Guide to Writing

Writing for college can be daunting. College itself can be a bit daunting! If I had to take a guess on the percentage of students who overly stress about a writing assignment, be it a research paper, a comparative essay, or a blog, I'd have to say it's about.... well I can't be exact but I'm sure it's pretty high!

I've learned a few things from my college experience when it comes to writing and I'd like to share some of them. The first and foremost item of importance is to Understand your assignment! If you are unsure, it would behoove you to seek advice, if not from the professor directly, from a trustworthy peer. It proves true time and time again, that if you are confused, you can be sure that other students are as well! I've made this mistake before, and it did not end well. It was my first English class after taking several years off from one good ol' college try to the next. The prompt given left me confused and rather than giving an analysis of a very difficult read, I summarized it. And I got a big, fat D. Talk about feeling defeated. From there on, I made every attempt to seek further instruction if I did not understand. I can say, that I didn't make that mistake again. Did my grades go up? Eh, a little, but if I'd had a handy writing guide filled with wisdom from upperclassmen, I probably would've done a bit better.

So, now that we are clear on our assignment, what next? Depending on the type of writing assignment this step could change. Chances are it will require some research. For the sake of this guide, I'll say our assignment is a research paper on the "Underlying causes of the current Guatemalan Famine". Sounds scintillating, yes? I think it is safe to assume that one will need to do some pretty extensive research for this paper. Posing a question first will help guide you in your research. The research has started, hours have passed. You're up to your ears in books, post-it flags, index cards, loose leaf papers. Might I suggest you take a quick break, clear your head, and then create your outline.

An outline is a fantastic way to organize, prioritize and stay on track, once the paper writing has commenced. Outlining, personally, allows me to step back, and really take a look at how the structure of my paper will flow. For example, the outline for the paper on the Guatemalan Famine, could work well in a chronological format, as dates are significant when exploring past causes for a said event. Now that the outline is complete.....its time to start writing!

Writing. Here is where trouble can appear. It is extremely useful to know your audience. Awareness of this will allow you to write in the appropriate tone. There are many, many styles of writing that we all do, every day. Blogging about your social life, instant messaging with your friends, emails to and from your boss, etc. Tone and audience changes go hand in hand. A required book I had in English, titled They Say/I Say, suggests that you should write as if it were a conversation into which you were entering. I like this idea. It engages your reader. Engagement is good. We've all been there before, reading something exceptionally boring, zoning in and out, thinking about anything else other than what we're actually supposed to be focusing on. Remember a bit ago, when I got that big, fat D? Yes, not only did I not understand the assignment, I also didn't care for the reading I had done for that paper. Evolutionary Psychology. I mean, come on! I would start reading and almost straight away, my mind would wander....to laundry, to food, to what the cat was doing, to ANYTHING but evolutionary psychology. With that said, engaging your reader is paramount for a successful paper. And to do this, write as if it were a conversation! So, what are you waiting for? Start writing!

Strong writing is easily recognizable by most. To have strong writing, you must have cohesion. Cohesion allows your reader to follow your argument, and if you want to generate an impact, you must make sense! Ideally, armed with your research, your research question and your outline, this should not be a problem. However, little problems crop up, and often at the most inopportune time.

Little problems can wreak havoc on papers. It is safe to assume there is some sort of deadline with any given writing assignment. At some point you'll be expected to hand something in for evaluation. How do we go about lessening the hazardous affects of these little problems? One way is to make sure you've given yourself plenty of time to complete the assignment. Procrastination is an A-paper killer and should be avoided at all costs! Procrastination will also take away the much needed time you'll need for.....REVISION!

If you take anything away from this writing guide, revision should be it. Revision doesn't just mean to run your spell-checker, peruse for the occasional grammatical error, or whip out your thesaurus, though a fellow classmate wrote an excellent paper this semester regarding this matter. Perhaps the thesaurus is a good tool for revision, but its certainly not the only one. Revision is bigger. This is your chance to really make sure the overall concept is in there, not hidden or obstructed by silly little meaningless sentences. But in there. Organized, researched, cohesive and ready to make your paper pop! Now is the time to make changes. They can be big or little changes. No worries if you scrap an entire paragraph or even page for that matter. Revision allows you to pull out the weeds that have infiltrated your garden.
Nancy Sommers, though I found fault in her article, had some good points from writers identified as "experienced". One experienced writer emphasized that the concern is whether the concept is clear and cohesive, over word choice. This is a good concern to have.

Your concept is clear. You've taken a stance. Your paper has a flow that allows for easy and enjoyable reading, yet it is deliberate and focused. You've run your spell-checker. Everything is coming up roses. It's now time to hand in your assignment and pat yourself on the back. You've given the paper the good ol' college try, and quite possibly, the beginning of your collegiate writing career was victorious!

Brainstorming Writing Guide

Some ideas for writing guideline points:
-research
-information organization
-outline
-write in active voice
-audience awareness
-appropriate tone
-understand and answer the assignment
-professor expectations
-awareness of time frame/due date ----avoid procrastination
-REVISION
-analyze draft
-grammar
-correct citations
-paper format : intro-body-conclusion

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Free writing from 11/2

1. How is writing for school different from other kinds of writing you do?
Outside of the academic realm, my only other writing is via email to friends, family, co-workers, etc. My outside writing has varying levels of formality with emails to friends ranking the most informal. I put more effort into my academic writing, making sure I've dotted my I's and crossed my T's, so to speak. I am writing with the upcoming critique in mind, whether it is by a Professor or peer.

2. What is the number one most important element or aspect of academic writing? What do teachers MOST want to see in your writing?
Teachers want to see a cohesive train of thought, an argument that is logical and supported. I think that teachers desire this more than stumbling across the unfortunate grammatical error, or missed punctuation, etc. At least, this is what I'm gathering from this English 214 class. In the past I've had some pretty serious teachers that would hammer students over verb time and the use of semicolons.

3. What process do you go through when you write for school?
My process is pretty basic in a sense, I brainstorm on the topic, research, outline, and then write and revise.

4. Are you a good academic writer? Explain.
Sheeeesh, in high school I was a terrible writer, or that is what I was told by my advanced composition teacher. He was horrible! Then he facebooked me a while back with a friend request, the audacity! I digress... Over time I feel my writing has improved, though it is a constant struggle. I really do feel like the more practice I have the better I get at developing the concept, or argument. More focused writing, if you will . While I rued the idea of having to take ANOTHER English course (214), the constant writing assignments we have in clas are definitely allowing me the practice I need to become a better writer.

Assignment #3 --Real Life Writing

This is an evaluation essay I did for an English class, 1C Critical thinking, at CCSF.

November 7, 2008

Happiness

The ideas of cultivating happiness, positive affirmations and generating gratitude are a large part of the San Francisco Bay Area identity. From the 1960’s free love movement to the trendy restaurant, Café Gratitude, whose overtly positive outlook causes them to literally hug you upon arrival, San Francisco wants you to feel good. In the article Cultivating Happiness, Kathy Seligman attempts to tie the strategies of gratitude interventions to the feeling of happiness. While she quotes several academics in this particular field, Seligman’s argument is unclear, if it could be considered an argument at all. Her article is all over the place and her transitions are also unclear. She quotes too many different sources and fails to connect the dots between the gratitude interventions and happiness.

The main problem with Seligman’s article is that the piece is structured like a trend story more than a structured argument. As such, her empirical evidence is limited, and not well supported. It's just the results of a few studies, and she only includes the top line of the findings, with little detail on the methodologies of the studies, so it's hard to scrutinize or refute those studies. For example:

One study conducted via the Internet a few years ago showed that when adults did two exercises for a week - naming three good things and identifying and using personal strengths in a concrete way - they were happier and had less depressive symptoms for six months than did those given placebo interventions.

What exactly is a placebo exercise that one could use to compare that against? Where did these participants live? In what income bracket did they belong? Seligman doesn't even provide enough detail about the studies to look them up yourself if you wanted to, so she provides some empirical evidence, but little backing for it. She chose one family, the Carter/Mclaughlin’s, to interview who achieved positive results from the gratitude interventions.

The Carter/McLaughlin family consists of two parents who earn a decent income that live in the progressive Bay Area. Would this gratitude intervention theory apply to children raised by a single mother working two jobs in Detroit? Comparing the two areas in terms of the economy and education will show dramatically different results.

Detroit is an overwhelmingly poor community; it was ranked as the second poorest US city in 2006 (US). Reported by a local ABC affiliate in January 2008, the Bay Area economy was doing rather well, particularly because half of the products made here are exported, unlike Detroit, who has taken a major hit with the auto industry (Louie). Of course, we now know that everyone is feeling the crunch of the sinking economy, although we can be certain that some communities are feeling it more than others.

The high school graduation rates are very different as well. In Detroit the rate is 29.4% compared to 73.1% of the unified San Francisco district (AP). Would a nightly gratitude intervention over dinner help an overworked and underpaid family feel happy? Unfortunately it isn’t known, as Seligman failed to include any research done on these types of families. It is safe to say that neither money nor a good education will guarantee happiness; however both money and a good education are great things to have and can facilitate happiness.

Another problem with this article is that the technique of gratitude interventions is too similar to prayer. What is prayer if not a daily ritual where you voice things for which you are grateful? For example, the Corrigan family opens their dinner by thanking God for certain things in their lives. This is prayer. People have always done gratitude interventions, just under a different guise. If this strategy actually works, then religion would be the key the happiness. For several thousand years civilizations have prayed to a deity or deities; religion has been influential in governing, morality and general existence. However, throughout the history of mankind, prayer has done little to elevate the actual happiness of humans. Terry Sanderson, President of the National Secular Society and gay rights activist from the United Kingdom, states that studies linking religion to happiness are “meaningless” and believes that happiness is largely due to genetics:

Non-believers can't just turn on a faith in order to be happy. If you find religious claims incredible, then you won't believe them, whatever the supposed rewards in terms of personal fulfillment, he said. Happiness is an elusive concept, anyway - I find listening to classical music blissful and watching football repulsive. Other people feel exactly the opposite. In the end, it comes down to the individual and, to an extent, their genetic predispositions (Sato).

Another study notes that most research correlating prayer and happiness is based solely on data from the United States, where churches are prominent both socially and economically. Liesbeth Snoep’s research concludes that both Denmark and the Netherlands are two of the happiest countries in the world and two of the least religious countries also (Snoep). When ranked internationally on levels of life satisfaction, both Denmark and the Netherlands are consistently ahead of the United States (Wilkinson). These studies disprove the popular theory that prayer and happiness go hand in hand.

Finally, as her own writing points out, how we respond to adversity may have a lot more do to with building character than focusing on positives. Techniques that teach strategies for dealing with hardship may be a lot more effective in building overall happiness.

We’ve all heard the old cliché, “when life hands you lemons, make lemonade”. Everyone knows what this means. We need to have the ability within ourselves to deal with adversity and make the best of a not-so-great situation. While this can be difficult, repeating, “life is good” doesn’t seem like a great strategy. There are many ways that one can learn to become resilient, starting with the ability to adapt. Adapting will produce far greater results than repeating positive affirmations. According to the Mayo Clinic, “Resilience will help you thrive” (Mayo).

Seligman writes that she was a “sensitive child” who cried all the time. During her formative years she had to search within herself as to how she would respond to adversity and over the years she developed resilience. However, it is important to note that she also contributes her happiness to her parents, particularly her father as he is “one of the happiest people” she knows. In this statement Seligman links her own happiness to her fathers, which is confusing because this falls into the genetics realm rather than the idea that happiness is cultivated.

Seligman’s evidence is one-sided and her argument is unclear. She fails to connect the dots between the feeling of happiness, the ability to learn how to be happy and gratitude interventions. The article, Cultivating Happiness, comes across as flaky and full of Berkeley-esque new age nonsense that just does not apply to the rest of the world.

Essay 1, Final??

When I receive a writing assignment the very first thing I do is cringe. Then I sigh. Then I accept. After I’ve done these I get real and begin thinking about the assignment as a whole. Then I’ll start to break it down. I will take the assignment and begin to form an idea about what I want the paper to convey. Nancy Sommers' article, “Revision Strategies of Student Writers and Experienced Adult Writers” provides a look into revision strategies of students and experienced writers but before revision one needs to do the writing. Including the steps in which both students and experienced adults wrote would be beneficial to her argument as a whole and provide a more in depth look into the only two categories in which all of us are supposed to fit. Below is a breakdown of my writing process with hopes of discovering where I fit in Sommers' categories.

Once I have the main idea, thesis, or argument, I physically write it down on paper. There is something beneficial to me about writing the idea down versus typing it into a word document. After I have my thesis I begin to do research to support it. As a rule, I always try to find at least four legitimate sources to support my argument. For example, I had to write an analytical memo for an International Relations class a few semesters ago. We had very little instruction regarding the content of the document but had to follow strict guidelines regarding sources. Our sources were subject to approval to ensure there were not any bleeding heart liberal biases or right-wing rhetoric bordering on crazy. Having adequate unbiased support for the paper is essential to the writer’s credibility. Allowing enough time for research and clearly choosing one side of an argument is important. I often find that through research, I not only find support for my argument, but also learn new things that will enrich my paper by expanding my argument. I’m not sure if this translates into this writing assignment per se but this method bodes very well for past IR or Political Science papers I’ve had to do. An experienced writer in Sommers’ articles states: “My first draft is usually very scattered. In rewriting, I find the line of the argument....” I differ from this in that I like to have my ducks in a row with regards to argument and already have the essential research to shape what I’m arguing in my first draft.

Following research, I put together an outline. Outlining was the bane of my existence back in the day, but it taught me that its not only a fantastic way to study but also works really well for writing. I take a half-day or so to marinate on the outline and then begin writing the draft. I write as much as I can initially. The text doesn’t always flow as it should in my first drafts but I like to get as much as I can written down. Maybe it’s psychological but I generally feel better about the draft if I’m close to the word count or page minimum set forth by the professor.

In my college experience thus far, I’ve always had to submit an initial draft on deadline for either peer or professor review and then advised on what needs to be revised. As far as my first draft writing process, I find myself constantly rewriting as I write, much like the description given by an experienced writer in Sommers' article: "I rewrite as I write. It is hard to tell what is a first draft because it is not determined by time....” I re-read the text and make additions or deletions to my content. I’ve only recently begun to think about my audience being someone other than my professor, which straight away puts me into Sommers’ student writer category. As I’m writing this I have my previous English 1A professor in my mind stressing to the class the importance of verb time. It’s hard to imagine a different audience.

After I feel I have a decent first draft I walk away. By decent I mean the draft is close to the appropriate length and that it follows the outline I made. After some time I get back to my computer and the document. I like to print out a hard copy because I find that it’s easier to notice grammatical errors, whether the paper is organized and flows or if it is choppy and really just any weirdness that might be in the paper. Once my first review is done I take the notes I made and start from the top.

Some of my second and oftentimes final revisions follow that of the student’s strategies, primarily rewording. I do not like seeing the same word repeat throughout the text. I do use a thesaurus if I cannot think of a different and appropriate word myself. I also adjust paragraphs if I feel they would fit better in a different section of the paper. Following this I reread the full paper. If I feel that it sounds natural and stays on track and the spelling and grammar are checked, I consider the paper complete!

From this assignment I see that I fit into Sommer’s student writing category. While I rewrite as I write, as some of the experienced writers do, I focus more on micro issues versus global issues, like audience. I do feel I stay on track with the argument I’m making, however, there are times when I could expand the argument further, by providing additional examples or doing more research. I can say that I’m aware of these issues and make a concerted effort to avoid them, but more often than not, I resort back to the trivial parts of the writing processes like rewording and avoiding lexical repetition. This, I believe, categorizes me in Sommers' definition of "student writers" as described in her article “Revision Strategies of Student Writers and Experienced Adult Writers.”

Essay #2 -For Assessment

1. Using the templates in They Say / I say, develop an essay that takes a nuanced position about some aspect of contemporary schooling. You should draw on either Freire or Gatto or both, as well as your own experiences and thinking to support your ideas.

* I made revisions and adjustments to this essay but failed to save as multiple drafts....doh!



John Taylor Gatto’s essay, “Against School” argues that the public school system in the United States exists only to dumb down and socially stratify the populace and turn us into “not only a harmless electorate and a servile labor force but also a virtual herd of mindless consumers.” I find this statement to be offensive and untrue. While Gatto has much to say about the system and its dirty, hidden agenda, he alludes only briefly to a questionable period in his life where his teaching license had been revoked. This I feel is a bit suspect and furthers the idea that he has a giant conspiracy theory against the public education system which is unfortunate because in his essay a major point that is overshadowed by this is parental responsibility in their children’s education. Yes, our public education system is flawed and there is room for improvement in any public system. But the argument posed is too simplistic. My public education experiences prove that his idea of the "system" is more complex than he may think.

I grew up in a smallish town in a friendly neighborhood in Southern Indiana. All the kids in my neighborhood went to the same school. I remember that in Kindergarten, the school districts changed, causing my mother and other kids mother's to flip out. The school we were being funneled to, decided by this larger than life entity, the School Board, was supposedly less than ideal (poor and in a sketchy neighborhood). I was nearly 6 years old and really didn't care, as long as my friends were going to be there as well. Turns out, that was my favorite public schooling period in my life.

During this period, I had caring, thoughtful, and sincere teachers and librarians that did everything they could to enrich my little 6-year-old life (continuing on through 8th grade) with wonderful art projects, media and science fairs, and book clubs. Music classes were offered by the 3rd grade and I was learning to play an instrument when I was 9. Anything that encouraged creativity and critical thinking, even at that young age, they had. Keep in mind that this was the poor school, the school with an outdated infrastructure and really gnarly food. I distinctly remember how involved mine and the other parents were. They were the “Homeroom Moms and Dads.” They were PTA members. They were leaders of the Girl Scouts and Brownies. Now this was a different time, think 1983ish and times have certainly changed, but my point is, both the school system and the parents were involved in stimulating our minds, teaching and guiding us to become honest, intelligent, hardworking students. Sure, there were rules we followed and curriculum guidelines for the teachers, but just because there are rules within an educational institution doesn’t imply a giant government conspiracy to “dumb down” the masses. Gatto’s essay further implies the conspiratorial view against the United States public school system, aligning it with the Prussian model that is "an educational system deliberately designed to produce mediocre intellects, to hamstring the inner life, to deny students appreciable leadership skills, and to ensure docile and incomplete citizens-all in order to render the populace manageable.” I do think that such a broad generalization not only unfair but also inaccurate, as I can attest from personal experience to having educators that were not trying to and did not mold me into a mindless consumer.


High School was a bit different. In his essay, Gatto included excerpts from Alexander Inglis's 1918 book, "Principles of Secondary Education," to support his argument. Inglis broke down the "purpose of modem schooling into six basic functions." The second function tiled "The Integrating function" argues: "...Its [modem schooling] intention is to make children as alike as possible. People who confirm are predictable, and this is of great use to those who wish to harness and manipulate a large labor force." Looking back now, I can see this "function" attempted clearly throughout my high school career. Perhaps it was because we were a very large high school, with over 2,300 students, and this was a good way to "manage the population." Perhaps my high schooling could partially validate some of Gatto's argument. Let's explore this further. Conformity was enforced so greatly that I was once sent home for having multi-colored hair. I was a "distraction" and distractions were not tolerated. “Conform! Conform! Conform!” should have been the school fight song. Conformity leads to boredom. Boredom is not good. Boredom reminds me of the English proverb, “Idle hands are the Devil’s tools”. After a quick search on the Internet, I found an even better rendition corresponding to the above adage from the Portuguese: Cabeça vazia é oficina do diabo (An empty head is the devil's workshop). The Portuguese proverb rings true and I feel that Gatto’s grandfather had heard it before. In the third paragraph of Gatto’s essay, he recalls a time when his grandfather smacked him over the head for complaining of boredom. He was told that boredom is no one’s fault but one’s own. This statement/story is contradictory to Gatto’s main argument in that by placing all the responsibility onto the school system for educating, un-educating, dumbing down and what not, what he learned from his grandfather is that the responsibility is entirely his if he’s bored in the classroom, that “the obligation to amuse and instruct myself was entirely my own, and people that didn’t know that were childish people, to be avoided if possible.”

Fortunately for me I had a high school teacher that went against the grain. He was less into the idea of conformity than I was. He taught Advanced Government. It was apparent he loved what he did, because he was pretty darn old and easily could have retired. Now when getting schooled in a small Southern Indiana town, one doesn't normally encounter fiery government teachers who open the floor in a very Friere-esque way, allowing debate amongst the students and also with himself. I presume his age and years of teaching in the school system had something to do with the freedom he had in his classroom. He encouraged critical thinking. He advised we question authority. He demanded that we take it upon ourselves to seek out information that we weren't going to find in the school library. This was before the internet too, so magazines and articles were the medium that opened my 17-year-old eyes to worldly conflicts, events, atrocities that were not shown on my local ABC News, such as the Palestinian side of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict or the devastating U.S. invasion of Panama in 1989. My point is, that even though throughout most of my high school career, I was urged to conform, to be a "sheeple”, I had parents that instilled a strong work/study ethic and teachers that inspired an insatiable interest within to never stop learning. This reminds me of another proverb, from Nigeria: "It takes a village to raise a child," which is taken to mean, that responsibility not only lies with the parents but with the community too.

John Taylor Gatto has research to sustain his claim that the United States school system is flawed, no doubt. But the idea that this system is in place to render us “mindless consumers,” “obedient” and “manageable” under the guise of an educational entity is suspect and unsupported. Gatto’s credibility as a teacher is questionable largely because he failed to include the entire story surrounding the revocation of his teaching license. He only touches on the parental responsibility aspect, which is unfortunate, because the school system does not exist only to raise the general population’s children. Had he explored this idea further, his essay would sound less conspiratorial and radical. Though my high school administration really tried to validate Gatto's argument, one particular teacher I had managed to quell their attempts through his passion for educating. Through my personal experiences as a product within the public education system, I feel I disprove Gatto's theory. I did not turn out a “sheeple” and I’ve been told more than once that I am actually far from “manageable.”

paragraph

As a student, I recognized myself in Sommers' description of inexperienced writers, though, I did identify with some of the experienced writers techniques. For example, I will focus on grammar, spelling, and word choice when writing a paper, as most student writers do. I should be focusing more on my audience though, as this was clearly an important technique used by the experienced writers Sommers' interviewed. Sommers' article, unfortunately, only leaves us with two categories in which to put ourselves. My issue with this article is that Sommers' leaves no room for those of us who identify with both inexperienced and experienced writers.