the unbearable earnestness of PaperToolsPro

STUDENT PITFALLS WHEN WRITING RESEARCH PAPERS

1. Writing research papers is not perceived to be fun.
2. Writing note cards is tedious.
3. Writing research papers requires organizational skills students often lack or do not apply to research assignments.
4. The value of documenting the source of information does not make sense to students.
5. Students often think they put information in their own words, but they don’t.
6. Beginning an outline or draft from a blank screen is intimidating.
7. MLA, APA, Chicago Style…Students don’t understand it is important to format documentation accurately.


I'd say that about covers it.


I didn't mean it

I shouldn't be making sport of PaperToolsPro, which looks like it may be a terrific program for students -- (here's the description on the Scrivener web site).

The pitfalls list reminded me of my all-time favorite National Enquirer headline: "Do You Know the 1,110 Reasons Why Marriage Makes Women Sick?" So I had to post.

But if PaperToolsPro has actually done something about all of these pitfalls, a copy of it may be in my future, too, along with SuperMemo.