Difference between revisions of "Main Page"

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<big>'''AWE'''</big> - a guide to <big>'''A'''</big>cademic <big>'''W'''</big>riting in <big>'''E'''</big>nglish
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''This page is intended for newcomers to the AWE site.  If you have been here before, go on with your search!''
  
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Welcome to this new project.  For a brief account, go to [[welcome|the introductory page]] (click on the the words 'introductory page'; and see below).  This (Main) page now gives some first (minimal) advice on using the database.   
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'''The <big>AWE</big> project is a collection of suggestions designed to help students write in ways that may please their teachers'''.  It contains a number of warnings against common errors - that is, usages that are commonly seen as errors in formal writing. To be more specific, it deals with the styles of writing that are regarded as acceptable in formal work in Higher Education in the UK.  Even within that restricted set of styles, there is great variation.
  
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For guidance on a specific point of English usage, use the '''search pane''' - the second 'box' in the '''navigation''' column on the left.  This will find any article already written - or it will return "this page has not been written yet".  Currently only a very few people are allowed to '''edit''' (including writing) such pages.  Search in the usual way; but search terms including certain common words (like 'the' and 'of') report "no pages".  So don't include them in your search.
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'''<big>Nothing that is said here should be understood as being authoritative</big>; that is, it is not giving you orders'''.  It is meant to give you choices, and some ideas about how to use those suggestions.  It is meant to be helpful, and to help as a guide.  Any reader can ignore any of the advice.  But it is best if they think about why they choose the language (the words and structures) that they do.  What is given here is advice, not instruction; and it is intended for those who are seeking advice.
  
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If you enter a mis-spelling, or one term commonly mistaken for another, the database will try to find an article that puts you in touch with the correct advice.  (See for example [[Britian]].)  This is currently in a very early stage, and reports of any search you have made (within the data already entered) using an intuitive search term which led nowhere will be welcomed.
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'''Remember:
  
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The word '''Britian''' above was blue.  Clicking on a blue link takes you to a page which has been written.  (Blue-ish purple means the page has been written, and has already been consulted by you today.)  A red link takes you to a page that hasn't been written yet, but is intended.  (Reddish purple - an unwritten page you've already tried to consult.)  You may browse the database by using such links - especially the blue ones!  A link to a web address takes you to another database on the web (so far, all connected with Wikis).
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<big>'''All good writing is original'''</big> - that is, it is different.
  
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There are various lists of what is here that may help the curious.  To access these, go to the '''toolbox''' (the third box in the column on the left) and click on '''Special pages'''.  '''All pages''' will show you what has been done so far; '''Wanted pages''' lists the red links, articles that are intended but not yet entered into the database.  '''Categories''' shows groups of articles linked by themes such as '''Abbreviations'''.  (A band at the bottom of each article lists the categories to which it belongs.  Clicking on these is another way to browse the database.  There is also a list of '''Wanted categories''' available on '''Special pages'''.  (If you want to check on how I am spending my time, you may click on the '''Recent Changes''' link in the '''Navigation''' box.)
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'''and
  
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For more, click on [[Searching AWE]], [[link|links]] or [[category|categories]].  If these are still red, please be patient.
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<big>'''A good writer thinks about the reader'''</big>.  So a student writer should think about the teacher who is reading the assignment.  If you can write in a way that your teacher likes, you will on the whole do better.
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[[category:navigation]]
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''If you are new to AWE, we suggest you now look [[Academic Writing in English - AWE project|here]].
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[[category:navigation]] [[category:styles]]

Revision as of 20:55, 20 January 2007

This page is intended for newcomers to the AWE site. If you have been here before, go on with your search!

The AWE project is a collection of suggestions designed to help students write in ways that may please their teachers. It contains a number of warnings against common errors - that is, usages that are commonly seen as errors in formal writing. To be more specific, it deals with the styles of writing that are regarded as acceptable in formal work in Higher Education in the UK. Even within that restricted set of styles, there is great variation.

Nothing that is said here should be understood as being authoritative; that is, it is not giving you orders. It is meant to give you choices, and some ideas about how to use those suggestions. It is meant to be helpful, and to help as a guide. Any reader can ignore any of the advice. But it is best if they think about why they choose the language (the words and structures) that they do. What is given here is advice, not instruction; and it is intended for those who are seeking advice.

Remember:

All good writing is original - that is, it is different.

and

A good writer thinks about the reader. So a student writer should think about the teacher who is reading the assignment. If you can write in a way that your teacher likes, you will on the whole do better.

If you are new to AWE, we suggest you now look here.

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