Answers to frequently asked questions
about content & policies of You-Can-Teach-Writing
Answers to site visitors' frequently asked questions have been
compiled and and sorted them into categories.
See if your question has already been answered in the FAQs below:
If you don't find what you want, you can put your question in the
contact form at the bottom of the page. If
enough people do that, your question may become a frequently asked
question on this page.
If your question begins with "where is," one of the frequently
asked questions may provide the answer you need.
Directory of information on this
site
A sitemap lists all
the pages on this site by category.
Layout of typical page
The pagemap shows where
page elements are typically located and provides tips for finding
your way around a page quickly.
List of free resources for Writing
Points subscribers
The complete list of Writing Points teacher resources
is available only to subscribers with a password. The password is
changed monthly. A link to all the subscribers-only
resources is under the Teacher resources in
the left navigation menu.
The site owner's qualifications for
teaching writing
The general information is on the About
Linda Aragoni page. That page links to her philosophy
of education and her credentials.
Other sources of information about
teaching writing
The search
page provides links to reputable databases of information about
teaching writing and other subjects as well as to lesser-known search
engines that are particularly helpful for finding research-based
information.
Policies and permissions FAQs
Another set of frequently asked questions concerns the site's policies.
Answers to those kinds of frequently asked questions are here:
Copyright information
You-Can-Teach-Writing.com is submitted at least annually to the
US copyright office and afforded copyright protection except for
those graphic elements (such as photographs) that belong to others.
Permissions to reprint information
on this site
One frequently asked question is for permission to reprint material
from this site. Often the people asking do not intend to reprint
an entire webpage or entire graphic element; they simply want to
cite from a page or pages of the website in a research paper, for
example. For such uses, follow the standard US
Copyright office fair use guidelines.
If you want to actually reprint a page from this website or a graphic
from this site such as the essay
structure graphic in a blog or in a handout for a professional
development session, for example, you need prior written permission.
A form is available
for your convenience in requesting permission to reprint material
from this site.
Link permissions
As a professional courtesy, I attempt to notify those content
owners to whom I link. I don't always do so in as timely a manner
as I should, but I make the attempt.
Permission to link to pages on this site is not required, but it
is always pleasant to hear that someone has found the site valuable
enough to link to it.
Photo and graphic sources
If the owner of copyrighted photographs is known, the copyright
owner's name or screen name is given in the photo credits.
Most photographs on this site are copyrighted by photographers who
share their work at Stock.xchng.
Unless otherwise specified, the infographics about teaching writing
are copyrighted original works by Linda Aragoni. The really bad
photographs are her work, too.
Privacy policy
The site privacy policy is detailed on the privacy
policy page.
FTC disclosure information
Products/services offered by vendors other than You-Can-Teach-Writing
are recommended in the pages at You-Can-Teach-Writing, only if Linda
tried them and found them useful.
If You-Can-Teach-Writing has an affiliation with the sponsor, that
disclosure is part of the initial discussion of the product or service.
For example, Linda discloses her affiliation with Site Build It!
on her page about her
SBI experience. Her affiliation with ShortKeys is also dislosed
in her discussion of how
she uses the software.
Frequently asked questions about teacher
forums
The teacher forums are responsible for a series of frequently asked
questions
Why wasn't my submission used?
The most common reason for a submission not to be used is that
the content is not appropriate for the forum. If a teacher forum
submission is not related to teaching nonfiction writing to teens
and adults, it will most likely be rejected.
Can only teachers use the forums?
For our purposes, teachers include pre-service, present, and former
homeschool teachers; writing tutors (including mom and dad helping
with homework); and school administrators. If you belong to any
of those groups, you may use the teacher forums.
Why do I need to give my name and
address in the forums?
You don't. You may give only a first name, a nickname, or no name
at all. You may give a city, state, or country, or skip the address
entirely.
Why do I give my email address in
the teacher forum?
You are not required to give an email address. However, if you
don't give one, I have no way to let you know if I have a question
about your submission. I regularly have to delete material because
I could not contact the author for clarification.
Do you allow commercial links in
the postings?
Advertisements are not allowed, but if you provide content that
is useful to visitors to this site you may mention your blog, website,
or the book you are selling. (The links will not go live until the
submission is approved.)
How do I comment on your response
to a previous visitor?
Click on the title of the page to which you wish to respond. At
the bottom of the page, you'll find a link to use for posting your
comments.
Frequently asked questions from students
Although You-Can-Teach-Writing is designed for teachers, I am frequently
asked questions by students. Most are about writing, but some are
about site policies.
Why wasn't my question used in the
forum?
The most common reason for a question to be thrown out is vagueness.
Questions must provide enough detail that readers know what the
student is supposed to write about and the student's specific writing
problem.
Why didn't you use the question I
put in the contact form?
The contact form is for private communications. Only those questions
submitted through the forum invitations are posted in the forums.
Will you read my essay and tell me
what you think?
No. I do not read student essays at this website.
Will you edit my essay?
No. It is against my principles to edit student work.
The most popular of the frequently asked questions categories is
troubleshooting technical issues. Although the category generates
lots of submissions, the same few issues crop up repeatedly.
Subscribers-only link to Writing
Points resources won't open.
If you do not see the box in which to enter your password when
you click the subscribers link, check your browser settings. Some
browser defaults are set to prevent users from opening password-protected
pages. You can also try downloading using another Internet browser.
If you use AOL as your email client, you will not have access to
live links. You must copy and paste a link into your browser to
reach the ezine. The short link should work, but if it does not,
follow the directions below for those with disabled Bitly links.
Password won't open the Writing
Points resources page
You may be using the wrong password. The password is reset the
15th of each month when Writing Points
is mailed. Copy and paste the password from the most recent Writing
Points notice into the box.
If you are trying to open the resources page immediately after
getting your Writing Points notice and find it won't
work, wait 30-60 minutes and try again. Sometimes eager readers
get to the page before it's had time to refresh on the servers.
Passwords are case-sensitive. Check for typos.
If none of these things words, contact me. I might have made an
error.
I cannot copy information from
pages on this site.
All information at You-Can-Teach-Writing is copyrighted; copying
it without prior written permission is illegal. See policies
and permissions.
Ezine sign-up box too small for your
data
If the box doesn't give enough room for your entire name or email,
send a note via the contact form. I
can add your information manually, triggering the regular verification
process.
Bit.ly links in the Writing Points
notification are disabled
You can access the latest issue of Writing Points without using
the shortlinks. Copy and paste this URL into your browser.
http://www.you-can-teach-writing.com/writing-points-YYYYMM.html
Change the YYYYMM to numbers representing the year and month, such
as 201001 for the 2010 January issue.
Advertising at You-Can-Teach-Writing.com
I am frequently asked questions about advertising on this website.
The kinds of ads I accept on the site are discussed at the online
advertising page. You will find a form there to use in securing
a quote.
Linking to You-Can-Teach-Writing.com
The simplest way to put a link to a you-can-teach-writing page
on your website, blog, Facebook page or other social media site,
is to use the appropriate add-this button located
near the top of most pages. You can also copy the entire URL of
the page you wish to link to and shorten it in your favorite link
shortener.
Miscellaneous frequently asked questions
Why do some links have two underscores
and others only one?
Links with a single underscore are created by the site owner, Linda
Aragoni. In almost all cases they are to other pages on at You-Can-Teach-Writing.com
or to sites Linda recommends.
The double-underscored links are part of a pay per click advertising
program called Infolinks. Infolinks create links within the site's
text. If you hover your mouse over a double underlined link, you
will see a small dialog box containing an ad related to the underlined
text. You move the mouse away or press on the box and go to the
ad. Click here to learn more about Infolinks
Double Underline Link Ads.
What is RSS?
An RSS feed allows you to have information you want to read in
one spot without having to revisit individual web pages. You visit
a site once, subscribe to its feed, and receive updates automatically.
Most computers today are sold with an RSS feed reader installed.
Each update will have its own separate headline, a synopsis of
the posting, and a link to the full entry. You set the maximum number
of entries you want to see. The old entries disappear automatically:
no need to empty an inbox.
How do I subscribe to this site's
RSS feed?
You'll find links to you-can-teach-writing.com's blog feed on the
homepage and on pages throughout the site. Icons for common feed
readers are shown at the right. If your computer is set up with
one of these services, you will probably see its icon on your browser
toolbar near your URL address box. If you have one, just click on
it to add updates from the site you are browsing
If you don't see an icon on your tool bar, you can add a reader,
such as FeedReader
or SharpReader,
or one recommended for your browser. Once you have the reader installed,
click the orange icon for this site's RSS feed. If your reader doesn't
automatically create the feed for you, it will tell you to copy
and paste the RSS address into your feed reader.
Can I use the You-Can-Teach-Writing
widget on my blog?
Yes. The widget, which is in the left hand
column, lets you put the latest blog from this site on your site
in a visually appealing mini-blog format that gives your visitors
added reason to linger. I've paid for the widgets so they are free
for you to use without any annoying ads.
Here are the simple copy and paste directions:
1. Click to go to the You
Can Teach Writing widget on the Widgetbox site.
2. At the far right of the line below the You Can Teach Writing
headline is a green button that says Get
Widget. Click the button (or chose one of the specific
destinations from the options.)
3. A pop-up screen that says Embed
Code will open. Unless you know what you are doing,
you can ignore the options and accept the default JavaScript.
Click the Copy button in that
pop-up. (You can ignore the options and accept the default JavaScript.)
You will see a message Code Copied but you will not see
the code. It is copied to your computer clipboard.
4. Open the webpage where you want the widget to appear. Paste
the code into the HTML code view of your webpage or blog page. If
your computer runs on Windows, the paste paste command is CTRL +
V.)
That's all there is to it. If my 150x400 size doesn't suit you,
or you mess something up, go back through the process again.
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