“There is no royal path to good writing; and such paths as exist…lead through…the jungles of the self, the world, and of craft” (Jessamyn West, qtd. in Lindermann 22). As West states, the process of creating “good writing” is as much an individual process as it is a challenging course to accomplish. How does one teach an individual process to a class of students? In order for instructors to reach every student, they need to inform students of the personal, ongoing process it takes to write a paper, or in the words of Lindermann “Writing involves not just one process but several”(22). To reach every student, instructors need to apprise students of the personal, ongoing process it takes to write a paper. The writing process is not a formula, or template to be taught as a one size fits all aspect. Lindermann attempts to answer the question, what does the process involve by tackling the elements of the process as what is …show more content…
By providing a description of each stage, and it’s application, Lindermann attempts to explain how individuals can complete the three stages in numerous variations. Prewriting “enables us to understand and begin to solve the problem the stimulus creates for us”(Lindermann 25). Through prewriting, writers “establish what they know”, and “work out provisional answers—”(Lindermann 25). Writing or the “physical act of drafting”(Lindermann 27), is where the individual aspect of the process kicks into full gear. Writers can have certain rituals to start writing, and complete the draft. The last, rewriting, is a “process that includes everything from correcting minor mechanical errors to changing the work substantially” (Lindermann 29). Each stage in this process allows for variation, and yet, there is a structure to the writing process that can be taught to a class while still addressing the personal aspect of the writing
The writing process is always taught as a set way of doing things when, in fact, it is a process that requires personal methods that work for each individual person. It is a necessary lesson to teach in school but there should not be so much emphasis on following the exact way that is taught. It is a contrived process that was probably created by a group of scholars who didn’t even follow these exact rules. If anything, they all did variations of the ideas and then met in the middle with what should be taught. I am in no way saying that the guidelines are wrong but they need to be exactly that, guidelines, instead of a rut that students get stuck in.
Anyone who is doing any type of writing piece has a process. They may not know it but it is there and it exists. It is one’s approach to their piece and how they go about accomplishing it. It has to do with how you write it, how many drafts you do, as well as your revision process if you even have one. My writing process however has room for improvement. A summation of my writing process consist of heavy planning, one draft, and little revisions. Anne Lamott, Shirley Rose, and Kathleen Yancey all drew attention to major points through their writing pieces that support and dispute my writing process. Through their pieces they have found a way to inspire, inform, and entertain me all at the same time while passing along great information that
McQuinn, C., & Roach M.(2007 Oct 24) The Writing Process: A Web Tutorial with Conn McQuinn & Mona Roach, Ph.D. Retrieved 24 October 2007 from the World Wide Web: http://168.99.1.4/technology/writeprocess/
There are various ways writers can evaluate their techniques applied in writing. The genre of writing about writing can be approached in various ways – from a process paper to sharing personal experience. The elements that go into this specific genre include answers to the five most important questions who, what, where, and why they write. Anne Lamott, Junot Diaz, Kent Haruf, and Susan Sontag discuss these ideas in their individual investigations. These authors create different experiences for the reader, but these same themes emerge: fears of failing, personal feelings toward writing, and most importantly personal insight on the importance of writing and what works and does not work in their writing procedures.
Mina Loy in “Feminist Manifesto” seeks an individual female identify free from the masculine. The three most important characteristics in her writing promote individual freedom, women roles, and feminine status. Loy, in her manifesto seems to choose a destructive path against the man and female in a struggle power of one another. She states in the beginning that women are not equal to men. “be brave & deny at the outset-that pathetic clap-trap war cry woman is the equal of man-she is not” (Loy, 2013, p.1981). She argues that men and women are enemies “the only point at which the interests of the sexes merge-is the sexual embrace” (Loy, 2013, p. 1982). Relationships between men and woman require sharing, but Loy dismisses men by stating women must “seek within yourselves to find out what you are” (Loy, 2013, p. 1982). Women need to find themselves before successfully having a relationship with a man. This would be necessary for the relationship to grow and nurture. Loy states “to obtain results you must make sacrifices” (Loy, 2013. p. 1982). However, making these sacrifices does not r...
Writing papers has been one of my biggest fears as a student. High school English class prepared me for the editing of my essays, for example, grammatical errors, spelling, font errors, and things that were under the category of fixing my paper. I realized that the writing process requires more than just editing, you have to understand that the paper is like a human body, it cannot function if every single part is not effective. I can certainly say that I have improved as a writer a great deal and this portfolio and the final revised drafts of my work certainly can argue for that. English 101 was certainly different from my other English classes; we actually focused on different parts of the writing process in each class instead of wasting our time discussing the same components of the process over and over again. As I reflect on my experiences throughout the semester of English 101 I am aware that I have met very important requirements of writing that I feel were very valuable for me as a student and my writing has improved progressively.
Writing and reading are two essential skills that we need to have in order to succeed in any field of study that we have chosen. Without these two we would not be here, wouldn’t be writing right now and would be considered the lowest class of our society. There are different aspects of writing that each of us may, or may not, excel at. Some of us are creative enough to write short stories or even novels on fiction while others, like me, are better at writing essays. To accomplish this we have all had a person to inspire us, to drive us, to get us over the hump of confidence that we need to succeed. Still to be successful we need to count on ourselves to succeed.
The articles: Activity Theory; An Introduction for the Writing Classroom by Elizabeth Wardle and Donna Kain, Rigid Rules, Inflexible Plans, and the Stifling of Language: A cognitivist Analysis of Writer’s Block by Mike Rose, Revision Strategies of Student Writers and Experienced Adult Writers by Nancy Sommers, and Writing is a Social and Rhetorical Activity by Kevin Roozen, all contain similar concepts that are in relation to each other. These concepts are the crucial points that happen when writing a well-developed piece. The concepts that will be mentioned can either improve or hinder the piece of writing. The concepts of the linear structure, plans, feedback and the activity system are what make a piece of writing flow into its final stages.
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
The first weeks of freshman year have gone by in a breeze; for the most part, it didn’t even feel like I was really going to school. Now I am all settled in and it is time to think about what I want the rest of the year to look like. Setting goals has been a strategy that has worked for me when needing to get things done; it helps me the most when I make multiple little goals to reach that lead up to a big goal, for I find this less overwhelming than having a specific, humongous, intimidating goal that is staring at me while I procrastinate. When setting my goals for reading, writing, general school, and habits, I will be sure to keep this in mind.
We all have strengths and challenges in our writing process. My challenges are coming up with an idea to write about. I feel that I have lack of confidence in writing. My strengths would be that I am a perfectionist. I always want things just right.
Rather than seeing pre-writing, writing, and revision as three separate and linear stages, Flower and Hayes point out that “revision, as it is carried out by skilled writers, is not an ‘end-of-the-line’ repair process, but is a constant state of ‘re-vision’ or re-seeing that goes on while they are composing,” (367). Similarly, in my protocol analysis, I do not perform writing and revision as two separate stages. Instead, I’m constantly reworking sentences as I write them, melding these two stages into a single, continual process. Additionally, Flower and Hayes point out that these concrete stages limit the writing process and that “the sharp distinctions stage models make between the operations of planning, writing, and revising may seriously distort how these activities work,” (367). Similarly, my protocol analysis would reflect this notion—that the perception of writing as a series of stages does not actually reflect how many people think about writing. Although it can be used as a pedagogical tool for inexperienced writers, the expectation that more experienced writers write in such a disjointed manner does not reflect the cognitive processes that go into
When joining this online class, I thought I knew everything there was to know about English and the writing process. My previous English class focused solely on the process of writing well-structured, five-paragraph essays. I believed that this course would be somewhere along those same lines. I have always struggled with writing papers, so taking this class made my previous English class look like a walk in the park. However, this course has taken me out of my comfort zone and has helped me improve my writing significantly through assigned essays and various mini assignments. As a writer, I now feel confident in developing a strong thesis statement, successfully integrating sources and quotes in my writing to help prove a point, and using
The writing process is not manufactured by man, it’s inherent in the way we write. The writing process does not consist of rigid steps one must check off like a grocery list in order to have an effective paper; rather it is recursive process, with all steps intertwined, and connected, unable to be united or divided. It’s commonly agreed to have 4 steps: prewriting, drafting, revision, and editing. However, throughout our research as a group, we firmly assert that collaboration and reviewing are of vital importance. How can a writer optimize use of the writing process? What makes each part of the process effective, and how can we evaluate this? How can you and I, as writers, and rhetors use the writing process to our advantage? Buckle
Employing creativity in writing instruction is critical because of the increased emphasis on the development of ideas in standardized testing. Although I was introduced to creative writing in the initial sequence of writing instruction as a student, I was still taught the customary written form of a five paragraph essay; introduction, three body paragraphs, and a conclusion referring back to the introduction. My sixth grade teacher changed my concept and believed purpose for writing, she allowed me to enjoy the methods and processes of writing and the implementation of creativity synonymously. Writing is a form of expression and a representation of self. Students should feel comfortable in a writing environment simply because they are given the opportunity to express themselves without judgment or disappointment. As an instructor of writing, creativity and imagination fuel the writing process. The student not only should have the basic knowledge of how to write, but they should also enjoy and embrace writing for its creative possibilities, thus creating a lively writer/reader