1. One of the ways that I try to ease apprehension in students, is by relating to them as a writer. I am not ashamed to say that I have a pile of over 50 rejections from magazines; I don’t let them mock me, but push me to keep trying. I am not ashamed to say that I revise 20 or more times before I’m happy with something, that I still have words I regularly misspell, or that I still get intimidated when a new person is reviewing my work. Talking about some of these things (in moderation), reminds the person that I’m helping that I am, like them, human; I also need feedback from others (and I don’t always agree with it), and I also am still learning.
It’s easy to worry that someone giving you feedback will be too harsh, will tell you to give up because you are the worst writer to ever walk the planet, or that someone will tell you that your writing is boring/dumb/predictable/overly verbose. In my actual experience, most people who offer to help aren’t that way, thankfully. However, the fear is real, and I think that’s what keeps a lot of people from allowing others to see their work, especially with creative writing.
Overall, what I got from reading Beach, was that it’s much better to help a student learn skills to better
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I like the advice Beach gives regarding having the student fill out “The Guided Assessing” form before the meeting, having the student note what they are trying to say in their paper and where they are having difficulties getting their point across (58). This is particularly helpful when a tutor or teacher doesn’t have a lot of time to spend with each student, because it allows the student to think about the work more in-depth before they meet with their teacher/tutor. This is practical for our online Hangouts because we have only about 15 minutes to spend on each student who needs assistance with their work. That’s not nearly enough time to allow a person to sit, think, evaluate, and then talk in-depth about their struggles with their
The very first chapter we read of Mindful Writing changed my perspective to see that anyone and everyone can be a writer. Brian Jackson, the author of Mindful Writing, wrote, “In this book I want to convince you that anyone writing anything for any reason is a writer…Writing is not something we do just in school. It is a vital means of influence in all facets of life.” It was through that very first reading that I began to think about writing as more than just a dreaded part of school, and I began to think of myself as more than just a student forced to write. Our very first assignment, My Writing Story, helped me to reflect on my identity as a writer. I realized that I was a writer every time I wrote in my journal or captioned an Instagram post. Throughout the semester, as I came to love writing more with each paper I wrote, I was able to create my identity as a writer. I learned that I loved research and analyzing others’ thoughts and ideas, but that writing simply on my own opinions, wasn’t my favorite past time. Through the countless readings this semester, I saw which writing styles I loved and which didn’t speak to me. Each day of class, I chipped away at creating my identity as a writer, and I’m grateful for the lessons that helped me shape and realize that
THE PAST :.. In days gone by, the four species managed to live in perfect harmony. Witches, werewolves and vampires lived in secret, blending in with the humans on a daily basis - and the humans remained completely in the dark about their existence. It was after thousands of years of living this way, whilst everything was completely normal, that a small group of vampires decided that they’d had enough. They spent months devising plans.
I came into this class under the impression that I already wrote well enough and wouldn’t need to improve. However, as I progressed through the semester I learned that there is always room to grow. The first paper I produced was not at the level I was hoping but after I actively decided to improve my writing my papers became much better. Looking back on my work in the class I wonder how much my writing has changed and where I still have room to improve. Without evaluating my work I can’t hope to become any better. Through this class I have grown much as a writer but there is still more I can learn.
‘I am going to fail’ was the very first thought that crept into my mind on that very first day of class. Before I stepped into the classroom on the first day, I felt pretty good about my writing. I had done previously well in English, and didn’t think this class would be much of a challenge. This all changed on the first day of school, when my professor talked about the level of reading and writing expected for this class. I remember thinking ‘I don’t read, why couldn’t I have been born someone who likes to read?!’ Since this moment on the very first day of class, I have grown immensely through hard work. In this essay, I will explain what I have learned over the course of this class about myself, and about writing.
The previous week they had performed the spell successfully. After contacting Mordred, Merlin and Morgana had arranged to meet him and Aglain, the leader of the druid camp, in the woods near a small waterfall, halfway between Camelot and the grave of Gorlois. Morgana always went on her annual pilgrimage to her father's tomb at this time of the year, at the end of spring.
Allow whatever is arising to settle in you. Some way of shaking off whatever feels confining or uncomfortable, and some way of owning and drawing strength from the aspects of the writing that felt empowering and authentic and courageous. Love yourself, love your day, love your life! Silvia
When I write, I generally do not “open the door” for readers until I am done with a certain paragraph or section of my writing. I do this mostly because I like to keep my writing flowing, and I do not like stopping in the middle of an idea especially when someone is there to give me more to add on. I would rather have someone critique me when I’m finished, so I know that I can always just ignore what they are saying and go on with my writing if I need to because it is already done. However, when I do finally “open the door” to a section of my writing, the first people I usually ask are friends that I made in whatever class I am writing something for. But, these people are sometimes not that helpful because I suspect they do not want to be mean or critical, so then I ask my teacher if they can read over my work for me. In English last year, Mr. Biggs was a huge help with being a good critique, and it was really beneficial because he had more experience as a writer than one of my classmates. I really trusted him in reading my writing because I knew he would help me if my thesis was really weak, and he wouldn’t just leave me at telling me that it was. He would suggest different ways I could make it better, which ultimately would make my essay or piece of writing a lot better. Personally, I would rather hear all the things that are wrong with my writing than all the things that are amazing about it. Hearing that something is good doesn’t really help me as much because chances
Thinking about a topic to write about is not always easy, and sometimes the process of writing can end up being difficult. Jennifer Jacobson discusses strategies to overcome the struggles that young writers can encounter while writing. I was interested in her book No More “I’m Done!” Fostering Independent Writers in the Primary Grades because I feel like as a future teacher this could be a frequent problem among students. From reading this book, I hoped that I would learn useful strategies that I could use to help students overcome their problems with writing. After reading this book, I do believe that Jacobson has provided me with plenty of methods to use. I was surprised at the depth that she goes into in her text. There is a vast amount
At first, some students find it difficult to say what they think about a piece of writing. Such difficulties arise when students feel uncomfortable commenting on someone else’s work, not wanting to call anything "wrong,” not feeling qualified to "judge" another 's work. Instead, some find it tempting to say "Looks fine to me," but your peers learn nothing from such feedback.
As I reflect it becomes clear to me that I enjoyed writing my junior year in high school. My English teacher Mr. Duckworth was a one of a kind teacher. His classroom was a normal classroom setting with the desk all line up behind one another. All of his students would face the white erase board that was located in the front of the room. He would typically sit at his desk leaning back in his chair giving us instructions on what was to be done in the class. As we sit in the class, all I can hear are my classmates laughing and joking around as he spoke. he would already have an essay topic on the board that was to the right of us that he could easily see from his desk. This was an everyday routine for all of his classes. As we begin to write, I noticed how different classmates of mine would get up to ask for help with their essay. The students who never asked for help usually would end up with a lot of red markings on their essays.
Once the writing is done, this is where the fear comes alive. It’s the fear of failure, disappointment, disapproval, and maybe even success. Collin Brooke and Allison Carr say, “The ability to write well comes neither naturally nor easily.” (Failure Can Be an Important Part of Writing Development 63) This statement is something I wish I could let myself believe. I have a preconceived notion that writers are born, not made. That my brother, a fellow writer, will see more success than myself. Why would anyone ever care what I have to say about anything? These are the fears and insecurities that limit me from growing with my process. Brooke and Carr also say about writers, “...they are the ones who are able to make mistakes, learn from them, and keep writing until they get it right.” (63) If I could challenge my process, I would challenge myself to do exactly what this quote says. My first draft always has to be the perfect draft, but this is unrealistic. I limit myself before I even start with this ideology. My hope for my process is to challenge myself to take more risks, write more drafts, and fail so I can at least say I tried. I may even challenge myself to get a head start on some of those due dates...
The Creature That Opened My Eyes Sympathy, anger, hate, and empathy, these are just a few of the emotions that came over me while getting to know and trying to understand the creature created by victor frankenstein in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. For the first time I became completely enthralled in a novel and learned to appreciate literature not only for the great stories they tell but also for the affect it could have on someones life as cliché as that might sound, if that weren’t enough it also gave me a greater appreciation and understanding of the idiom “never judge a book by its cover.” As a pimply faced, insecure, loner, and at most times self absorbed sophomore in high school I was never one to put anytime or focus when it came time
Over the course of the semester, I feel that I have grown as a writer in many ways. When I came into the class, there were skills I had that I already excelled at. During my time in class, I have come to improve on those skills even more. Before I took this class I didn’t even realise what I was good at. This is the first class where I felt I received feedback on my writing that helped me to actually review my work in see what areas I lacked in and where I succeeded. Some of the skills I had shocked me as I didn’t think I had those capabilities in me.
Many of our students are just learning to "trust" themselves as writers.Most haven't had the opportunity in high school to explore what writing can do for their thinking; they have been taught that "writing" is a product produced for a teacher.Student-centered pedagogy seeks to de-center teacher authority, and has moved away from traditional methods such as the lecture format to more group discussion.
Have you ever read a novel that was so appealing that it left you with the interest of writing something similar? Writing a novel is a time-consuming process that requires patience, knowledge and a certain language. However, not all writers known today were born with natural talents. In fact, many had to work on their skills in order to succeed. Although it could be difficult to come up with an idea and express it in words, writing can be easier if you followed certain steps, such as writing a plot, building the characters and making it plausible to anyone who reads it.