Answers to frequently asked questions
about content & policies of YouCanTeachWriting.com

Few things are more frustrating to website visitors than not being able to find information they want. As visitors have given me feedback on this site, I've compiled common questions and sorted them into categories. Check below to see if your question has already been answered.

• Location of specific information on a page, on the site or elsewhere
• Policies and permissions
• Questions about using the teacher forums
• Questions about using the student forum
• Troubleshooting technical issues
• Advertising at You-Can-Teach-Writing.com
• Linking to You-Can-Teach-Writing.com
• Miscellaneous questions

If you don't find what you want, you can put your question in the contact form at the bottom of the page.

Where will I find . . . . .

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 subscriber resources is under the Help for teachers heading 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 also gives links to her philosophy of education and 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

Copyright information

YouCanTeachWriting.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

It is illegal to copy any content from this website without prior written permission from the copyright holder. A form is available for your convenience in requesting permission to reprint material from this site.

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

Links to products or services Linda recommends are indicated with single-underscores. If she recommends a product or service, it's because she tried it and found it to work.

If You-Can-Teach-Writing an affiliation with the sponsor, that disclosure is in the discussion of the product or service. For example, Linda discloses her affiliation with Site Build It! on her page about her SBI experience.

Using the teacher forums

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. An example of inappropriate content is a piece on the importance of motherhood submitted to the thesis statement forum.

Can only teachers use the forums?

For our purposes, teachers include 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?

You don't need to give your name or your address to use the teacher forum. You may give only a first name, a nickname, or no name at all. You may give a city, a state, a country or skip the address entirely.

Why do I give my e-mail address in the teacher forum?

You are not required to give an e-mail 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.

Using the student forum

Why wasn't my question used?

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. Sentence fragments are thrown out automatically because they don't give a whole idea.

Why didn't you use the question I put in the comment form?

The comment form is for private communications. Only those questions submitted through the forum invitations are posted in the forums.

Troubleshooting technical issues

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.

Password won't open the Writing Points resources page

You may be using the wrong password. Copy and paste the password from your most recent Writing Points notice into the box. The password is reset the 15th of each month when Writing Points is mailed.

Passwords are case-sensitive. Check for typos.

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 e-mail, 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

You can address information about advertising on the site at the online advertising page.

Linking to You-Can-Teach-Writing.com

The simple way to put a link to a you-can-teach-writing page on your Facebook page or other social media site, is to use the appropriate Share this page button at the bottom an you-can-teach-writing content page.

If you want to put a link on a site that doesn't have its own button, you will find the code for a specific you-can-teach-writing page at the page bottom hidden behind the link to which the arrow points below.

When you click the link, a text box will appear containing HTML code you need to use for linking to that page.

If you want to tell people that you-can-teach-writing is the greatest site on the web for information about teaching writing, you can use the code given on the home page.

Another option for sharing You-Can-Teach-Writing is to use the site widget.

Miscellaneous 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.

What is RSS?

An RSS feed allows you to have all the blog, website, and forum entries you want to read in one spot without having to revisit individual sites. You visit a site once, subscribe to its feed, and receive updates automatically. 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 RSS feed on the homepage and as well as scattered on pages throughout the site.

Most late model computers come with some kind of web-enabled RSS feed already installed. 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, you can click on it now to add updates from this site to your RSS feed.

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 simplest way to get the correct code is to click the "get widget" tab below the widget. You will be taken to the Widgetbox page containing the code. You can select code specific to the type of venue on which you want to use the widget. Click the one you need, copy and paste it into your blog.