Contact

Jerz > About > Dennis G. Jerz [ Professional Biography | Writing Handouts ]

Phone: 724.830.1909
Fax: 724 830 4601

I’m grateful for vaccines and America’s First Amendment freedoms.

Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.

On this website I don’t intend to speak for my employer or anyone else. Views expressed here are my own.

Consultation Hours, Spring 2024

  • Tue 2:30-4
  • Wed 10-11
  • Thu 2:30-4
  • Also by appointment
  • If you would like an in-person meeting (and you agree to mask if you are sick) we can meet in my office, St. Joseph 403
  • A Zoom appointment is also fine.

How to Book an Appointment via Google Calendar

For an in-person or Zoom visit, Seton Hill students may book a 15-minute appointment via Google Calendar

  • Make sure you are logged in to your SHU gmail account (and that your time zone is set appropriately).
  • When you click the link to my Google appointment calendar, you will see gray boxes that represent open appointment slots. Click one, and you will see the following.
  • You may fill out the details, or just leave them blank. Click “save” and you’ll see this message. It will automatically appear in my calendar, and I will know to save the time for you.
  • If you see the above message, your appointment has been booked. You are welcome to email me if you’d like to let me know what you’d like to discuss.
  • If for any reason you cannot make your appointment, please let me know in advance, so that I can free up the slot to help another student.

Courses

Address:

1 Seton Hill Dr.
Box 461
Seton Hill University (map)
Greensburg, PA 15601

Link Permissions: Feel free to link to any resources you find on my website. There’s no need to wait for my permission (but I’d still enjoy hearing from you).

Reprint Requests: If you want to reprint an article or a long extract, please contact me first.

Blender 3D Portfolio: Some of my CGI designs.

View Comments

  • sir i have written poems like i can't express only as a last resort im asking you to consider me sir , im rpedits ,definitely do the best of work people have misused sir thank you , sir im losing hope too

    • I'm not quite sure what you're asking, roopa, but if you're looking for someone to read and give you feedback on your poetry, I suggest you try to join or form a writer's group, where like-minded people all agree to read and comment on each other's works. Maybe your local library has such a group, or maybe you can start one. I don't recommend that you give money to websites that promise they will publish your poetry, but buying a couple hours of a professional editor's time may be a great investment. Even the best writers get frustrated sometimes.

  • I am trying to contact you via email to get permission to use some of your examples. The email link does not work on your other site and I have not been able to find another.

    I write training manuals for water and wastewater treatment operators in South Africa. Currently I am busy with a manual on writing and discovered your Temple example. I would like to use your example in my own words to explain sequencing points logically and deliberately. I will reference the material to you.

    Thank you.

    • Yes, of course you are welcome to cite my work. I ask that you do not republish a full copy in electronic format, but quoting or paraphrasing a passage is acceptable with a citation.

  • Hi Dennis

    I work as Information Security Officer for University College Falmouth (UK) and would like to use your article "Writing Effective Email, Top 10 Email Tips" as part of my data protection workshops. To suit my institution I would like to make minor adjustments to some of the phrasing and be able to use the article as handouts during and after the workshops, with appropriate credit and links back to you.

    Would this be doable?
    Thanks in advance
    Chris

    • If you only distribute the altered version as a printed handout, with the alterations clearly marked, that would be fine. I ask that you not post a complete copy or altered version anywhere online. Thanks.

      • Many thanks Dennis. I do not intend to use this anywhere on-line, including our internal intranet, but use just as a printed handout.

  • Thank you, Dennis. Let me see how this sits with our Head Librarian. It makes perfect sense and our students can certainly access the latest and greatest more easily. ~~Vance

  • Hi Dennis,

    I work in The Bishop's School Library in La Jolla, CA. I was going to prepare a tutorial to post on our one of our library pages for setting up a research paper in Word and in Pages. Your article, "Step-by-step Instructions for Formatting Research Papers" is SO good, I'd like to post all of it without modification at the address in the Website above. This would go in the section named Tutorials: Microsoft Word under Formatting the paper and Setting up Works Cited (MLA). May I proceed with appropriate credit to you?

    If yes, I'll follow your format in creating the same content modified to fit Apple Pages. Can do?

    Thank you for considering this request and for creating such a clear and concise article. ~~Vance

    • You are welcome to post an excerpt, including the table of contents, and a link to the current version of the full document as it appears on my website. If there are multiple copies of the article on the web, that could lead to some confusion that I'd like to avoid. Thanks for checking first.

  • Hello Dennis

    You're warmly invited to the 100th anniversary of RP/RPO, in person or otherwise. We're releasing a new edition here later this month, assuming all goes well ...

    best wishes,

    Ian

  • I just had to post! I Googled "show don't tell writing" looking to find new ways to teach this to my 4th graders and I found this site. I graduated from Seton Hill in 1997! Can't believe the coincidence. I am bookmarking your page. Thank you!

    • Glad to hear from you, Wendy. Perhaps one day SHU will welcome some of your former students.

  • Thank you for this site. I discovered it accidentally and it is a tremendous resource. An even funnier coincidence I discovered inadvertently is that you teach at Seton Hill - I was an undergrad at St. Vincent College way back in 1977 and took some courses (Lit & Drama) over at Seton Hill; back then Seton Hill was all female and St. Vincent was all male.

    Thanks again,

    Jerry Gillespie

    • Thanks for your comment. I attend St. Vincent Parish, and my kids attend enrichment courses taught by St Vincent education students, so I feel kind of attached to both places. I'm glad you found my pages helpful.

  • Thanks for all the great information on MLA style papers. I refer my 7th grade students to your site.

    • I am delighted to hear that 7th graders are learning MLA style. Let's hope they appreciate your efforts on their behalf.