Theory of Writing
In the beginning of the semester, we were given the task of composing our own "Theory of Writing", which ultimately created a sense of what writing is to us as individuals. In this first TOW, we had to answer the following questions, post them on our class discussion board, and respond thoughtfully to at least two other classmates' posts:
- Is being a good writer nature or nurture? Is it something you are born with or have to learn?
- What does good writing "look" like? What are the parameters of good writing?
- Do you know anyone who you believe is a good writer? What types of qualities do they possess? What kind of strategies do they use?
- What are the characteristics of a good writing instructor? What types of things should a good writing teacher teach? Use explicit examples.
The same task was given two more times throughout the course of this semester and we ended up writing two reflections comparing and contrasting all three TOW's to see how our theories changed, or remained relatively stagnant.
TOW I
"Being a good writer is nurture because one will write carefully and put thought and time into their writings. This is something you are born with because although anybody can be a good writer with the correct training or teaching, some individuals just have the gift of being able to touch people or send a message more than others through their work. However, everyone has their own story to tell and it takes the right topic or something that they are passionate about for them to be able to really give the writing their all.
Good writing "looks" well-thought out and detailed as opposed to rushed and all over the place. The parameters of good writing are being descriptive, vulnerable, and passionate about what you are writing about.
I don't know anyone who I believe is a good writer because I don't know of anyone who writes.
The characteristics of a good writing instructor are motivational to help you think deeper, passionate, and creative to help guide you to think outside-the-box. The types of things a good writing teacher should teach are how to stay on topic, how to transition, how to able to clearly communicate a message to the reader, as well as grammar, and punctuation. For example, sometimes it can be difficult for me to stay on topic because I just have so much to say, even in conversation. I could be writing about how my dog sleeps with his blanket, next thing I know I'm talking about how it poured down raining the night my mom and I bought him the blanket while we were playing with the hamsters and guinea pigs in Petsmart".
Good writing "looks" well-thought out and detailed as opposed to rushed and all over the place. The parameters of good writing are being descriptive, vulnerable, and passionate about what you are writing about.
I don't know anyone who I believe is a good writer because I don't know of anyone who writes.
The characteristics of a good writing instructor are motivational to help you think deeper, passionate, and creative to help guide you to think outside-the-box. The types of things a good writing teacher should teach are how to stay on topic, how to transition, how to able to clearly communicate a message to the reader, as well as grammar, and punctuation. For example, sometimes it can be difficult for me to stay on topic because I just have so much to say, even in conversation. I could be writing about how my dog sleeps with his blanket, next thing I know I'm talking about how it poured down raining the night my mom and I bought him the blanket while we were playing with the hamsters and guinea pigs in Petsmart".
TOW II
"I believe being a good writer is nurture as opposed to nature. While the actual content cannot be taught because everyone thinks differently and some people are more creative than others or are able to connect with the reader while others can’t, skills such as proper grammar, how to cite sources, and essay structure can be taught to enhance your writing. Although some people are “born” with the gift of creating “good” writing, those without that gift can still become a good writer by practicing those certain skills. There aren’t concrete guidelines or rules to “good writing”. Everyone formulates their own opinions and certain topics that may appeal to you, may not appeal to me and vice versa.
In good writing, there are no grammatical or punctual errors, sources are cited correctly, and the content is well-thought out, detailed and thorough, structured, and appeals to the reader. Say for instance person A and person B were given the task to briefly write about how their day went yesterday. Person A writes: “Yesterday, I woke up around twelve in the afternoon to take my dog for a walk since it was so beautiful outside. Once we came back, I ate some pizza and took a brief nap before going to my friend’s party later on that night. After the party, I came back home and went to bed”. Now, compare that to what Person B had to say: “I woke up aruond 12pm. Then I, ate pizza. After that i went back two sleep. I hanged out with friends and went to there party and I went to bed after that”. This example may have been a little exaggerated, but it was done to show the big differences between the two samples.
I don’t know of anyone personally who writes, let alone do I even know if they are a good writer. Also, I don’t read much unless it is for an assignment, but I’d like to think of J.K Rowling as a good writer for a multitude of reasons. I’ve never been into Harry Potter, however, I did read one of her books from that series back in middle school. From my recollection, the novel was pretty lengthy and just like any other book, you have to learn about the characters and get a feel for them before the juicy things start to happen. She did a very good job introducing them and giving them different personalities, creating them essentially. It was very detailed of course and that alone just made me want to keep reading. After finishing a chapter, I became far more intrigued and I’d have to force myself to find a good spot to stop reading. In order to be able to produce the type of content as well as the amount of books that she did, the author had to be creative and dedicated.
A good writing instructor is someone who is blunt and is a reliable critic. They will read-over and critique your writing harshly because they are genuinely trying to help you, as opposed to having a friend do it. Simply because they will probably just say that everything is perfect because they are your friend. I would much rather have my teacher hurt my feelings and be honest with me so that I can strengthen my areas of weakness rather than have be stagnant with my progression and not do as well on my paper. A good writing instructor should teach grammar and punctuation, as well as paragraph and essay structure. For example, some people still get certain homonyms confused, such as “there” and “their”, “then” and “than”, and “affect” and “effect”. For me, my biggest problem with punctuation is knowing when and where to use commas and I especially would like more help on transition sentences, introductions, and conclusions".
In good writing, there are no grammatical or punctual errors, sources are cited correctly, and the content is well-thought out, detailed and thorough, structured, and appeals to the reader. Say for instance person A and person B were given the task to briefly write about how their day went yesterday. Person A writes: “Yesterday, I woke up around twelve in the afternoon to take my dog for a walk since it was so beautiful outside. Once we came back, I ate some pizza and took a brief nap before going to my friend’s party later on that night. After the party, I came back home and went to bed”. Now, compare that to what Person B had to say: “I woke up aruond 12pm. Then I, ate pizza. After that i went back two sleep. I hanged out with friends and went to there party and I went to bed after that”. This example may have been a little exaggerated, but it was done to show the big differences between the two samples.
I don’t know of anyone personally who writes, let alone do I even know if they are a good writer. Also, I don’t read much unless it is for an assignment, but I’d like to think of J.K Rowling as a good writer for a multitude of reasons. I’ve never been into Harry Potter, however, I did read one of her books from that series back in middle school. From my recollection, the novel was pretty lengthy and just like any other book, you have to learn about the characters and get a feel for them before the juicy things start to happen. She did a very good job introducing them and giving them different personalities, creating them essentially. It was very detailed of course and that alone just made me want to keep reading. After finishing a chapter, I became far more intrigued and I’d have to force myself to find a good spot to stop reading. In order to be able to produce the type of content as well as the amount of books that she did, the author had to be creative and dedicated.
A good writing instructor is someone who is blunt and is a reliable critic. They will read-over and critique your writing harshly because they are genuinely trying to help you, as opposed to having a friend do it. Simply because they will probably just say that everything is perfect because they are your friend. I would much rather have my teacher hurt my feelings and be honest with me so that I can strengthen my areas of weakness rather than have be stagnant with my progression and not do as well on my paper. A good writing instructor should teach grammar and punctuation, as well as paragraph and essay structure. For example, some people still get certain homonyms confused, such as “there” and “their”, “then” and “than”, and “affect” and “effect”. For me, my biggest problem with punctuation is knowing when and where to use commas and I especially would like more help on transition sentences, introductions, and conclusions".
TOW III
"I believe that being a good writer is definitely nurture, given that the definition of nurture is caring for and encouraging the growth or development of someone or something. In this case, that someone would be the writer and that something could range anywhere from their writing process to the actual product. Although it may seem as though certain writers were born with the gift of writing, good writing at that, I believe that it is something that can be learned. Though the content and the way the message is delivered cannot because every writer is different, ways to improve your writing can.
If 'good writing' had a look, it would be well structured and organized by a noticeable/apparent trend (topic, author, date, or chronologically), have rich language, detailed and clearly thoroughly thought out, cohesive, focused, and fluid in terms of transition sentences and transitions between ideas. I do not, however, believe that “good writing” truly looks a certain way because everyone has their own standards or stipulations as to what makes writing “good” and I also believe the writer is ultimately conforming to the audience’s standards of “good writing”. Therefore, there really aren’t any parameters to it.
I personally don’t know of any writers in general, however, I can describe the qualities that a good writer may possess as well as the types of strategies they may use. To me, a good writer is one who is always considering their audience(s), pays close attention to detail (more so in the editing process as far as grammar, punctuation, etc.), is able to communicate their message effectively, and is able to make their writing flow cohesively. They may use strategies such as creating an outline to better organize and structure their writing, taking breaks and stepping back from them to get in a clearer headspace once they return, and overall accepting their own personal writing process.
A good writing instructor shows that he or she really cares about their students as well as helping them by grading them critically while balancing with positive feedback, providing them with suggestions or alternate ways to improve their writing, engages with the class, and also takes advantage of or is all for open class discussion. The two most important things that I believe a good writing teacher should teach are rhetorical situations and transitions. After learning about rhetorical situations, I was able to look back on my previous writings and realize that I had never even considered an audience other than my teacher who would be grading them. It has taught me to not just write for the teacher and the purpose of getting a good grade in regards to the rubric, but to think deeper about why you wrote what you wrote and what audience it could relate to. I have always struggled with transitions and I believe that it should be taught more and in depth because to me, if the writing doesn’t flow and it isn’t cohesive, all of the collected information and content won’t matter because it doesn’t come together as a whole".
If 'good writing' had a look, it would be well structured and organized by a noticeable/apparent trend (topic, author, date, or chronologically), have rich language, detailed and clearly thoroughly thought out, cohesive, focused, and fluid in terms of transition sentences and transitions between ideas. I do not, however, believe that “good writing” truly looks a certain way because everyone has their own standards or stipulations as to what makes writing “good” and I also believe the writer is ultimately conforming to the audience’s standards of “good writing”. Therefore, there really aren’t any parameters to it.
I personally don’t know of any writers in general, however, I can describe the qualities that a good writer may possess as well as the types of strategies they may use. To me, a good writer is one who is always considering their audience(s), pays close attention to detail (more so in the editing process as far as grammar, punctuation, etc.), is able to communicate their message effectively, and is able to make their writing flow cohesively. They may use strategies such as creating an outline to better organize and structure their writing, taking breaks and stepping back from them to get in a clearer headspace once they return, and overall accepting their own personal writing process.
A good writing instructor shows that he or she really cares about their students as well as helping them by grading them critically while balancing with positive feedback, providing them with suggestions or alternate ways to improve their writing, engages with the class, and also takes advantage of or is all for open class discussion. The two most important things that I believe a good writing teacher should teach are rhetorical situations and transitions. After learning about rhetorical situations, I was able to look back on my previous writings and realize that I had never even considered an audience other than my teacher who would be grading them. It has taught me to not just write for the teacher and the purpose of getting a good grade in regards to the rubric, but to think deeper about why you wrote what you wrote and what audience it could relate to. I have always struggled with transitions and I believe that it should be taught more and in depth because to me, if the writing doesn’t flow and it isn’t cohesive, all of the collected information and content won’t matter because it doesn’t come together as a whole".
Reflection
From the beginning of the semester to the end, I realized that I had learned many beneficial concepts which improved my overall theory of writing because it didn't change much. During the time between the first and second TOW's, I had learned the components of essay structure. Not just the obvious introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion, but what should go into each one. I also learned the different ways you can organize your body paragraphs. You can organize them by authors, topics, or chronological order or date publications -- I choose to do mine by topics.
After comparing and contrasting the answers from the previous and current Theory of Writings, I found one and major change. For both assignments, I chose nurture over nature, however, the reasons I provided were vice versa. In the first TOW, I stated that being a good writer is nurture because it is something you’re born with. Although anyone can be a good writer with the proper teaching or training, some individuals just have the gift of being able to connect with the reader and produce amazing content effortlessly compared to others. In the second TOW, I also said that being a good writer is nurture and despite having the natural ability to write well, anyone can be a good writer. While creativity cannot be taught, skills such as grammar, punctuation, and structure can be. I believe my answers have changed because I’ve come to realize that “good writing” is different for everyone. We all have contrasting standards, interests, opinions, and beliefs.
At this point, I composed my three TOW's and was able to reflect on them as a whole. This was a bittersweet moment for me because I felt as though I had literally watched myself grow and flourish in this class which would soon be coming to an end. For all three of these theories, I stuck with the choice of nurture versus nature for the same reasons of essentially caring not only for your writings by putting your hard work and time into them, but accepting and observing the development of them through your writing process. I have learned that anyone can be a good writer, whether it comes naturally or from practice and experience.
I have also learned that while there are obvious signs of “good writing” such as having no grammatical or punctual errors, there really aren’t a set of guidelines that make writing good because every piece is different just like their creator. Reason being, what one person may consider to be good writing may not be to another, and that is why I love peer revision because you are able to get multiple different opinions and perspectives.
I still don’t know of any writers or good writers at that, however, I do know what I would look for in one and those traits are pretty much the same across the board. They would be detail-oriented, keep their audience in mind, and able to communicate their ideas cohesively and effectively to the reader.
When asked what the characteristics of a good writing instructor are, although I haven’t read her writings, I think of my professor Ms. Lazzara as well as what she teaches us in class and the traits I see within that. She always leaves comments on our work whether it is on a discussion post or our inquiry paper, she is always communicating with us and pushes us to become better writers because there is always room for improvement.
I saw more similarities than differences in my Theories of Writings and I am overall pleased with the progress I have made and information I can take away and apply, thanks to my professor, Ms. Lazzara.
After comparing and contrasting the answers from the previous and current Theory of Writings, I found one and major change. For both assignments, I chose nurture over nature, however, the reasons I provided were vice versa. In the first TOW, I stated that being a good writer is nurture because it is something you’re born with. Although anyone can be a good writer with the proper teaching or training, some individuals just have the gift of being able to connect with the reader and produce amazing content effortlessly compared to others. In the second TOW, I also said that being a good writer is nurture and despite having the natural ability to write well, anyone can be a good writer. While creativity cannot be taught, skills such as grammar, punctuation, and structure can be. I believe my answers have changed because I’ve come to realize that “good writing” is different for everyone. We all have contrasting standards, interests, opinions, and beliefs.
At this point, I composed my three TOW's and was able to reflect on them as a whole. This was a bittersweet moment for me because I felt as though I had literally watched myself grow and flourish in this class which would soon be coming to an end. For all three of these theories, I stuck with the choice of nurture versus nature for the same reasons of essentially caring not only for your writings by putting your hard work and time into them, but accepting and observing the development of them through your writing process. I have learned that anyone can be a good writer, whether it comes naturally or from practice and experience.
I have also learned that while there are obvious signs of “good writing” such as having no grammatical or punctual errors, there really aren’t a set of guidelines that make writing good because every piece is different just like their creator. Reason being, what one person may consider to be good writing may not be to another, and that is why I love peer revision because you are able to get multiple different opinions and perspectives.
I still don’t know of any writers or good writers at that, however, I do know what I would look for in one and those traits are pretty much the same across the board. They would be detail-oriented, keep their audience in mind, and able to communicate their ideas cohesively and effectively to the reader.
When asked what the characteristics of a good writing instructor are, although I haven’t read her writings, I think of my professor Ms. Lazzara as well as what she teaches us in class and the traits I see within that. She always leaves comments on our work whether it is on a discussion post or our inquiry paper, she is always communicating with us and pushes us to become better writers because there is always room for improvement.
I saw more similarities than differences in my Theories of Writings and I am overall pleased with the progress I have made and information I can take away and apply, thanks to my professor, Ms. Lazzara.
Writing to Learns
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WTL Topic: Feedback + Peer Review Reflection
"So far in this course, the feedback I've gotten has been very honest and helpful. What's been most helpful is the feedback on my transitions because I tend to struggle a lot with that and specifying my inquiry question which has ended up changing three times before I finally decided on it. I don't believe any feedback has been least useful because there is always room for improvement and they are all valid.
Blunt, honest, and critical feedback seems most impactful to me as a writer because I'd rather get my feelings hurt and get a better grade rather than get my feelings hurt because of a bad grade.
The type of feedback I would most desire from my peers are clarifying questions because that lets me know if the reader can understand my writing or not as well as suggestions so that I can understand what they see and comprehend from their point of view. I'd also appreciate positive feedback along with critical to encourage and uplift me as well as organization and structural feedback because I know for a fact those aren't my strong suits and of course I want to improve. If the content is organized and structured well, it'll be more comprehensive and cohesive.
By not only being open to critiques but already being able to identify what I need to work on most, I think that alone can be applied to my own revision process because I know what I need to be focusing on when I revise. I believe it is possible to read your own work as an outside "reader" using these reflections because we already did with our lit review revision. However, I have to say it is best to use other people as sources of outside readers because sometimes with self-revision we can be biased and not completely honest with ourselves".
Blunt, honest, and critical feedback seems most impactful to me as a writer because I'd rather get my feelings hurt and get a better grade rather than get my feelings hurt because of a bad grade.
The type of feedback I would most desire from my peers are clarifying questions because that lets me know if the reader can understand my writing or not as well as suggestions so that I can understand what they see and comprehend from their point of view. I'd also appreciate positive feedback along with critical to encourage and uplift me as well as organization and structural feedback because I know for a fact those aren't my strong suits and of course I want to improve. If the content is organized and structured well, it'll be more comprehensive and cohesive.
By not only being open to critiques but already being able to identify what I need to work on most, I think that alone can be applied to my own revision process because I know what I need to be focusing on when I revise. I believe it is possible to read your own work as an outside "reader" using these reflections because we already did with our lit review revision. However, I have to say it is best to use other people as sources of outside readers because sometimes with self-revision we can be biased and not completely honest with ourselves".
WTL 11/1
"One important idea presented in this essay is coping (with trauma) including its mechanisms and time. The author thinks the idea is important because she realizes that people have their own ways of coping with situations after losing her cousin and often questioning why but never receiving answers. For example, after going out to dinner with her friends and talking, the author learns that one is religious and she basically turns to God for her struggles and hardships, whereas, the author is not religious and even states how she will probably never be. This idea is important to me because I know that people cope and heal differently as well as at their own pace. You can’t force the coping mechanisms that work for you on someone else because they may not work as effectively or at all for them. The biggest question I think the author still needs to answer is did she ever get over or accept the death of her cousin? She eludes to saying that healing takes time but never specifies where she is certainly at with it.
The rhetorical devices the author employs are pathos and ethos. Her use of these are effective because it engaged me as a reader with the pathos by talking about the death of her cousin and what an impact it had on her. Also mentioning her college and facts about van Gogh’s paintings provided that credibility and truthfulness to those parts of her essay.
One aspect that I think was well done was the author’s transitions/fluidity. Although there were breaks throughout the essay, she was able to still make them all come together. Also, the fact that she didn’t break just one time because it could’ve seemed that it was an accident or as if it wasn’t flowing, but she did it multiple times. I could apply this aspect to my own essay by analyzing how exactly she was able to make it all cohesive and fluid, paying close attention to the ends of the sentences/paragraphs".
The rhetorical devices the author employs are pathos and ethos. Her use of these are effective because it engaged me as a reader with the pathos by talking about the death of her cousin and what an impact it had on her. Also mentioning her college and facts about van Gogh’s paintings provided that credibility and truthfulness to those parts of her essay.
One aspect that I think was well done was the author’s transitions/fluidity. Although there were breaks throughout the essay, she was able to still make them all come together. Also, the fact that she didn’t break just one time because it could’ve seemed that it was an accident or as if it wasn’t flowing, but she did it multiple times. I could apply this aspect to my own essay by analyzing how exactly she was able to make it all cohesive and fluid, paying close attention to the ends of the sentences/paragraphs".
Reflection
As a writer, I chose these pieces to represent me as a writer because I personally enjoyed the Writing-to-Learns. I loved engaging in conversation with my peers, whether it was through discussion boards on Canvas or having a class discussions in small groups or as a whole class. Participating in these have opened my eyes to others' perspectives, opinions, and points of views. I am a very open-minded person and although I am quiet and laid-back, I am always up for a good and intriguing discussion.