Briefing April 8 (Wed.)

Good morning, historians of East Asia!

Many of you are embarking on writing projects towards the end of the semester, so here’s some fun writing advice:

(Panel 1) Calvin: I used to hate writing assignments, but now I enjoy them.
(Panel 2) Calvin: I realized that the purpose of writing is to inflate weak ideas, obscure poor reasoning, and inhibit clarity.
(Panel 3) With a little practice, writing can be an intimidating and impenetrable fog! Want to see my book report?
(Panel 4): Hobbes reads title: "The Dynamics of Interbeing and Monological Imperatives in Dick and Jane: A Study in Psychic Transrelational Gender Modes"
Calvin: Academia, here I come!
(Nope, this is not how it works. Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson)

If you are tempted to use “expensive words”, think again: are you trying to impress your teacher? Rarely worth it. Do you really understand what those words mean? Have a dictionary open while writing, and a thesaurus as well! Would your classmate understand it? Think of them as one of your readers. Is this after some consideration just a good word that covers a lot of things in succinct manner? Proceed to use with caution. Write to express ideas, not to impress others. Spare a thought for your readers!

Schedule for today:

  • HST107: (anytime before midnight): Two responses to other students’ posts due, on the Canvas discussion board.
  • HST259:
    • Zoom session 11.30am (pink header link on Canvas Homepage): “regular class”: we will go into more detail about the course materials for the week, based on the discussions.
    • (anytime before midnight): Final project bite: Annotated bibliography (step 4)
  • HST267: (anytime before midnight) : Two responses to other students’ posts due, on the Canvas discussion board.

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