Anna
Papst
ENGL
408
Reflection
on Murray
06.26.203
From the opening pages of the book it addressed the issue
of assuming where students are in their writing ability. This is a dangerous
game because as teachers we want to teach them at the level that they are at
and then build on what they know already and help them progress. However,
without the accurate knowledge of students’ abilities, we don’t know how to
appropriately help them get to where they need to be. Writing is thinking. Not
only are we thinking about what topics we need to write about, we are also
thinking about what topics to assign our students to write about. We are
assuming too much that students are able to pick their own topics of interest
and then being able to create a paper off of knowledge that they can find on
their own. We, as teachers, need to be teaching them the methods and tools that
go into writing and good writing. Writing is a process as well. The first time
a student isn’t going to know how to produce a flawless paper, because it takes
many drafts before it can be submitted and called complete. The learning
process shouldn’t be a drag to students but seen as an opportunity to grow in
their writing abilities. The model of the writing process was concise and
seemed easy to adapt. Collecting, planning and developing ideas will make a
paper flow. Planning was the idea that I latched onto the most. Sometimes I
just go in and write the paper without making an outline or really thinking
about the ideas that I am putting down. I end up going back to the beginning
and creating that outline first again and then starting over from scratch.
Without a plan, you aren’t going to get anywhere very quickly. It’s the same
with a paper, if you don’t have your ideas mapped out, that paper is going to
just sit there until you have some ideas or direction that you want to take it.
In the text it talked
about the writer is the first reader. This point can often be scary because the
reader doesn’t want to read his/her own work and see how it sounds etc. This
step in the writing process is absolutely vital. You need to sit down and be
able to pick your work apart and see where it needs polishing.
Drafting – Revising –
Editing. “The writer’s moment of truth arrives when all the collecting and
planning are completed and the writer faces the blank page.” (41) Sometimes it
is easiest to start free writing your ideas. This will give you the length and
a base structure to start with. I liked how the book called the first draft,
the Discovery Draft. Really you
don’t know how the first draft is going to end up, so it’s the first stab that
you take at your paper. You always need to start somewhere. I journal on a
frequent basis; so the point he made about keeping a daybook beside you while
writing makes perfect sense. I don’t feel pressured when taking notes in a journal
fashion. Then, just have the daybook beside you while writing can help you stay
on track and make the writing process a smoother and more natural feeling. Writing:
“it is a satisfying human activity that extends both the brain and the soul. It
stimulates the intellect, deepens the experience of living, and is good
therapy.” (73) These opening chapters had so much meat in them. There are so
many tools and stories from other writers that are so useful in helping to
teach writing. Writing is not a scary, frightening process, but an opportunity
to create something the way that only you can create it, in written form.
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