, leggings, statement jewelry, and clothing featuring embellishments like sequins, zippers, and studs.

Bulack travels to New York City frequently to buy from vendors for the store's inventory; Fifth Culture, a company based in Los Angeles, is a regular staple in Artifact Boutiques' clothing supply.

The transition from fall into winter poses a new challenge for the store's owner.

"Sometimes it is difficult to find clothing that fits within the store's price range," she said. The store's regular sales and clearances make way for new inventory that comes in weekly.

According to Bulack, Artifact Boutique is geared toward students, young professionals, and women who want to stay fashionable while staying within a budget. The store owner's experience as a communication major at WCU provided her with the background to both carry out her business concept and fully understand her customers' needs.

"WCU is such a great school. With a degree from there, you'll be prepared for anything," Bulack said.

Since the store has benefited from student patronage, Bulack made sure to place an ad for Artifact in the Local Business student planner and created a Facebook page for the store, under "Artifact Boutique for Less." Artifact Boutique also has a Web site under construction that will help spread publicity for the store.

Bulack hopes that Artifact Boutique will someday expand and open up a new location to take her business to the next level. Until then, the new women's clothing boutique, open Monday-Saturday from 11:00 a.m. - 7 p.m. and Sunday from noon - 4 p.m., has certainly established itself as the leading women's boutique for trendy yet affordable fashion.

Jen James is a third-year student majoring in English. She can be reached at JJ655874@wcupa.edu.

OWL at Purdue

I've always found that the Online Writing Lab (OWL) at Purdue University website has a wide array of resources for student writers. OWL has a multitude of articles on the writing process and tips for revision, APA and MLA citation, and finding sources for research papers. But this website also provides resources for writing outside of the classroom; topics range from preparing a cover letter and resume, formatting a memo, and much more. I've included the link at the end of this post, but I'll continue to have this website listed under "My Links."

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/

Op-Ed Article (9/7/09)

This is an op-ed article that I wrote for the WCU student newspaper, The Quad. This is just an example of my work, and I hope to post some of my past contributions on here as well.

Racial Profiling
By Jen James

This past month, my brother, Joe, was in an airport waiting to catch a plane to spend a week with my family back home. He stopped and asked an airport attendant if he could repack a set of wine glasses into his carry-on so they'd be more secure, and was told it was fine. However, before my brother even arrived at the security checkpoint, he was stopped by two security officers. They searched through his carry-on, found the box containing the wine glasses, examined them, and told Joe that he had to throw them out. The airport attendant had tagged my brother as a security threat. Susie, my older sister, also had a similar experience at an airport when a security officer asked her to step aside at the security checkpoint so he could perform a search through her bag. Although these occurrences seem strange, they're actually quite commonplace to my family. Since my father is from India and my mother is white, my siblings and I have tan skin, brown eyes, and very dark hair. We understand that strict federal regulations have been implemented after the events of 9/11. We know that airport security has to take every precaution when checking luggage to identify possible safety hazards. However, my siblings and I have yet to understand why even outside of airport security checkpoints, people continue to make radical assumptions about us based on our heritage and physical appearance.

I was reminded of my family's struggles against racial profiling as I watched news reports on the validity of President Obama's citizenship this summer. The man had led a campaign and won the presidency some time ago-why was this under scrutiny now of all times? I wondered. I then remembered that Obama was the target of harsh criticism by his opponents over the government's "bailouts" and his plans to reform the healthcare system. I remembered seeing numerous scare tactics being used in television commercials and billboards, warning the elderly and working families that their Medicare and health insurance were going to be cut. I even recently saw a bumper sticker featuring the word "socialism," with Obama's campaign logo replacing the letter "o." I understood that recent challenges to Obama's U.S. citizenship were just another method of trying to reduce the president's credibility. Although Barack Obama was born in Hawaii and had the legal documentation to verify his U.S. citizenship, it wasn't necessarily his international upbringing that started the citizenship arguments. It was because Obama was bringing numerous changes to the White House that perhaps the American public wasn't able to readily accept. For example, Obama's election as the nation's first African-American president disrupted the election patterns of nearly two-hundred and twenty years. The president was also trying to implement strategies to assess the nation's various struggles that varied greatly from the previous administration's policies. Overall, the "change" that Obama had promised in his campaign may be too much for some Americans.

Although the argument over the president's citizenship and my siblings' airport security experiences don't have much in common, the mentalities of Obama's more radical opponents and some airport security officers are quite similar. The security officers pulled my brother and sister aside because they looked like "terrorists," searched their bags, and found nothing potentially dangerous in their belongings. Hopefully, as time passes, more people will see beyond Obama's personal and political differences and realize that progress comes with time and cooperation.

Jennifer James is a junior majoring in English. She can be reached at JJ655874@wcupa.edu

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