Write to the Point

UF Writing Program
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Write to the Point

Hosted by the University of Florida’s Writing Program, “Write to the Point” features conversations with writing experts about the secrets to great communication. Guests on the show recognize that writing “to the point” means connecting with audiences and building knowledge bases in order to transform their communities. Available on Apple, Spotify, Audible, and Deezer. UF University Writing Program: https://writing.ufl.edu/ Questions? Contact host Tony Manganaro at amanganaro@ufl.edu

Episodes

  1. 10/29/2024

    Communication as Key to Preventing Medical Error

    Tony interviews Amy Blue about the University of Florida’s innovative “Putting Families First,” a unique program that gathers first-year students across the health professions together to assist families (with the goal of improving the students’ interpersonal skills). Blue is the associate vice president for interprofessional education in the UF Health Office of the Senior Vice President for Health Affairs. She is also a clinical professor in the College of Public Health and Health Professions’ Department of Environmental and Global Health.

    34 min

  2. 07/24/2024

    Making Data Meaningful: Constructing a Flight Simulator for Nurses

    In this episode, Dr. Shannon Butts (Senior Learning Designer at Elsevier) explains the fascinating science behind Elsevier’s Shadow Health simulations– an interactive learning experience for nurses. Tony and Shannon cover a range of topics within a dense conversation, as Shannon elucidates why “knowing how to communicate and understanding how language works” is critical in “making tools work that help move us forward.”

    24 min

  3. 02/24/2024

    Writing History: Storytelling in the Environmental Humanities

    Tony interviews Pulitzer-winning historian Jack E. Davis (author of W.W. Norton’s The Gulf, The Bald Eagle, and others). They discuss the creative process behind composing academic scholarship: how using a varied vocabulary and sentence structure is essential; why researching and writing simultaneously is useful; and how, in Davis’s words, letting nature “tell me how it wants to be written” is a pleasure. Davis is a distinguished professor of history at the University of Florida.

    31 min

  4. 12/05/2023

    What’s the Deal with Air Conditioning?

    Eric Dean Wilson – author of After Cooling (Simon & Schuster, 2021) – shares his journey in tackling climate range by focusing on a single molecule and telling a gripping 400-page story about America. In this conversation about the writing process, Eric and Tony discuss the merits of everyday journaling; why writing for “the public” is an unhelpful term; why writing a clear sentence is an artform in itself; how to handle feedback from peers, and more. (In addition to After Cooling, Wilson’s articles have appeared in TIME, Esquire, Orion, Tin House, the Los Angeles Review of Books, and BOMB, among other publications.)

    34 min

  5. 09/18/2023

    Writing for the U.S. Government

    In this conversation, Tony interviews Jamie Lee Marks (Senior Analyst in the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation’s Office of Tribal and Indigenous Peoples) about her agency’s efforts to advise the U.S. President and Congress on national preservation policy and more. Marks describes the unique challenges while writing in this realm; why ChatGPT cannot do her job; and how inspiring it is to “be around people who are working on their life’s passion in a way that helps to support the American public.”

    22 min

  6. 05/31/2023

    Pitch It: How Academics Can Find Mega Audiences for Their Research

    Want to transform your article, dissertation, or book into a text that’s actually read by tens of thousands? In this conversation, Sean Trainor advises academics on how to map one’s idea into a public venue through developing a pitch and working with editors of high-profile presses. In a world that “moves at a pace that would give many academics a panic attack,” journalism can be a tricky place for academics to wade, but the upshot is well worth it. Sean Trainor is an Assistant Instructional Professor in the University of Florida’s Warrington College of Business, where he teaches professional writing; his public-facing articles appear in The Atlantic, TIME, Salon, The Chronicle of Higher Education, and elsewhere.

    39 min

  7. 03/07/2023

    So You Want to Be a Doctor? Learn to Write

    Evan Maroun advises future med students about the unspoken communication rules for health professionals. He and Tony discuss challenges and tips for various forms of medical communication–from the patient interview to research papers–and explore why lucid communication is so foundational to ethical research and clinical practice.  Maroun, a UF graduate, is a first-year medical student at Nova Southeastern University’s College of Medicine, with a keen interest in anesthesiology. Feel free to contact him at: em2086@mynsu.nova.edu.

    30 min

  8. 02/01/2023

    ChatGPT: Friend or Foe?

    Six educators share their insight into teaching writing alongside AI. With varying attitudes–from enthusiasm to skepticism–these university teachers offer perspectives that cut beyond the obvious on facilitating the use of ChatGPT in the classroom.    0:46– Dr. Zea Miller (University of Florida) explains why ChatGPT is revolutionary and why its future role in education is so pivotal.    6:58– Dr. Edmond Y. Chang (Ohio University) contextualizes this moment in a long line of teaching with new technologies like word processessors and Wikipedia.    13:53– Dr. Lilly Campbell (Marquette University) clarifies ChatGPT’s strengths and weaknesses in writing instruction and suggests how first-year writing courses can utilize it effectively.    25:20– Dr. Emily Bald (University of Florida) frames this moment as an opportunity for instructors to question and re-assess their true educational goals when teaching writing in disciplines such as medical science.   36:38– Dr. Thomas Salem Manganaro (University of Richmond) points out ChatGPT’s failings when it comes to analyzing literature.    50:22– Dr. Reine Azzi (Lebanese American University) shares why she enthusiastically uses AI in the classroom and offers strategies for doing so productively.

    1 hr

  9. 12/06/2022

    BS: How Meaning is Made and Shared

    Dennis McCarty explains how “bullshit” operates in public communication and why it’s integral to identify its strategies. He also gives advice on public speaking as he and Tony discuss the errors of pre-canned speeches; the underrated usefulness of audience analysis and humor; what celebrities taught us during the pandemic; and why Q&A is so difficult. McCarty is an Assistant Instructional Professor in the University of Florida’s Dial Center for Written and Oral Communication.

    34 min

  10. 10/03/2022

    Grant Writing in the Arts

    Stevi Costa, Grants Manager of Seattle Rep – the Pacific Northwest’s largest nonprofit theatre – describes the exciting challenges of writing donors to help her nonprofit grow, offering tips for navigating the particular hurdles involved in the grant writing process.

    32 min

  11. 08/20/2022

    The Art of Competitive Listening: How Debate Radically Improves Communication Skills

    Award-winning debater Kendall Lindsay explains the myriad skills that are developed by engaging in competitive debate tournaments. Tony and Kendall also discuss why practicing debate is an “ethically responsible” thing to do in an increasingly polarized world inundated with social media.

    36 min

  12. 08/20/2022

    Tips for Writing in Environmental Science

    UF Associate Professor David Kaplan (Dept. of Environmental Engineering Sciences) reflects on writing to audiences ranging from colleagues to the U.S. Supreme Court. He and Tony discuss the many surprising keys to complex yet accessible communication in the sciences.

    43 min
  • 12 Episodes

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
2 Ratings

About

Hosted by the University of Florida’s Writing Program, “Write to the Point” features conversations with writing experts about the secrets to great communication. Guests on the show recognize that writing “to the point” means connecting with audiences and building knowledge bases in order to transform their communities. Available on Apple, Spotify, Audible, and Deezer. UF University Writing Program: https://writing.ufl.edu/ Questions? Contact host Tony Manganaro at amanganaro@ufl.edu

Information

  • Creator
    UF Writing Program
  • Years Active
    2022 - 2024
  • Episodes
    12
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2022
  • Show Website
    Write to the Point

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