Short Assignment #4 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. When writing the simple 500+ word “Short Assignment 4”, an English 1010 …show more content…
In the book, “Essays on Writing”, Roy Peter Clarke writes an appropriately titled article, “I Won’t Use Writing As A Punishment, I Won’t…” (pg 3). In it, he describes the wrongful assignment of writing that students are required to do as punishment for their actions. I agree with Clarke that this is a terrible practice and teaches kids to hate writing but he doesn’t mention the reason that this is used as a punishment in the first place. It is a cycle of disgust towards the entire idea of writing that begins with students being forced to write under strict rules with the threat of their grades (and in turn, their futures) on the line. This causes them to hate the idea of writing from an early age. Then, since students don’t like writing from based on this reason, teachers believed that it was a good form of punishment. So, instead of redeeming the positivity of writing, teachers just threw it under the bus and are using it as a lesson, however, the only lesson being learned is that writing …show more content…
Do I listen to my teachers and follow their rules or do I totally disregard everything that is being shoved down my throat by the government and come up with my own writing process? Alright, it’s not that tough of a decision. Of course I’m going to do what works best for me and come up with my own way. After all, many successful authors do things in order to write well that teachers wouldn’t even think of teaching. In Susan Wyche’s article (included in Essays on Writing), She states that, “Famous writers have been known to do a lot of crazy things to help them write” and then goes on to list famous authors and their rituals before writing (pg 52). Now, I think that what some authors do, like lying on coffins, is a bit excessive and I’m not too sure how that helps them write but I do think that everyone is different and requires different settings and stimuli to help the creative process. For me, I need music that I know well. If I am listening to a song that I know every beat to, I can write through the entire song without taking a break. This idea is one of many that teachers have always tried to suppress saying that we can’t have distractions and not allowing us to listen to music in class even when we are doing individualized
Ralph Fletcher’s story in the beginning of the introduction quickly grabbed my attention. Although the story was humorous, I found there to be a lot of truth in it. In the story, the young students realize that their teacher will take anything and make them write about it. It seems to be that the teacher does this so often, that the students are afraid to take joy in the simple things. The students don’t want to assigned another writing prompt. Fletcher then says that teacher need to be sure “not to get too evangelical about teaching writing.” I agree with this statement. It is very important to teach students how to write, but as a teacher we need to know when we should take a break so the students do not get burnt out. Once students get tired
In Downs and Wardle’s article, they argue and identify the flaws in teaching writing in college. Demonstrating the misconceptions that academic writing is universal, but rather specialized in each case. Citing studies and opinions from esteemed professionals, Downs & Wardle state their points and illuminate the problem in today’s many colleges.
In his essay, "Teach Writing as a Process not a Product," Donald Murray outlines the major difference between the traditional pedagogy that directed the teaching of writing in the past and his newly hailed model. Traditionally, Murray explains, English teachers were taught to teach and evaluate students' writing as if it was a finished product of literature when, as he has discovered, students learn better if they're taught that writing is a process. For Murray, once teachers regard writing as a process, a student-centered, or writer-centered, curriculum falls into place. Rules for writing fall by the way side as writers work at their own pace to see what works best for them.
When I initially thought about writing style I believed that there would be some nice neat definition, and maybe a few rules that would govern writing with “style”. It turns out that I grossly underestimated this topic and while I knew that writing style would be a topic of considerable depth, I did not fully understand the degree that I would be pondering the issue of writing with “style”.
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
According to Runciman, there are many plausible reasons that students and other people don’t enjoy writing. Evidence, assumptions, and language and tone are the basis for which Runciman makes his argument. Overall, this argument is effective because reliable and well known sources are used in a logical fashion. Also, the assumptions made about the audience are accurate and believable. Runciman used his assumptions wisely when writing his claim and in turn created a compelling, attention capturing argument. The article was written so that students and teachers at any level could understand and easily read it. This argument is interesting, captivating, relevant through its age, and can relate to students and teachers at almost every academic level.
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.
Writing is a process I’ve grown to despise. Ever since grade school, I’ve had problems trying to express my ideas on paper. My writing process involves thinking about what’s being asked and trying to reflect my thoughts the best way I can on paper, but my thoughts don’t always come out as clear as I want them to be sometimes leaving a question not fully answered. My writing process isn’t a consistent set in stone process, but since being in ENC 1101 I always follow some of the same parameters such as revising my drafts, grammar usage and considering context and audience.
Within the text Santrock talks about how teachers need to have writing not be a punishment but use it for positive affects in order to have children enjoy writing (page 375). By allowing students to write about anything that they want in a set amount of time, teachers can enforce that writing can be a positive experience. Students won’t be graded on what the students write about, they would be graded on sentence structure and grammar. By just grading students on that, they will feel like their ideas and stories are important.
Fallowing the process of wring leads the writer to a better connection with their readers; it helps a writer get better in wring about anything. For some students, it is litter hard to get use to this process but after writing a couple of papers using this process, it should get easier. It is not hard after couple times of using it. It might be a bit hard for kinds in the elementary, maybe just because they don’t take writing any serious. Or it’s just the fact that they don’t enjoy the topic of the writing that the teacher had assigned them to write about. Once a person gets in high school writing becomes one of their close friend. The writing process is always needed, in writing a college essay, class essay or even writing for something different.
During the transition from a high school writer to a collegiate writer, my strength at understanding the basic principles of good writing has remained consistent. I grasp the ...
The guideline I learned about how to write an academic paper makes sure your paper is based on 8 phases (Investigation, hypothesis, data collection, process data, conclusion, evaluation, reflection, and references), use of formal tone, and use the third person all the time. Just like what Vonnegut said it’s “revelation, accidental and intentional, elements of style.” It’s not meant to be pleasing the audience or express your emotion; the purpose of it is to objectively evaluate a historical event or a scientific experiment. They are 2 different kinds of guidelines in different fields and server for different purposes. I believe Kurt Vonnegut’s 8 guidelines will not be the only Bible of writing because writing is personal. Everybody can have their own way of writing all you have to do is grab a pen, tear off a piece of paper and scribble anything you
LeBeau, Sue, (2007). The Writing Process. Retrieved 23 Oct 2007 from the World Wide Web: http://www.suelebeau.com/writingprocess.htm
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
Although adequate writing skills are indispensable for life, leisure, and employment, quite a few students do not learn how to write effectively. Since writing is an exercise in thinking, it is important to balance the process of writing with the mechanics of writing. The areas of the brain involved in the writing task are varied yet interrelated; therefore, a student’s individual needs will determine the method of instruction they receive. Many students who have low expectations for their own academic success will not make even minimal efforts to complete a...