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CollegeWriting.info
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CollegeWriting.info |
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Student
Responses about Starting to Write |
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1.
Student Uses Writing as Learning
2. Student Falls in Love with Writing
3. A Student's Writing Steps 4. A Student's Four Styles of Writing
1. "Writing as Learning" by Carissa Barbur, University of Minnesota
As I begin to write about writing, my mind dwells on the statement you made that writing is thinking. I do agree with this, for if you do not engage your mind, you simply stare at a blank sheet of paper or an empty computer screen. (Most people can relate to this set of circumstances.)
However, more than thinking, I feel that writing is learning. There are many reasons I feel this way. First, I am the type of person who can read a chapter and not get a thing out of it, but if I put the information into a short written summary as I read, I have a clear understanding of the material. It is as if the extra process of sending the message from my brain to my hand after it is received cements the idea in my mind.
Another reason I feel writing is learning is the “Oh Yeah” reflex.
The “Oh Yeah” is the sudden spark, the significant detail, the
perfect word or the catchy alliteration. It
is the idea or thought that pops up only because you were in the midst of
writing. It is also a learning tool
because you can proceed to use one spark in the current piece and a spark spin
off on another.
Finally, I feel writing is learning because of the “Roll.” The Roll is a two-part skill. The first is that while you are in the Roll, you are frantically writing—and probably in ways you were unaware you could use, and probably using ideas you were not in connection with beforehand. The second part is the revision of the Roll, learning from your mistakes.
2. "My Most Memorable Experience with Writing" by Katie Campion, Inver Hills Community College (9/05, Eng 1108, Journal 2)
My most memorable experience with writing came when I was in the fourth grade. I attended a very small, private, Catholic elementary school in which our most familiar major form of writing was the Bible. When I was in the fourth grade, I was fortunate enough to have a teacher who thoroughly enjoyed her job (although she hated me) and got a writer she knew to come in and talk to us every Wednesday for an hour, for several weeks. He brought his own poems and stories that had been published, and he taught us a lot about how to write. This was very much like a remedial creative writing class. First we wrote poems. We wrote about flowers, our mothers, church, school, rish--you know, typical elementary stuff. I wrote one poem about my parents' divorce, which didn't go over too well with my Catholic teacher, but that's not the point.
This man's name was, as far as I was concerned, "The Word Man." I even gave him a logo. It was like the Superman logo but with a "W" instead of an "S." He had a long ponytail of scraggly black and white hair and was always pulling on it and putting it back into its hair binder. He used his arms and hands a lot when he talked to us. I was completely enamored of him. I wrote way more poems than everyone else did, writing constantly in my free time. I loved to write with crayons, as it brought my words into color, into life. I even wrote him a poem when he had to leave, and then I cried.
I don't remember much of the details of what he wrote or what he told us except that he wrote a book called "Coffee" and told me that no poem should have a line that was over three words long. I didn't understand why, but it made the bodies of my poems exceptionally long.
I think it was when this all occurred that I finally decided that I wanted to be a writer. I had always had an affinity for words, probably due to my mother's extensive education and the way she talks, using words like "sporadic" and "allocution" all the time, and then explaining to me what they were. When I told her about The Word Man and showed her all my colorful poems, she bought me my first writing album. It was a lime green book with a page marker ribbon and three hundred completely blank pages. I used to love to simply flip through and imagine the possibilities. I began to write in this book until I got another one just like it, but dark green. Then I wrote all over that one. Even now I still find little slips of paper or napkins with my juvenile handwriting on them. I have been collecting them and cautiously putting them in the green albums.
I still have the albums, and occasionally look through them and laugh a little. The things that mattered most to me, like recess and strawberries for dinner, are what my writing was about. I will always remember the feeling of importance and dedication I had when I filled up these albums, and so I still cherish them.
I
find that I write papers the best when I am under pressure.
I don’t, however, like to be desperately under pressure.
The night before is one thing, but late into the night or the day of just
doesn’t work well for me. By doing
other things before writing a paper, I relax with my thoughts, allowing them to
seemingly flow more smoothly.
The
above is just an example of what I might do before getting into writing a paper.
Sometimes I’ll get something to eat or talk with my friends.
Sometimes I’ll take a nap. As
long as I can do SOMETHING before I actually get to my paper, knowing that I
still have time to get it done—though pushing it—I can usually succeed in
writing something decent.
1) The first thing I usually do is check the
date that the paper is to be turned in. I
then have an idea of when the best time would be to start on it.
I want to always make sure that I won't just run out of time because I
ended up having other plans or something.
2) When the right time comes around for doing my
paper, I tend to sit at my computer and start MS Word, the program I use for
writing my papers. Perhaps I will
come up with a title for the paper, but usually nothing more than that.
If I'm very motivated, only then might I start writing actual contents of
my paper. Usually what I do is find
something else to do. I either putz
on my computer, or I will do something entirely different, away from my
computer.
3)
While I am doing other things other than my paper, I can relax my mind, allowing
the paper to sink to the back, relieving any stress I might have about the
paper.
I may listen to music, watch a movie, or watch some
T.V. Whatever I find to do, it is
worthwhile because it allows the paper to be in my head without invading it
entirely. As I said above, this
helps my mind to flow more freely.
4)
Once I am relaxed, I then head back to my computer and NO MATTER WHAT, I try and
get something typed. If I can, I
will finish my whole paper in one sitting. Perhaps
once or twice I will get up to snatch something to eat and/or drink, but that is
pretty much it. I try not to take
any more breaks than I have to.
5)
The final step is obviously to turn my paper in.
In most cases, I will have gone over the final draft of the paper a
couple of times to make sure it is what I want it to be.
If needed, I do some revising. Off
to class I go then, paper in my backpack, ready to be turned in.
4. "Different Styles of Writing" by Jason Dreyer, University of Minnesota (10/04/00, EngC 3027-11, Class Journal 3)
It is necessary to use different styles of writing for different situations. A professional environment requires a more professional style of writing than sending a personal letter. This journal will discuss, and graphically depict four styles of writing that I have used recently.
The first type of writing I will discuss is the memorandum. My roommates
and I have an ongoing feud with the people who live two floors below us. They
are smokers and we are not. They are not allowed to smoke in their apartment, so
they sit right outside the main entrance and do their deed. Not only does the
smoke rise and enter our apartment, but sometimes we have to walk by them on our
way out.
I have two lasers. They are very bright. Since the beginning of the
school year, whenever we see them outside smoking, we turn off our lights and
laze them. They get very upset. In retaliation, they buzz the call button to our
apartment, which is loud and annoying. They also shout profanity and pound on
our door. We do not respond in any other way, which infuriates them more.
Recently I had an idea. I checked our lease agreement, and saw that rules
dictate they smoke thirty feet away from the building. I typed up a very formal
looking memorandum stating the policy, and that it would be enforced. I posted
it on the entrance and an hour later I saw the benefits of my writing. The
smokers were in the middle of the parking lot ruining their lungs. I felt like I
had won a small victory.
The second form of writing that I have used recently is the academic
essay. This is the obvious method with respect to this class. I think about the
parameters of the assignment, then apply it to my life experiences. I attempt to
fit the most interesting experience that I have had to the assignment. This
usually works well for me.
A third type of writing I practice is chat room language. In these
situations it is necessary to express as much as possible in as few words as
possible as fast as possible. I admit that I am not too experienced at this form
of writing. I end up having to think for much longer than the other people
before I say something half as witty. Consequently, I carry on fewer
conversations. I do not like to pressure of chat rooms.
The last style of writing I will discuss is emailing. This is another form of writing that originated with the Internet. Email is easier than chatting because there is time to articulate and modify the message as desired. I like email because it is like writing a letter that is delivered instantaneously. In my opinion, email is the best application of the Internet.
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Most recent update: 6 July 2006
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