What is my definition of writing

Writing for college students should be perceived as a method of discovery, a  representation of communication accepted by society, in respect to it's time. Writing, then, should invoke a constant mode of learning which will shape consciousness.


 is passed along throughout generations and becomes either stronger or lost with time.

The implication of this definition

To finish...

“in class”: reflective writing

The most effective part was to think on possible main points to argue. The idea to draft an outline, though it was not the goal, helped me to perceive the importance of an outline to map out my own paper. I would recommend others to write a quick outline to jot down ideas for writing an essay.

The tone was welcoming and friendly, even asked me to celebrate at the end, unfortunately I didn’t get to the end of it. It actually engaged me do the assignment and was very clear in what was asked me do, though would be impossible to do in one day! I learned that assignments should be tried at least once by the author to make sure it will work!

I am going to create an outline to make sure that I have said all that I wanted to say

Revision Plan

There are a couple of things that I have to do for my revision plan.

First, I have to edit it to correct grammar issues and draft my work cited page.

Second, I have to reread to make sure that I am getting my point across to the reader. Then I have to take to the writing center to be proofread and ask questions about their thoughts. For example what they understood, what they perceived as important, and where they stand about my issue.

Third, I have to revise it again and add or delete new points of view that were offered to me by my readers.

Then I have to go back to my first task above anytime that I make new changes on my essay. If no changes were made, then I can move to my conclusion.

Thinking Toward a Revision Plan

I am solid about the issue, and how to address it. I am solid about my audience and on my argument. Also, I am solid on my sources, and how they support my thesis. I am not so solid yet on my closing, but I am working on it.

My argument states that most academically successful children have solid hard and soft skills and few social and emotional stresses. Solid hard and soft skills, fewer emotional stresses result from playtime. Therefore, academically successful children result from playtime. There are at least four sources that support my claim. I have included two other sources that counter the necessity of play during school hours but do not take in consideration my point of view. To make sure that my readers understand the purpose of each paragraph, I’ve included the thesis on my introduction and argued each point respectively on the paragraphs.

I believe that my essay will engage readers, because not many people perceived the importance of play. Many people have the assumption that play is a privilege or a form of entertainment. My introduction engages readers with my argument and address initial concerns and my transitions help readers move from one paragraph to the next.  I am working on my conclusion sum up my argument and end memorably for readers.

My trial assignment for you

How to Make a Conclusion with Closure

The conclusion is one of the most import parts of an essay. It is the last chance a writer has to go back and provide everything a reader is expected to remember. Summarizing the main points and restating the thesis should not be the only elements in a conclusion. To make readers satisfied, there must be a sense of closure on the conclusion. Is it best to give a warning or an advice at the end; to refer back to the introduction or to place your topic in a larger context? There are many ways to conclude an essay and there are a few techniques to assist writers with such closure. The assignment below will assist writers in concluding their papers.

A. restate your argument and summarize your main points below:

Thesis:

Main points:

B. Please respond the following questions to find out if you are using a closing technique to concluding your essay.

1.  Does your conclusion end with a quotation? If yes, then how does this quotation support or connect with your thesis and drive readers to think more about your argument?

2.  Is your conclusion placing your topic in a larger context? Then, what or where else may your topic contribute to or should be considered by readers?

3. Is your conclusion giving an advice? If yes, then, what should they do? Whom should they contact?

4. Is your conclusion making a prediction about the future or giving a warning? If yes, then, when? What may happen?

5. Is your conclusion referring back to the introduction? If yes, copy it bellow. How are they connecting?  

Attention gather:

Closure statement:

C. With your essay in mind, go back and attempt to write a sentence or two to address each method (1-5) that you skipped. For question number 1, come up with a quote if you don’t one. Once you tried each technique, choose the method which best fit the goal of your essay and consider that one method may overlap with another. 

Now, try to craft your concluding paragraph!

Thesis:

Main points:

Chosen Closure:

Bartholomae

Bartholomeau states "To begin to write is to know what cannot be known." In this sense, a student that is attempting to become a teacher has to learn what teachers known, and uncover a language or method that is not their own, rather the language which is accepted by society: "The struggle of the student writer is not the struggle to bring out that which is within; it is the struggle to carry out those ritual activities that grant one entrance into a closed society." To inform prospect teachers about the making of assignments, Bartholomae argues that an intellectual project requires indoctrination, assistance, interference and trust, which he breaks down into four principles throughout four stories or examples. On the first principle of assignment making, assignments lead students through successive approximations, resulting in a cycle of expectations and disappointments. Second principle for assignment making provides the occasion for translation, instead of subject only. On the third principle individual assignments should be part of a larger, group project and the last principle assists students toward a subject by interfering with their immediate procedure for dominating a subject by reducing it to a closed set. With those principles, Bartholomae offered a defense on redundant assignments, assignments that define both project and a way for working on a project, and assignments that are designed inform students that there are no schematic methods to make everything simple.

I think it is odd that there are no schematic methods to make things simple. I find that writing can be simple or complex depending of the writer or assignment's goal. I agree that redundancy like repetition, is a good method for learning and developing skills, specially with assignments. For my future as a teacher, most of the assignments that I plan to use will be towards the individual, but with the goal to unify or create discussions with the whole class. 

Responding to drafts

I believe that the hardest part about responding is to not impose my own point of view about the issue. I try to stay away from commenting on what I think it should be addressed or how it should be addressed, as Harris states that evaluating the writing is his or her own job. The easy part on revising the drafts was that we had access to the authors' expectation of revision. With that, I believe my feedback was useful to the writer , because it was the expectation they had.

I want to remember that each person has a unique voice, and style to address and issue and ways to do it, and there are different level of where people stand on their own writing.... respecting that


What king of feedback i need right now....?

The composing process

The composing process is made up of such parts as invention, arrangement, style, delivery and revising.

The first step is invention. With Invention the writer jot ideas before they start composing a rough draft, which can be perceived as the pre-writing stage. It takes most of the time of the writing process because it includes brainstorming about an issue and have some background information about it.  Such background can be gathered by reading about it or even from the writer's personal experience. So, in other words what writers need to find out before they can write.

The second step is arrangement.  The arrangement part consist in organizing the writing in a way that ideas are connected. In other words, it deals with function and organization or the grouping of ideas and their relationship with each other. A well organized or arranged essay will drive readers with a natural flow. To explain the importance of arrangement I have to go back to Podis: “…not only is an effective arrangement achieved through an understanding of purpose, but so too may purpose itself be better understood through a refinement of arrangement.” 

The third step is style. The stylistic part of the composing process deals with how a writer writes. By that I mean, the language used and how it connects with the audience. For instance, if i am to write a speech to the medical school board about the rise in heart failure condition, I am likely to use technical terms as my assumption is that my audience understand such terms. If I had to give the same speech to a high school for students, I would not use technical terms without giving their definition because my audience will not understand. Thus, style deals with clarity of the message according to the audience.

The fourth step is delivery, which can also overlap with the last step of the composing process. On delivery the writer goes back and correct grammatical mistakes, and any mechanics that are included with the writing. For instance, adjusting a essay to fit MLA or APA style can be part of this process. But, it also address voice, or tone according to cultural standards.

The last step of the composing process is revising. The revision part is the chance the writer has before submitting the final product. On this stage, writers are sent back to the initial stages of composition so they can make final adjustment for their final product. In other words I will refer to Sommers clear definition which the revision process as a sequence of changes in a composition, which are initiated by cues and occur continually throughout the the writing of a work. 

Since I learned this steps, I am more aware of my writing style and techniques. I am constantly thinking in whom my audience may be before I even start drafting a paper. I wish I knew that before so that I could write more concisely. I understand that I have my own language barrier, and that my writing may never be as good as any native, but this is my voice, this is my writing and this is what I've learned so far.

After response

I responded the drafts according to the author's request.. at least I tried. I made some notes throughout the paper and made two comments at the end. Those where their expectation and thats why I did. It was mostly about grammar and arrangement.   

Effective responses to writing

I believe that an effective way to respond to a writing piece is to first understand the expectation from the author and the goal of the piece of writing. In the writing Center, many students ask my help to review their writing, and the first question I ask is if they did their own revision before I help them. If the answer is yes, then I ask about the assignment information and what he or she is trying to achieve as a response. Most of the students only request to check their grammar and if it makes sense for me.

When responding to any piece of writing I place some personal boundaries. For example I don't interfere in how it written, but I can point out what I understood or make questions when I don't fully understand. Also, I could infer about the audience and provide a feedback about my point of view as a reader, though I advice that it is only a point of view, and reiterate not to change on the whole paper because of it.

Summary of Harris and Fangley

Lester Fangley first explains that definitions of good writing are either “circular or absent altogether” because in recent decades the wrong criteria is being used to explain grading judgments, especially when “writing teachers have been as much or more interested in who they want their students to be as in what they want their students to write.” He points out that textbooks, are of little help because they speak of good writing in general terms such as those Michael Adelstein and Jean Pival use to define good writing: "clear," "concise," "effective," "interesting," and projecting "the authentic voice of the writer". Seeking to change the way many teachers evaluate student writing, Fangley examines assumptions about selves in writing evaluation, and contrast a report from 1929 test in English that was used for making college admissions decisions with a recent collection of "best" student essays from Coles and Vopat's What Makes Writing Good.

To exam the assumptions of self, Fangley articulates that the notion of a socially constructed self has been discussed in anthropology for several decades, and shows that "I" can in some circumstances refer to others as well as the speaker, assuming multiple voices, constituting a self that is distinctly cultural. Also, he states that although readers might be from different cultures, of different genders, and from different social classes, it does not matter because reading is perceived as the one-way flow from one autonomous mind to another, and the text is a self-contained object for passive consumption. He points that assumptions from expressive realism were commonplace in college English pedagogy before World War 11, both in writing and in literature courses; writing courses at Eastern colleges in particular were based on reading and responding to great works of literature; and student subject was elevated by the experiences of reading great literature and drew moral lessons from those experiences.

Moreover he says that the assumptions underlying the evaluation of the writing of college students today would seem much more complex than in 1931. Given the resulting multiplicity of approaches to the teaching of writing, the relationships between assumptions about "good" writing and the privileging of particular selves among students would seem more difficult to analyze than ever. The Commission began with the same objection about the tautologies that persist in guidelines for writing evaluation. The Commission found these definitions vague, and they read 92 examination books written in June 1929 to determine why particular marks were given. They focused on the three-hour-long comprehensive examination that included three parts. Part I tested for knowledge of literature; Part I1 quoted a poem or prose passage and asked students to interpret it; Part I11 asked students to write a composition on a topic selected from a list of fifteen topics. The Commission saw the sorting of the "intellectually weak" from those with the "power of reflection about what they have read" as just one function of the examination.

Fangley analyzed a count of at least 30 of the examples in the collection as personal experience essays- 20 of them autobiographical narratives-and several of the remaining include writing about the writer and other examples in the genres of professional writing.

He finds that student achieves excellence because he or she is either "honest", writes in an "authentic voice”, or possesses "integrity," To exemplify he cites, Erika Lindemann, "Good writing is most effective when we tell the truth about who we are and what we think.” To conclude Fangley states that even though the ability to write in certain discourses is highly valued in technologically advanced nations, power is exercised in a network of social relations and reconstituted in each act of communicating. No matter how well we teach our students, we cannot confer power as an essential quality of their makeup. We can, however, teach our students to analyze cultural definitions of the self, to understand how historically these definitions are created in discourse, and to recognize how definitions of the self are involved in the configuration of relations of power.

Harris points out that teacher evaluation of student writing, offered as a final judgment on a finished product, is only minimally useful as a tool for learning and for offering feedback to student writers as they move from the unrefined subject to a well articulated written product. Moreover, she states that we need to provide students with different purposes and methods for each stage of evaluation to fit their needs as they develop each piece of writing and as their general skills improve. And, the instructor needs a format or strategy for evaluating the writing skills the student has acquired by the end of the course. The program of evaluation offered by Harris aims at achieving these

goals.

Harris summarizes the teacher's role during the stage of panel evaluation. She says that first teachers should structure the evaluation procedure so that students can practice and refine their critical skills; and second, to be available for help in recording the kind of evaluation that will also be useful to the writer. Moreover she makes it clear that evaluation begins where any writer begins, with the pre-writing stage, which the writer focuses on subject, spots an audience, chooses a form which may carry his subject to his audience. After the final draft is turned in, the instructor's role of evaluation is really that of a facilitator for useful responses. The more the writer is exposed to this kind of feedback, the better able he is to begin building some generalizations about the future audiences he will write for.

She ends the article stating that extensive practice in evaluation through each stage from pre-writing to final draft helps the student to sharpen his skills as a critic of other writing, guides him as he revises, and demonstrates to him that, finally, evaluating his writing is his job.

For draft feedback

Since my draft still incomplete, I suggest to worry mostly with coherence and grammatical suggestions. Also, what questions do you have about this issue, what else I should address? Do you have a point of view to share so that I can take it in consideration? Please feel free... thanks!

Revision thoughts...

When taking in consideration that experienced writers describe their primary objective when revising to find form or shape of the argument, and that inexperienced writers lack a strategy to help identify the bigger picture, I believe that I lean more towards an experienced writer.

Yet, because of my language barrier, I still need to practice more and build more vocabulary to compose sentences that will give more strength to writing and become a truly experienced writer.

Revision by Sommers

Sommers learned that different writers' conceptions of revision follows linear model based on speech by separating the writing process into stages, like Rohman's (prewriting, writing, rewriting) and Britton's ( Conception, incubation, production). Revision then, is understood as a as separate stage at the end of the process, usually after a first or second draft is complete. But, since the linear model bases itself on speech, revision is impossible, rather is only an afterthought. Revision for Rohman's is simply the repetition of writing and for Britton the further growth of what is already there. After further research, Sommers defined the revision process as a sequence of changes in a composition, which are initiated by cues and occur continually throughout the the writing of a work. Sommers research analyzed both students and experienced writers. She found that students writers constantly struggle to bring predefined meaning, view composition in a linear way as series of parts, fail to use reordering and addition, stop revising when there are no more grammatical errors. On the other hand, experienced writers imagine a reader, describe their primary objective when revising as a form or shape of their argument, seeks to create, and they make changes on all levels by using all revision operations.

My conception of revision is not to far from Sommers. I think I am falling in between an experienced and student writer. One of my methods is to add and remove constantly information to express my point, and often I feel that something else could been added. When writing or teaching I plan to use all the techniques and qualities an experienced writer posses... at least I hope so. 

Revision

Revision can be seen as a method to recapitulate what was writing to ensure that ideas are connected, grammatical mistakes are corrected, and to add or delete the information that are necessary to better achieve the message to be conveyed.

When I write to school, I usually revise while I am writing and as soon as I finish writing it. While writing it, I constantly go back to the main Idea of the paragraph to make sure that the information belongs to that paragraph, or if it supports the main idea. After that I try to ensure that it makes sense and if I achieved my goal. Next, I read it out loud to make sure that my sentences make sense to myself, then I ask someone else to read. I usually ask a friend to read and I ask what was understood. Then, I take my paper to the writing center to be proofread, but not always I have the chance to do so. I generally revise because english is not my first language, and because I think it is important to receive the feedback from other readers. If they understood the message or idea I am trying to convey, then I was successful with my writing.

What i would like to use from the readings

What I want to take from the readings is that I can freely use my voice, in respect to cultural norms, to engage my writing  with empowerment. Language is always changing...

The Power of Grammar

Ehrenworth and Viton, states that voice, which has to do with personality, is composed of word choice, punctuation, and syntax - in other words, is part of grammar. They believe that the beauty of language in general, and of English in particular, is that it is a living, breathing thing, always ready to expand, evolve, and change to accommodate new forms of expression. They emphasize that grammar are much more than simple language rules, they are cultural norms. By teaching students such grammar skills does not necessarily mean asking them to conform to it. It means giving them the knowledge they will need to make informed and meaningful language choices. In assessing grammar, teaching, and reassessing how our own cultural literacy, it is possible to invite students into the recuperation of grammar by demonstrating how knowledge of grammar grants access to power. These are the goals for teaching grammar: to teach knowledge of conventional usage in order to increase power, opportunity, and voice; to teach habits of fluency, inquiry, and experimentation; and to engage students in such a way that this knowledge and these habits are sustaining and flexible.

Micciche adds to that when she states that teaching grammar and teaching writing are separate enterprises. While teaching style is a familiar enough focus in disciplinary scholarship, teaching the “ordinary” use of grammar is often constructed as ineffective because grammar knowledge out of context doesn’t translate to grammatical correctness in context. Grammar knowledge often functions to “draw lines of social distinction, mark status, and rank students in meritocratic order. Moreover she states that grammar competency has always been linked with social power or the lack thereof. Although such skill and instruction are linked to cultural attitudes, beliefs, and assumptions, an absence of attention to grammar instruction prevents us from considering productive links. Therefore, grammar should be taught in a way that offer students more tools for analyzing culture, promote composition’s goals to equip them to be active citizens of the worlds they inhabit, understand the significance of cultural difference, and engaging in community initiatives.

Both articles take the reader to understand that grammar is much more than a set of rules. Grammar is a powerful tool that relates to voice and to our culture. It would be hard to choose only one of those articles to use as an approach for my writing, when combined both are very helpful. I’ve always perceived the power that grammar has, which is often used and abused by politicians, journalists, and business companies to persuade others. Once a person master the true colors of grammar, it becomes easy to debunk arguments, take a stand, and convince others. That is what I am taking from these articles, and I will always use it when teaching about grammar: If knowledge is power, grammar is the shield and the sword… and with such combination, no hero can be defeated.

Grammar and Mechanics

I pay attention on grammar and mechanics by revising my writing. Not as often as I would like because of time, but I try to. I look up terms and definitions, and often I go back to the bible: Rules for Writers. In addition, I try to make sure that my writing has some kind of flow and connection, otherwise it becomes disrupted and the reader is unlikely to understand me. I believe that grammar and mechanics are the basic rules set by a group of people or nation so that they can communicate between themselves. And, I also believe that grammar and mechanics changes/ adapts with time. A good example is how people text nowadays, and how people talk in different regions within the same nation, and how people used to talk on the past.

Question and more Sources

How much time of the school hours should be spent on playtime and how it impacts the learning and the development of children?

My fifth source comes from the Atlantic journal, by Esther Entin: “All Work and No Play: Why Your Kids Are More Anxious, Depressed”. The author claims that For more than fifty years, children's free play time has been continually declining, and it's keeping them from turning into confident adults. She emphasize the declining of play, who and what is interfering with children’s play, five ways kids can benefit from playtime, and how the loss of play rises anxiety and depression.

My next source was given to me last Friday by one of the teachers I’ve been talking to about at my work place. I raised the same question to her and she gave me this source. The Washington Post “The playtime’s The Thing”, by Emma Brown provides research claiming that play is an essential determinant for a child’s social and emotional make up. She also compares test scores from children that attend that attend play-based schools and those who don’t and points out direct instruction vs play-based instruction.

My last source for this week, comes from We are Teachers, “Finland’s A+ Schools. The article compares students test scores from Finland vs U.S. PiSA results. The article also shows that students in Finland spend less time in school and on homework than most nations but still see incredible results. To end, the article proposes what we can learn from Finland to have more effective result in schools, which is mainly the addition of more time for play.

\

Style considerations

To write my paper I am going to use a combination of styles, taking in consideration the way I want it to sound, my audience, and it’s purpose it. I will try to be concise, coherent, revise it and make it refreshing.  

Reading Johnson on Style

Johnson defines Style as the clarity and connection an author has with the audience. They way that a writing “sounds”, may or may not be effective, like in a speech. When words are carefully chosen and arranged with clarity, work on people like “magic”.

Johnson describes teaching style as actors and musicians do, with outmost discipline, yet playing with words to reach out and convey a point with clarity.  

I think it is important to me, and I plan to use it on my research. The author introduces a very challenging subject for most students in a fun/playful style. And that is a link that many teachers neglect. Making the curriculum interesting for students to connect with and learn easily. 

Style in Handbooks

Brooks  

Focuses on the importance and ability to deliver sentences correctly and effectively for students in high school. The author sets standards that sentences should have unity, coherence and emphasis; what are the key factors that causes lack of unity and coherence on sentences; and how to successfully secure emphasis.  

Hill,

Focuses on improving styles for more experienced writers by selecting appropriate words according to the audience, combining the words chosen to produce effective sentences, organizing sentences to form concise paragraphs, adding figurative language, and expression to deliver an effective paper.

DKHBStyle,

Focuses on improving styles for college student writers, especially by revising paragraphs, sentences, and words, for clarity, concision, coherence and emphasis. It also provides styles in oral presentation, visual text and colors choice.

From the three authors I like best the DKHBStyle. Not because I am a college student, but because the style/ organization chosen to explain about style. This organization was more effective for me, because of the visual information and the way the author had it grouped and delivered. Nevertheless, all authors seem to hit the same points, just in different ways to say it. 

My definition of style

Style in writing may refer to the shape, form and technique an author uses to convey a message.

two possible research questions

How recess or playtime contributes for the developmental skills and learning for a child?

Recess can play a major effect in the child's learning. Regardless of the kind of play, children learn best when they are motivated in learning environment that nurture activities by playing. To answer this question, it is important to find out what kind of play the child is going to be exposed.

How structured or unstructured recess contributes for the developmental skills and learning for a child?

Who and Why disagree?

Some teachers could argue that playtime only happens when a child is playing without any kind structure or games that targets learning. Other teachers would argue that although children are exposed to a certain targeting game, it does not mean that there is some level of structure or adult intervention. Children can still play with a determined game and make up their own rules. 

Cause and effect

If I use cause and effect, I could argue that the reason children don’t do so well in school is because they don’t get enough “playtime”. Some of the information I would need to research includes: how much playtime contributes for the learning development of a child, How much playtime children gets everyday, and how it impacts students’ success rate in school.

Problem and solution

If I use comparison/contrast, I could argue that students whom get more playtime are more likely to be successful in schools than those that are in reduced playtime”. Some of the information I would need to research includes: How much playtime children used to get on the past and their success rate vs nowadays; students’ success rates from schools that are not in reduced playtime vs. those that are and so on.

End of class

To make this writing more pleasurable I will be not only researching and drafting an opinion based on research, but also will be surveying my classmates and the school I work at. I've never approached a research this way, i think it will be interesting.

In class

Antithesis: As school districts strive to close the gap in student achievement, there is no time for playing, but playtime may be key to close the gap.

Antanaclasis: Sometimes children need to play, and sometimes they need playtime.

Parallel Sentence: Playtime is important for developing gross and fine motor skills. Fine motor skills are crucial for writing. Writing and indispensable for life.

Style and Audience (in class)

My audience is k-12 teachers, future teachers that will be working with children, my class and my instructor. As I work my way to through college to become a middle school teacher and from working at a Public school as a teacher’s assistant, I experience many of the issues children face in schools which are only discussed in classes between those who had little experience, other than their own. I’ve fallen to the mistake of attempting to argue reasons why, based solely in research. ...




To continue