5 Ways to Write Better

Howard Rheingold's Net Smart outlines 5 fundamental literacies for maximizing the Internet as a participatory learning environment. Each of these literacies--attention management, crap detection, participation power, collective intelligence, and network awareness--will help us become better online researchers. Rheingold's book, however, does not directly address the other major concern featured in this course's title: writing.

In order to supplement Rheingold's 5 digital literacies, throughout the semester we'll also discuss and practice 5 ways to write better:

1. Read like a writer. (collect take-away points and passages to ponder)
2. Pre-write for conceptual development and organization. (big picture issues)
3. Revise for clarity, concision, and style. (sentence-level issues)
4. Solicit specific feedback on your writing--and learn from it.
5. Write on a regular basis.