Learning Center

Anyone interested in the political process will probably be excited to hear that C-Span has put basically all of their archives online.  That’s over 160,000 hours of footage.

Have fun!

Carefully consider constructions containing clauses connected by commas; this kind of creation can commonly be considered contraband or criminal.  The comma splice is a notoriously frequent error. Avoid comma splices by using a semicolon instead of a comma after an independent clause like “Betty spent the afternoon on the golf course; the kids were at camp.”  The two clauses must be connected enough to each other to justify being in the same sentence.  The example above is ok; “Hamlet is playing at the local theatre; Jane was just in time to return books to the library” is not.  Here, the two clauses don’t belong in the same sentence. The semicolon should be a period, and the remainder of the words turned into a separate sentence.

Jim Zuercher

Staff Writing Tutor

Alas, assembling all right as alright at times appears all right; although always avoiding alright altogether actually attains accuracy.  This error is so widespread that it is even commonly accepted in informal communications, but, in formal English writing, alright is wrong.  The one-word spelling probably originated as an attempt to parallel altogether and already. The difference is, those two words have meanings distinct from the meanings of their two-word counterparts; when people use alright, there is no other meaning than all right.

Jim Zuercher

Staff Writing Tutor

Hi all,

Here is a list of  the new bestsellers.

Title: All things at once / Mika Brzezinski ; with Daniel

Paisner.

Non Fic 070.19092 B849 2009

Title: Anticancer : a new way of life / David

Servan-Schreiber.

Non Fic 616.99 Se691 2009

Title: Born to run : a hidden tribe, superathletes, and the

greatest race the world has never seen / Christopher

McDougall.

Non Fic 796.424 M459 2009

Title: Committed : a skeptic makes peace with marriage /

Elizabeth Gilbert.

Non Fic 306.81 G372 2010

Title: Deeper than the dead / Tami Hoag.

Fic Hoag

Title: Drive : the surprising truth about what motivates us /

Daniel H. Pink.

Non Fic 153.1534 P655 2009

Title: The first rule : a Joe Pike novel / Robert Crais.

Fic Crais

Title: Game change : Obama and the Clintons, McCain and

Palin, and the race of a lifetime / John Heilemann and

Mark Halperin.

Non Fic 324.973 H363 2010

Title: The girl who played with fire / Stieg Larsson ;

translated from the Swedish by Reg Keeland.

Fic Larsson

Title: Going rogue : an American life / Sarah Palin.

Non Fic 973.931 P176 2009

Title: The honor of spies / W.E.B. Griffin and William E.

Butterworth IV.

Fic Griffin

Title: I, Alex Cross : a novel / James Patterson.

Fic Patterson

Title: I, sniper : a Bob Lee Swagger novel / Stephen Hunter.

Fic Hunter

Title: Noah’s compass : a novel / by Anne Tyler.

Fic Tyler

Title: Not my daughter / Barbara Delinsky.

Fic Delinsky

Title: Open : an autobiography / Andre Agassi.

Non Fic 796.342092 Ag16 2009

Title: Precious : a novel / by Sapphire.

FIC SAPPHIRE

Title: Roses / Leila Meacham.

Fic Meacham

Title: Stones into schools : promoting peace with books, not

bombs, in Afghanistan and Pakistan / Greg Mortenson.

Non Fic 371.823 M842 2009

Title: Superfreakonomics : global cooling, patriotic

prostitutes, and why suicide bombers should buy life

insurance / Steven D. Levitt & Stephen J. Dubner.

Non Fic 330 L579 2009

Title: The swan thieves : a novel / Elizabeth Kostova.

Fic Kostova

Title: Too big to fail : the inside story of how Wall Street

and Washington fought to save the financial system

from crisis–and themselves / Andrew Ross Sorkin.

Non Fic 330.973 So689 2009

Title: Treasure Hunt : a novel / John Lescroart.

Fic Lescroart

Title: U is for undertow / Sue Grafton.

Fic Grafton

Title: What the dog saw and other adventures / Malcolm

Gladwell.

Non Fic 814.6 G455 2009

Maybe mettle is manufactured; my marvelous metal mending machine meddled with many men’s mogul medals. The four italicized words sound alike, but have very different meanings. People prove their mettle, usually in combat or a sporting event, by displaying great strength, courage, or stamina. To meddle is to interfere. Medals are won in the Olympics, among other places, and are usually made out of the metals gold, silver, or bronze.

Jim Zuercher
Staff Writing Tutor

George Packer talks about being Neither Luddite nor Biltonite with respect to new media and technology.  Luddite, being one who shuns all technology while Biltonite is a Packer-created neologism (inspired by Nick Bilton of the New York Times) referring to those who is enthusiastic about all technological change.  His article brings up interesting questions about the idea of change for change sake and the importance of critical evaluation of all technologies, new and old alike.

Thoughts?  Add ‘em in the comments.

Since 1949 a mysterious individual has left roses and cognac on Edgar Allen Poe’s grave on the author’s birthday.  This is the first year the individual did not show up at Poe’s grave in Baltimore on Jan. 19.  Could it be over?  Find out more.

From now until February 6, 2010, Morningside will have access to Oxford Biblical Studies Online and Oxford Islamic Studies Online.  Check them out!

Good morning!

It can be difficult to find good websites to use as resources, right?  Right.  Well, quite a few librarian journals review and recommend websites that are credible and can be useful for academic work.  I have started a delicious page where I’ll add those sites that have been reviewed for credibility and quality of information to a list.   You can also find a link to the Learning Center’s delicious page from our list of database titles.  I hope this helps you out with your research.

Jennifer

Hey all!  Welcome to 2010.  The Learning Center’s hours for the Spring 2010 semester are as follows:

Regular Hours

Monday-Thursday:  7:30am-12:00 Midnight

Friday:  7:30am-5:00pm

Saturday:  10:00am-3:00pm

Sunday:  1:00pm-12:00 Midnight

Spring Break

Saturday & Sunday, Feb. 27 & 28:  CLOSED

Monday-Friday, Mar. 1-5:  8:00am-5:00pm

Saturday, Mar. 6: CLOSED

Sunday, Mar. 7:  6:00pm-12:00 Midnight

Easter Break

Wednesday, Mar. 31:  7:30am-5:00pm

Thursday, Apr. 1:  8:00am-5:00pm

Friday-Sunday, Apr. 2-4:  CLOSED

Monday, Apr. 5:  8:00am-12:00 Midnight

Finals/Commencement

Wednesday-Thursday, Apr. 28-29:  7:30am-1:00am

Friday, Apr. 30:  7:30am-5:00pm

Saturday, May 1:  10:00am-3:00pm

Sunday, May 2:  1:00pm-1:00am

Monday, May 3:  7:30am-1:00am

Tuesday, May 4:  7:30am-5:00pm

Wednesday-Friday, May 5-7:  7:30am-5:00pm

Saturday, May 8:  9:00am-4:00pm

Sunday, May 9:  CLOSED

COE Weekends

Jan. 22 & 23, Feb. 5 & 6, Feb. 19 & 20, Mar. 12 & 13

Fridays open 6:30pm

Saturdays:  8:45am-3:00pm