Is Writing Natural
A construct is a flawed argument based on something that seems natural, but when questioned a realization appears and makes you second guess everything you know on the subject. The topic of whether writing is a natural habit that we are just assumed how to do, is a construct in itself. I believe that there is more than just what writing is presumed to represent and mean. So many factors come into play when learning how to write and the way we write as individuals. Not everyone has the same writing style, so teaching multiple people how to write a certain way can be difficult for English teachers teaching students how to write. The main four factors that impact everyone’s writing is miscellanies information, emotions, learned
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It tells us how we need to change the misconception we have of writing. “How to write” compared to “what is writing” is a big difference. One is simply saying how to set up a paper and use proper grammar while the other is actually knowing what you are writing and how it ties into a text you may have to read or having your main point be understood. People may say writing is natural but how can they if all they do is mostly summarize. They need to understand the bigger picture of writing. You have to know how to truly understand all the fundaments that go into writing an essay or paper. Reading a context and knowing what it means, its deep meaning and then put into perspective what you want to write about (Downs & Wardle, 553). This article talks how people think writing is just a general concept that should be known and that in college taking writing once can prepare you for the rest of your college career. Nothing is so simple especially writing, it can not be like flipping on a switch. You have to prepare for it, practice and understand it. Natural writing will never be possible because we are not robots. It is not programmed into use and we automatically know it all. Things just don’t work like that, a skill is learned, not natural. When you can think critically, reading will seem natural for you. You can not summarize a reading and expect to be a good writer let alone a natural
However, their critical analysis of FYW and strong points for other teaching methods, one’s takeaway from the article is the question, “why even teach FYW”? It’s evident that content and context are the key points in academic writing, so why then do we even make the FYW a mandatory class? A student doesn’t need a semester to understand what content is, for some they already understand what it is, and for those who don’t they should still be able to learn it, in a week. The misconception of writing being universal is very true, but for a student to improve on one’s writing, the easiest solution is to have him or she participate in that discipline. In a realistic world, the more probable solution to most of the problems Down and Wardle bring up is eliminate the course and replace it with a class that allows a student to see and understand the writing in their field without the repercussion of grades. Thus students get more experience within their field and get to learn firsthand what academic writing in their discipline consist
The focal point of Chapter 4 of Successful College Writing is on how to critically read and decipher text and visuals. It highlights the importance of not just looking at the surface of the words, but diving into their true meaning. Authors put every word and picture into their work for a reason, and it is your job to ensure that you do not fall victim to biases and false information. It is crucial to learn how to identify author's tones, opinions, and overall purpose in their writings. Learning how to analyze these patterns will better equip you in acquiring accurate information and also not adopting these deceptive techniques yourself.
I am more knowledgeable about invention, arrangement, style, and delivery, all in which create a masterful piece of text. A few examples, I have learned to organize and construct my thoughts and ideas clearer. I have been taught to use stronger transitions and focus more on the delivery and content of the body element of essays. Further, the instructions and advice I have received throughout this term have influenced my understanding of the purpose of writing. My outlook on writing has been modified by shifting my perception of writing from, writing to prove I am a good writer by perceiving it as using “fluffy” or BIG words to impress my audience. I grew to understanding that good writing’s purpose is to engage the writer by mind-striking ideas and arguments, which therefore will prove and title me as a “good writer”.
Although the greater picture is that reading is fundamental, the two authors have a few different messages that they seek to communicate to their audiences. “The Joy of Reading and Writing” depicts how reading serves as a mechanism to escape the preconceived notions that constrain several groups of people from establishing themselves and achieving success in their lifetimes. “Reading to Write,” on the other hand, offers a valuable advice to aspiring writers. The author suggests that one has to read, read, and read before he or she can become a writer. Moreover, he holds an interesting opinion concerning mediocre writing. He says, “Every book you pick has its own lesson or lessons, and quite often the bad books have more to teach than the good ones” (p.221). Although these two essays differ in their contents and messages, the authors use the same rhetorical mode to write their essays. Both are process analyses, meaning that they develop their main argument and provide justification for it step by step. By employing this technique, the two authors create essays that are thoughtful, well supported, and easy to understand. In addition, Alexie and King both add a little personal touch to their writings as they include personal anecdotes. This has the effect of providing support for their arguments. Although the two essays have fairly different messages, the authors make use of anecdotes and structure their writing in a somewhat similar
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
Many people think that reading more can help them to think and develop before writing something. Others might think that they don’t need to read and or write that it can really help them to brainstorm things a lot quicker and to develop their own ideas immediately (right away). The author’s purpose of Stephen King’s essay, Reading to Write, is to understand the concepts, strategies and understandings of how to always read first and then start something. The importance of this essay is to understand and comprehend our reading and writing skills by brainstorming our ideas and thoughts a lot quicker. In other words, we must always try to read first before we can brainstorm some ideas and to think before we write something. There are many reasons why I chose Stephen King’s essay, Reading to Write, by many ways that reading can help you to comprehend, writing, can help you to evaluate and summarize things after reading a passage, if you read, it can help you to write things better and as you read, it can help you to think and evaluate of what to write about.
Writing is a tool that is universally known and used as a primary source of communication. It is a process that is taught, practiced, and perfected throughout the course of one’s life. The process of learning to write begins in your early school years and continues to develop all the way through high school, college, and even beyond college. However, once you get to college writing tends to become a little bit more challenging and is typically more articulate. Writing can help you gain more knowledge and also help you to explore and discover new ideas. In terms of college writing, it is the process of being able to express your thoughts and ideas in an intellectual and effective way.
In “Writing to Learn: Writing across the Disciplines,” Anne J. Herrington finds different sources stating that writing is to be taken serious. Janet Emig says, "writing represents a unique mode of learning-not merely valuable, not merely special, but unique” (1) meaning that writing is far more essential than we ought to make it seem. Anne Herrington wants educators teaching in economics, history, chemistry or any other subject to guide their students into understanding why progressing their writing skills will be more helpful to them. At the end of the day, it all comes down to the educator; whether he/she wants their students to use writing as a way for students to adapt to different disciplines.
The title highlights what is believed to be academic writing, thus the purpose in academic writing becomes lost, since exaggerated analysis containing complicated and elaborate sentences still occur. Though the title states a problem in academic writing, indicating the function placed upon academic writing being at fault, the article itself counter-argues. It says, “…bullshit does not necessarily involve a misrepresentation of facts, but must involve a misrepresentation of the self – one's feelings, thoughts, or attitudes.” (Eubanks and Schaeffer 2008, 375) suggesting the problem is the writer’s incapability to writing properly, resulting in a disconnect between the coherence in the paper and its readers, either because the skills for academic writing were not achieved or a to comprehend its importance. This can be supported by AW, as it notes, “…writing as a thinking tool in the processes of, for instance, verbalising, discovering, understanding, and communicating ideas...” (Björk and Räisänen 2003, 16) meaning conveying thoughts and ideas are means to develop a deeper understanding of information thus gaining implements to a concise language and coherence. AW goes on by stating, “…it will help you not only to learn new things, but to discover things you did not know you knew. Writing also presents an opportunity for critical thinking…”(Björk and Räisänen 2003, 16), thus it illustrates how writing, in general, needs to be seen as a method to relay knowledge as much as a process to receive
Is college writing painful and hard to come up with good ideas? English writing is different than other languages, we must follow a series of rules to complete an assignment. First, we need to understand the basics in grammar in order to use them properly in our writing assignments. If we excel in grammar, our essay will be much more lucid and logical to read than it was originally. Writing is a skill that must be mastered through practice; thus, one cannot be proficient at it if he or she does not have enough practice. Despite how hard it is for me to formulate ideas for my essay, every time I sit and concentrate on writing, a multitude of ideas begin to flood my brain. I do not have a tremendous amount of experience in writing because in my country we do not write as much as students do in the United States due to a heavier emphasis on mathematical courses verses English literature. However, what I have come to learn is that writing plays an important role in achieving success in the academic life of a college student.
The main reason why I have so much trouble when writing, is because I don't concentrate
Writing is an important part of everyone’s life, whether we use it in school, in the workplace, as a hobby or in personal communication. It is important to have this skill because it helps us as writers to express feelings and thoughts to other people in a reasonably permanent form. Formal writing forms like essays, research papers, and articles stimulates critically thinking. This helps the writer to learn how to interpret the world around him/her in a meaningful way. In college, professors motivate students to write in a formal, coherent manner, without losing their own voice in the process. Improving your writing skills is important, in every English class that’s the main teaching point; to help students improve their writing skills. Throughout my college experience I have acknowledge that
I personally do not enjoy writing like most people would feel about reading a dictionary. I am cautiously treading water with every word I type. I have always found writing to be a tedious process. I have never found ease in wording something the way I want to; therefore, it usually sounds so much better in my head. I’ve never considered myself to be comfortable with writing in general. For example, I always had a hard time telling if I needed a comma in a sentence or not. Sometimes it was obvious, but it seems more confusing most of the time.
“Man is an animal that lives in language as a fish lives in water and so written communication is just one of the ways that man can survive through” (English scholar Annie Dillard). Writing is a skill to give information. Like all skills, it is not inborn and so it needs to be learnt. To give information you need good communication skills including the ability to write simply, clearly and concisely (Harris & Cunningham, 1996).
The ability to write well is not a naturally acquired skill; it is usually learned or culturally transmitted as a set of practices in formal instructional settings or other environments. Writing skills must be practiced and learned through experience. Writing also involves composing, which implies the ability either to tell or retell pieces of information in the form of narratives or description, or to transform information into new texts, as in expository or argumentative writing. Perhaps it is best viewed as a continuum of activities that range from the more mechanical or formal aspects of “writing down” on the one end, to the more complex act of composing on the other end (Omaggio Hadley, 1993). It is undoubtedly the act of