Here are ten suggestions for using the Skidmore Guide as your students proceed from draft through revision.
  1. Before the first writing assignment, ask students to read "The College Writer" (1-4), which lists basic requirements for college writing and defines key terms:

  2. When you discuss the assignment directions, it’s a good idea to refer students to "The Writing Process" (5-12), which offers them hints on getting started, drafting, revising, and proofreading. This section will help to support your expectations for their papers.

  3. If the assignment draws upon readings, or if you have asked students to respond to study questions, refer them to "The Reading Process" (34-36), which will help them read actively and identify main ideas.

  4. As students revise their drafts, ask them to read "Style and Clarity" (12-14), which focuses on ways to avoid wordiness, repetition, ineffective word choice, and cliches.

  5. When students submit a draft, most professors would like that draft to reflect thought, careful writing, and editing. Before students submit any draft to you, ask them to edit on their own according to the "Checklist for Editing" (33-34). Some professors ask students to indicate weaknesses in their own paper that they themselves have found by using the Checklist; professors can then direct some of their comments to helping students strengthen those areas of the paper.

    The Checklist is useful, too, for peer reviews. Ask students to exchange papers with a partner, and ask each reader to respond in writing to the points indicated on the checklist. Some professors ask students to include their reviewer’s response when they hand in their final paper.

  6. When students are working from sources (including readings from class material) review information regarding "Documentation and Plagiarism" (46-57). This section will answer the surprising number of questions they have regarding when they must cite sources. Students often get confused about having to cite sources across disciplines. They tend to think that only certain courses and disciplines ask for documentation. They need to be reminded that whenever they draw upon secondary sources, they need to document the works they have used.

  7. When told that they have to cite secondary source material, many students will paste together a string of quotations. To address this problem, ask students to pay attention to pages 49-50, which discuss reasons for using quotations as opposed to paraphrases. Many students will also "quote and run"; in other words, they will include a quotation and offer little, if any, of their own analysis of or commentary on the quoted passage. Have them read, and discuss with them, "Integrate quotations into your own writing" (50). Follow up this discussion by having students read "Advice about Quoting and Citing" (82-90). This section will help them set up both blocked and in-text quotations, and it will give them several examples of introducing quotations with phrases that serve as transitions between their own writing and the start of quoted material.

  8. As you discuss citation format with your students, remind them that the Guide’s list of MLA, APA, and ACS forms is lengthy but not extensive. Point them to the list of disciplinary Reference Guides and Style Manuals (44-45). The Scribner Library or departmental offices will have the guides on the list. The Skidmore Writing Center (Ladd Hall 320) also has reference guides to documentation.

  9. As you comment on students’ papers, you may want to refer to "Decoding Your Instructor’s Comments" (39-41), which gives students strategies for revising some recurring problems. In addition, you may want to refer to specific pages in the Skidmore Guide that focus on the writer’s problems.

  10. Remind students that the Skidmore Writing Center is a useful resource as they think about assignments, write drafts, revise drafts, or consider how your comments will have an impact on their future writing. The Skidmore Writing Center is located in Ladd Hall, 320.