Insurmountable Process In the postmortem stages of the 12th grade paper writing process, one regales the hardships that they had overcome. These adversities include committing to a topic, the outlining of the essay, the collection of research resources, the writing itself, the revision process, etc. With these in mind, the writing process might seem daunting to a student less seasoned in the field. However, no frustration seems quite as impassable as beginning the paper writing process. This is the hardest step, as it doesn’t take research or physical attention. Starting the writing of a paper takes the willpower and focus of the writer to be accomplished. Simply put, getting the metaphorical ball of writing rolling takes mental acuity, not
Both of the articles “Dancing with Professors” by Patricia Limerick and “Shitty First Drafts” by Anne Lamott resolve the issues faced by college students when writing papers. The first article, “Dancing with Professors,” explains why college professors expect more elaborate papers even though they assign dull and un-motivational reading to their students. On the other end of the writing spectrum, “Shitty First Drafts” explains how valuable the first draft is to students, and why students should not feel weary about writing them.
In the essay “Getting Started” by Anne Lamott. The author reaches out to her students and other fellow writers who struggle to overcome the infamous writer’s block. Thought out her paper she gives us hints and tips to train and prep us for our future papers. Her tips range from training you mind to prepare for a long and often strenuous essay, learning to take information in slowly to not overwork your brain and the last one always tell the truth in your essay. She threads through her essay that writing may be hard and seems like there is no silver lining but it’s not impossible to do. When done reading this essay I widely agree with Lamott’s writing ideas and tips they can be helpful for many struggling students. As one myself I found
As I look back into my high school years, I thought I wrote papers well. But then coming into a college environment, my papers were mediocre. By overlooking at my past papers, I found that they were unorganized, sloppy and had bad use of diction. From now on, I will use the tools I learned in English 1100-40 as a foundation for the future papers I intend on writing in college. Following the criteria of organizing ideas so that they flow, impacting the reader with diction and also by being creative, will help become an ideal writer. Following the criteria of staying motivated in short and long term goals, taking responsibility for actions and finally the ability to study well will help me develop into a supreme student.
When a person begins writing a paper it can prove to be a difficult task. Where do they begin, and how do they get to where they need to be? The articles “Shitty first Drafts” by Anne Lamott and “Accordions, Frogs, and the 5 Paragraph Theme” by Rob Jenkins bring together freewriting and careful organization into a symbiotic harmony. One has the reader focusing on letting their creative thought flow, and the other has their focus on an effective and adaptive formula. While each have their own unique viewpoint on how the writer can initially achieve their goals, the end goal is the same. With practice and skill, a little bit of freewriting and a little bit of organization can go a long way.
Several people have trouble writing college level essays and believe that they are unable to improve their writing skills. In “the Inspired Writer vs. The Real Writer,” Sarah Allen argues how no one is born naturally good at writing. Sarah Allen also states how even professional writers have trouble with the task of writing. Others, such as Lennie Irvin, agree. In Irvin’s article “What is ‘Academic’ Writing?” states how there are misconceptions about writing. Furthermore, Mike Bunn’s article “How to Read Like a Writer” shows ways on how one can improve their writing skills. Allen, Bunn, and Irvin are correct to say how no one is born naturally good writers. Now that we know this, we should find ways to help improve our writing skills, and
4”, McPhee explains tips such as writing with confidence, accumulating experience, drawing boxes around different words, and using dictionaries when writing a well-written paper. I agree with these simple points because they will help not only novice writers but also the most experienced as well. I agree with McPhee that “first drafts are slow and develop clumsily, because every sentence affects not only those before it but also those that follow” (2). He also states how beneficial experience is with additional practice. As a baseball player, especially at the collegiate level now, I know how nothing is ever handed to me and I have to practice for every situation that I will face in the future. When I first started dreaming about becoming a collegiate athlete, I knew I had to put the work in. Every throw, swing, lift, or anything revolving my craft improvement came with intense focus and the more I practiced the closer I came to achieving my dream. According to McPhee, writing is the same process and the more practice put in, the better the results (2). “The way to do a piece of writing is three or four times over, never once” (McPhee 2). He informs his audience about planting any kind of words that come to their mind and getting all thoughts onto the paper. “Just stay at it; perseverance will change things” (McPhee 2). That quote to me is powerful and goes beyond writing because life is not always going to be easy, and fighting through problems will pay off.
As I shoved my notebook into my backpack, I heard my writing fellow murmur something about an essay. I wasn’t worried. After taking every Advanced Placement English class my high school offered, I felt equipped to handle a simple essay until received Dr. Carver’s email with the prompt and instructions. I blinked at the screen and rubbed my eyes; thinking I had misread the message, I read it again. I was supposed to have the essay finished in approximately 42 hours, but I had never written a decent essay in less than four days. I was in a state of panic; all of my ideas had evacuated my imagination leaving me with a painful case of writer’s block. To me, most of good writing is good editing and proper editing requires having a window to forget your writing before returning to it: a window that 42 hours just couldn’t provide.
Choosing a topic or finding the inspiration for material is the first step for writing an essay, book, article, blog, or any other form of written matter, and this step can often be the most difficult. Where do these ideas come from? Do they appear from thin air or does a higher power intervene, bestowing these lightning strikes of inspiration only on those deemed worthy? Does the writer do something to help themselves find inspiration and these beginnings? Michael Smith writes, “Beginnings don’t just occur. Beginnings have to be coaxed. They have to be lured and tricked and seduced. Or they have to be wrestled into submission, bludgeoned until they beg for mercy. They get dropped in the gutter, kicked to the curb, thrown out with the bathwater. And they get rescued, revisited, revised and revivified” (66). The process of writing can be almost painful for many individuals. Amongst college students, lack of inspiration and the struggle to find something meaningful to write about is often cited as a source of writing related stress. By examining where professional writers, both fiction and nonfiction, derived their inspiration, it is clear that most often inspiration is found in personal experiences, and may hold a key in helping college students find inspiration for their own works.
During my school years, I have been assigned lots of writing to do. At the start, I found great difficulty in putting my thoughts on paper, yet by practice, one gets to improve his abilities. One never stops learning as long as he lives. Moreover, practice results in perfection. In my past school years I have received many writing tasks, in addition, I gradually improved in each of them. There are various differences between my work in each stage of my life, example, the work I have done in the past, work in the present and what I intend to do as a writer in my future.
I am going to die before I finish this! A lot of people have trouble writing papers and often think that saying. But, there are certain things one must follow to write a proper paper. There are steps to make writing a paper much easier. The writing process and basic structure of an essay help create a proper paper for school such as an Investigative Research Paper.
she always used to wish for a way to escape her life. She saw memories
Over the past semester, I have found the most challenging part of this course to simply be the transition from high school composition classes to college. Because writing expectations are so different in college than in high school, even with AP and Dual Enrollment “college level” classes, I first found myself being overwhelmed with the pressure to write the perfect first draft. The pressure came from knowing how much a final draft of a paper contributed to my grade. This left me sitting in front of my computer for hours at a time with thoughts of what I wanted to say racing through my head, but unable to deliver these thoughts into organized, structured sentences. I learned, through writing my persuasive essay, that instead of trying to write the paper start to finish and already in its perfect form, it is easier for me to look at the paper through its different components and focus on them individually, then work to best organize my ideas fluently.
Martinez, Christy Teranishi, Ned Nock, and Jeffrey Cass. "Pain and Pleasure in Short Essay Writing: Factors Predicting University Students' Writing Anxiety and Writing Self-Efficacy." Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy 54.5 (2011): 351-360. Academic Search Premier. Web. 15 Nov. 2013.
“I learned from the age of two or three that any room in our house, at any time of the day, was there to read in, or to be read to. My mother read to me” (Welty). Growing up, I remember my mom would always take me to the library and teach me how to read. My parents always encouraged me to read and write, which is why I never had a problem in writing papers. The only problem I do have is that it takes me a maximum amount of hours to write a decent paper. Writing a paper can seem intimidating at first because it is hard to actually come up with a proper thesis. But putting together a strong paper really just involves a combination of steps one already knows how to do. As I attended Mission College for English 908 with Professor Alvarez she taught me how to process my thoughts. Professor Alvarez taught me the process in writing a research paper, narrative paper and a reflective essay. In English 908 one could learn the steps of writing a clear focus thesis statement, a formal outline and what it takes to brainstorm.
There are many important elements that are critical to creating a well-written paper. It is important for all writers to have a good understanding of these key learning goals. By the end of English Composition I at The University of Akron, all students should learn to the best of their ability, how to use these goals when writing. The drafting process, good paper structure, audience, constructing a thesis, using outside materials, analyzing, and using proper grammar are the goals that I developed in my writings throughout the semester. Most of these goals I believe I improved on tremendously, other goals I think I could use more practice. These writing elements are all very helpful in a writer’s process of creating a good paper.