Homework for the weekend of June23-25 June 23, 2006
Posted by esnowwalker in Uncategorized.trackback
Hello, all. This weekend we begin working and collaborating at our blogsite with two main objectives: (1) to take our first steps in learning how to navigate through our blog by posting and commenting on posts; and (2) to practice reading and use our reading to reflect on the writing process in general and, in partiuclar, on our individual writing processes. Thus we inaugurate our virtual learning and practice community. It's going to be fun!
Here are our individual and collaborative tasks for the weekend. Please write your posts and comments to others' posts by the designated dates and hours; our work and collaboration is time-sensitive. Good luck. . . and enjoy.
Text/Assignment/When due
Tapestry: post your answers to the 3 questions in Getting Started (p.4). When due: 6/23/8pm
Post comments to at least 2 of your classmates' answers to Getting Started. When due: 6/24/1pm
Tapestry: read and reflect on pp. 4-8 and, in your notebooks, answer the questions in About the Content and About the Writing; then complete Using the Strategies (p. 9) in your notebooks and post your answers only to questions 1-3. When due: 6/24/8pm
Post comments to at least 2 of your classmates' answers to questions 1-3. When due: 6/25/1pm
Tapestry: read and relfect on pp. 9-15 and, in your notebooks, answer the questions in About the Content and About the
Writing; post your answers to the questions in Write on p. 15. When due: 6/25/8pm
Applied English Grammar: complete the Diagnostic Test on pp. 13-14. Don't look at the answers on p. 15! When due: 6/26/11am
As always, bring your notebooks to class with you; I'll collect your work on the Tapestry questions in About the Content, About the Writing, and Using the Strategies that you completed for yourselves.
Hideki 06/23/2006
I think that the most difficult part of starting the writing process is constructing sentences. I think that construction that conveys correctly my idea is difficult. Sometimes, I write wordy, weird sentences, while I write short sentences, lacking some important information. So, I think the most difficult part of starting the writing process is construction that conveys my own idea correctly.
When I write, I think that writing sentences not only including sufficient information to convey my own idea, but also simple, clear sentences. I think it is not necessarily needed to use elaborate words or phrases. So, I want to become a writer who can write simple, clear sentences that can fully convey my own idea.
Especially, in English, my second language, it sometimes takes long time for me to find appropriate words that have meaning of something that I actually want to say. So, I think that knowing more vocabulary and phrases will help me to write some English essays and reports.
Hi. This is Sam.
Assignment for 06/23/2006
What is the most difficult part of starting the writing process for you?
I think the most difficult part of starting the writing process is to create the main idea of the writing and develop it properly. When we write reports or essays, the main idea should meet the requirement of the writing. I sometimes make jumps of logic to write quickly. That is why building the main idea properly is the most difficult part of starting the writing.
What do you think you do well when you write?
I do not think I do well when I write. In my process of writing, I cannot but think in my native language. In that way, I have to translate the topic into my native language, develop the main idea in my native language and translate again into English. It takes too much time and prevents me from developing my idea full time I assigned. I should change my approach. The better approach is to think it in English and write it in English directly.
What writing problem would you like more help with?
There are many and strict rules in written English such as punctuation or structure of the paragraph. I got used to use informal English because most of my chance of writing is emailing and chatting. In academic and business documents, we have to use the well-formed English. However, I cannot remember the detailed rules when they are needed.
Bye!
Hello all,
Chananate – Fai 06/20
For the first question, the most difficult part of starting the writing process for me is how to put ideas into sentences. I usually has a lists of ideas in words. It’s difficult to make them be in a proper grammar sentence or phrase. Also, grammar is always my mistake.
To evaluate my writing, I’m not good in formal writing at all. I may do well when I write notes in class with bullet points. Essay is very difficult to elaborate one or two ideas in 2-3 paragraphs.
I would like to learn more about writing styles, how to concise and elaborate sentences, how to pick the right word in phrases or sentences. Importantly, grammar is what I concerned.
Have a nice weekend
Fai
Hi, my name is Mattew.
What is the most difficult part of starting the writing process for you?
-Our mother tounge, Korean, has a completley opposite sequence of words in a sentence, so it is always difficult for me to put the words in the right position. When I write, I have to think about the order of what I want to say in reverse. It takes more time to do this. It is more severe when I speak than when I write.
What do you think you do well when you write?
-As you can see, I am a poor writer. My test score showed me that I am not as good at writing than in other categories. In order to improve my writing ability, after my class is over, I go to the library almost everyday to practice composition. I think it will make me better.
What writing problem would you like more help with?
-I have difficulty in putting the words in the right order, so it would be a great help if you could teach me to put them in the exact position.
Richard, 6/23/06
The most difficult part of starting the writing process for me is to think out ideas, examples, and my own opinion about the topic. I don’t know why I lack for imagination to find ideas to be arranged into an article. That makes my artcle being less attractive and less plentiful.
When I write, I think I am not a good writer even when I use my native language. As I mention at the former paragragh, it is really hard to organize a article with very few ideas. Moreover, because of poor vocabulary and not familiar with grammar, all make me difficlt to write what I exactly think.
I would like more help with my lack of ideas, vocabulary, and phrases. It will let me write an abundant article with lots of ideas and proper words and phrases.
Hi I'm Zasha
First of all I'm kind of dumb with computer things, so write here took me a while, but as you see I could find how.
Answering the questions on page four, I think that the most difficult part for me is organize my ideas and how is the correct way to write them in different cases or for different readers. Sometimes I have many things to write that I don't know which one should be the first one. Writing in english is very similar that in spanish in a technical way, so I think that I have the same problem in both languages.
I'm not sure what I do well when I'm writing because nobody tells me about how I do it, but maybe I can say that I do well is select a good topic for me. I usualy select a topic that really passion me and that I want to think and write about like modernism. So I can get very involve, but this is in the case of essays or research papers. In things like letters I'm not so good.
In this case, english, I definitly have to improve my grammar and I need to learn how to organize my thoughts.
Have a nice weekend.
Hello….This is fadwa
1. The most difficult part for me in starting the writing process is coming up with a good introduction that interest the reader. Even if I was able to start with a good itroduction, it would take me a very long time.
2. I think I do pretty well in grammer and using correct sentence order most of the times. I am also good at giving examples or a related self-experience about a certain topic, but in general i would like my grammer in writing to be more fluent and stronger.
3.I really need some serious help in organizing ideas. Because in all of the writing drafts I have written before, I mix a certain idea or place a certain idea in the wrong paragraph. This makes my thesis statment contradictory with the body of my essay.
I apologize for the delay. I am fully aware that this assignment should have been sent on 8:00pm, but I was busy dealing with some issues for my family. sorry again
Hello Mr. Eric,
I am Ahmed
First of all, I’m terribly sorry for the absence and the delay. I just had a lot of things to do in a very very short time. Anyhow, here are my answers for the homework:
- I think that the most diffecult part of starting the writing process is gathering the idea together. Any subject can have a lot points of view, but collecting them all together in one paragraph or in one essay, I think that this is really diffecult.
- The introduction is the best thing that I think I am good at. This is simply because at the beginning of writing, after the brainstorming, my mind is clear and I feal excited to write and to be as productive as possible. Then, little by little, I concentrate on gathering the ideas together more than being productive.
- The only problem that I have in writing is the lack of vocabulary words and phrases. This is big problem because the stronger my word are, the better my writings would be.
Have a nice weekend!
Richard, assignment 6/24 1pm
My comment to Mattew
To remember some sentences from the articles that you have read and to use the type of those sentences in your writing will help you write the correct sentences and put words in the right position.
My comment to Ahmed
To write the summary of your ideas will truly helpful for you. If you don’t have time to write them down, you still can construct them in your brain. Which point of views should be writen in the second paragraph and which point of views should be writen in the third and fourth paragragh. It is not easy but just try it. I think it is really helpful.
Matthew, homework 6/24 1pm
Comment to Fadwa
- I think it is a good idea to you read good editorials a lot, because there are always good introductions that attract the readers. You’d better see how they unfold their ideas in introduction.
Comment to Richard.
- I think you had better read a lot of books not only English books but also other language books. No matter what you read, I’m sure it can make you better. The more you read, the much ideas come out.
Sam, assignment 6/24 1pm
Comments to Matthew
You mentioned the interference from your mother tongue. As Korean and Japanese have the similar grammar structure, I sympathize with your difficulty in writing English. As I mentioned in my response to the questions, we should forget our mother tongue when I read, listen, speak and write in the language other than our mother tongue.
Comments to Ahmed
You said the introduction is the best thing you are good at. I think the introduction is one of the most important thing in writing. Even if you put excellent ideas into your writing, readers will not read it when its introduction is not attractive. I was a recruiting member of my company. I had to examine essays of over 30,000 applicants and select 300 as candidates for the final interview. In this case, I don’t read but watch them first. The second step is to read introductions. I read the whole essays only if the introduction is an attractive one.
I recommend all of you consider the attractive introductions when you read.
Comments for all
Many classmates want help in vocabulary and phrases. I also like to develop my vocabulary and phrases. Here are my suggestions:
Take notes
- When you speak to natives, you will face the difficulty to find the appropriate words and phrases. Write them down immediately the situation, what you want to say and how you cover or get over the difficulty.
Check them
- After you go back home, you should check your notes with dictionaries or native friends and find the strategy for the next time.
Sam, assignment 6/24 8pm
Which invention strategy worked best for you? Why?
Every strategy has pros and cons. I should combine these strategies case by case. Generally, I think the best strategy for me is word mapping. It helps me to organize my idea by clarifying cause/effect, listing items, etc. It is also very simple, flexible and time-saving. I think this strategy is the most effective especially when I should write something with deadline.
Which was the least effective? Explain your answer.
Freewriting is a good strategy for brainstorming. However, this strategy is less effective when time is limited because writing requires plenty of time and I have to read it and reconstruct it while editing. If you work with a computer, this strategy will be useful because you can reuse sentences you wrote easily. However, if you work with paper materials, you have to write down your ideas again.
Do you have your own invention technique that wasn’t described in this chapter? Explain your technique to your classmates.
I always use Post-it to list pieces of my ideas, group them and build my main idea with them. Post-it covers the disadvantage of working with paper materials. It is also effective in group-working because you can stick them on the walls to share ideas.
Have a nice day!
Hideki assingment 06/24-1pm
To Fai,
I think it is a very good idea to have a list of ideas in advance of writing. I should do like that, but it is sometimes boreing task for me. Also, I understand that grammer is something like making you annoying. In my opinion, it is very useful to not only write but also read a lot in order to become a good writer.
To Mattew,
Wow, do you go to the library almost everyday? I think it is a best idea to practice, practice, and practice. My language, Japanese, also has opposite sequence of words. So, all we have to do is soon getting used to English wording styles. In this point, you are a great learner, and it must be very good for you.
Bye
fadwa…..assignment 6/24, 1pm
comments to Sam
you may try to consider Fai’s strategy in mind. You will find that making a list of your ideas in words is very helpful. Personally, I use this strategy myself and it helps me a lot. Eventhough with my notes, I sometimes jump to another idea as you do. But by practicng, I got better in a noticeable way.
comments to Zasha
It’s excellent in your case to have an ability to choose good topics. In my opinion, this will help you a lot in organizing your thoughts. You said that you have a lot of thoughts when you write about a certain topic, I think all what you have to do is list these thoughts by the most important idea to the least important in your paper. You might get confused at first on deciding which idea is more important than the other, but you will find that out by reading your paper several times after you finished writing
Zasha, 06-24-06, 1pm
Hideki:
I think that you have to organize your ideas first. The writing technics that we are studing this weekend are excellent for you to develop a complete sentence. As you read in the book you can begin writing just the words that come at your mind. Then you can complete your idea asking to yourself why each of these words explain your idea and write the answer next to the word. Just work we one word at the time. Forget about the sentence for the moment.
Richard:
Maybe the first thing you have to do is make yourself questions about the topic. Start the brainstorming with questions like: Do I like the topic? Why? You can write all kind of questions, even something like: Why I'm not thinking in anything about it? Then you can read them and write the answer later. That should give you some ideas.
Ahmed……..Assignment 6/24
Comments to Hideki
I think that I have a similar problem to yours, which is finding the appropriate words that conflict the exact meaning that I’m trying to say. Not finding the appropiate words means not having enough vocabulary words to write with, and the best and most effeicient solution is to read. A lot.
Comments to Richard
I think that it is completely normal to think that you are not a good writer because this is the thing which keep on trying to be even better. This makes you feel that you are in compitition all the time. So, when you think of , this is a good point.
Bye
Hello again, all. It’s Eric. Hope you’re all enjoying your weekend so far.
Let me say I think we’re off to a great start. Already we’re interacting in writing as a community of readers and writers, sharing experiences, elaborating strategies, and supporting each other. That’s wonderful. Keep up the great individual and collaborative work.
Re (abbreviation for ‘Regarding’) the first question about process, I see a commonality of themes emerging in your comments. Hideki, Fai, and Matthew—you seem to initiate your writing processes at the ‘local’ levels of sentence and word, that is, at the levels of syntax, grammar, and vocabulary. Sam, Richard, Zasha, and Ahmed (by the way, Ahmed, welcome back!)—you seem to get your writing process started at the ‘global’ levels of ideas and organization. Fadwa, in focusing on introductory paragraph, you seem to get your process started somewhere in between local and global levels.
In my own case, as someone who’s written for more than 30 years, I share all your experiences. I’ve sometimes gotten started with an idea, sometimes with an image, sometimes with a word or sentence, and sometimes even with a sentence ‘rhythm’. Ultimately, it hasn’t really mattered (and doesn’t really matter) whether my process starts locally or globally—so long as it starts.
Generally speaking, however, I’ve had greater success getting my writing process started when I’m concerned neither at the global or the local levels. In other words, what has generally worked best in getting my writing process going is ‘trust’: trust that the process of putting words on paper without regard for their content or their expression will eventually take me to both the ideas and a way or ways of expressing those ideas.
How? Why? It’s like Peter Elbow says about spoken language vs. written language. If we were to speak as many of sometimes write—focusing on the right ideas in the right words—we’d have little to say and little or no pleasure in saying it. When we speak, we let ourselves meander, start and stop, reverse direction—whatever it takes to get a train of thought going. One’s the train is going, it has momentum of its own and, at its best, we’re just along for the ride. When the train stops, we sometimes think to ourselves, “Wow. I never knew I thought that!” The same is true of writing, if you trust that the process will eventually find the ideas, the organization, the sentences, the words—everything you need to give adequate expression to a subject.
Re the second question, I see that we have another similarity to a greater or lesser extent, and that is a lack of confidence. This is something that we can develop individually and, through help and mutual support, work on as a community.
OK. That’s it for now. I look forward to seeing how we elaborate our next questions. Later. . .
Eric
P.S. Do you mind if I don’t worry about spelling and typographical errors, etc. for our present purposes?
Hideki assingments for 6/24-8pm
Hello guys,
1. I think the most effective strategy for me is “word mapping”, because I often do this process only in my mind. As a result, I sometimes confuse what I should mention or write next. Maybe, I can pass this process when I write in my native language; however, in English writing, I think it is one of best solutions.
2. Regarding the least effective strategy, I think it is “quick writing”, because it is similar to my current writing style. In order to become a better writer, I think I should leaarn other strategies, “freewriting” and “word mapping”.
3. Maybe, I do not have any special strategy, for English writing, of my own now. So, I usually write and delete, or delete and write. For this reason, writing is sometimes annoying, time-absorbing, and hard thing for me. Could you teach me any special strategy, guys
Have a nice weekend!
Fadwa……assignment 6/24-8pm
1. The best invention strategy for me is word mapping. I found this strategy very helpful to organize my ideas. The other strategies were also helpful and easier, but after I finished writing my ideas using Quickwriting and Freewriting I found my self little lost and not organized
2. I think the Quickwriting strategy was the least effective for me. Because I found it hard to begin from a specific point or topic and continue the whole thing from there
3. I don’t have any personal technique myself, but I used to organize all my ideas in my head which was quite hard to remember every thing I thought of. That’s why I found word mapping very useful.
Zasha 06-24-06, 8pm
Hi everybody!!!
About which strategy is best for me I'm going to say that I prefer the quickwirting. This way I can write whatever I'm thinking about of a particular topic. For me is better to be focus on one thing instead of many. I think I can produce more this way.
The least effective for me is word mapping. It could work sometimes but this way took me more time to think about the topic. Maybe it could help me as a second step to organize subtopics.
I have a technique, but I didn't know it was a technique until now. I used to take notes in my journal of intresting thigs that I heard o read in different ocasions and then I wrote my thoughts about it immediately. Then when I need to write an essay or something similar I remember my notes and I use them to choose a topic or relate the topic if I can't choose.
Ahmed…….Assignment 6/24
- I think that the best invention strategy worked best for me is the freewriting for mainly because it needs less effort, thinking and more writing. It is like a pure writing strategy.
- The least effective strategy is the quickwriting. I am a kind of reason who doesn’t remember every every little detail for certain or ordinary experience in my life, and writing in English is one of these experiences. That’s why I don’t think that I would have as much writing as thinking of what to write.
- Unfortunately I don’t have my own strategy or technique in writing. I just have some ideas from different strategies, such as, starting from the least important to the most one. Or from general to specific…
Richard, assignment 6/24 8pm
The word mapping worked best for me because it would make me to construct my ideas and thoughts easily. I always use it before I write an article. It truly help me not to waste my time organizing my ideas and thoughts.
The freewriting was the least effective because I did not like to babble or jabber. I always sit in front of my paper , think for a long time, and do not write down anything. Maybe I have to use it more to let me think and image.
Until now, I still don’t have any specific strategy that belongs to me. I just do what every one does such as thinking some ideas, listing and constrcting them in my mind, and writing them down.
Matthew. Assignment 6/24
- I think word mapping is the most effective way for me, because I don’t want my ideas to be restricted before I start to write. When I use the word mapping method, I can think of any idea even though that word is unnecessary. Of course it is very helpful for more creative writing.
- The least effective method is quick writing. Similar to Amhed, I am also not a guy who can remember in detail, so it is always difficult to find wide examples or ideas about one topic. Also, I don’t like including unnessary parts in my writing.
- I usually choose the method of which the character is between freewriting and word mapping. Using this method I can think my ideas freely and I can write as much as I can. After finishing writing, I usually edit the whole article. Sometimes I erase whole paragraphs.
Shingo, 6/24, 8pm
Before putting my answer, I apologize that this is my first putting on this blog. I could reach here just now, relieved from technical problems. Thanks, Sam.
1. Quickwriting worked best for me. I consider it best, because I could write more seemingly meaningful contents than those in other 2 techniques. Considering why I could do so, I guess that I often wrote in such a way when I have to write about a certain subject. I also guess the reason is that I have much experience with writing in English, the topic in quickwriting.
2. Freewriting was the least effective for me. I couldn’t write a lot. I felt that it was very hard that I cannot stop writing. My writing sometimes stopped against the direction. Additionally, once I wrote something that wasn’t associated with the topic, the following contents in writing seemed to be far from the topic.
3. My technique in writing is to stop writing and to make myself relaxing, for example, going to bed and taking a bath. Although this technique isn’t available when the deadline is approaching, I could come up with good ideas about contents and the way of writing when I was relaxing.
Hideki 6/25-1pm
Hello all
To Shingo,
I also like your special techniques, going to bed and taking a bath. I can add three more techniques, smoking, eating delicious foods, and drinking beer! Oops, it may be not effective for me, because they will lead me to relaxing, deep sleep….
To Richard,
I agree with you. I also do not like to babble or jabber. Especially, I think I am a good writer in my native language. In Japanese tongue, I can easily write my opinion, report certain things, and review every materials WITHOUT doing such processes. But, when I write in English, I also think those processes are inevitable, as first step, for me to become a good writer.
Matthew Assingnment 6/25 1pm
To Fadwa
- I totally agree with you. Generally I have many thoughts before I start writing. Among them there are not only useful thoughts but also ineffective, useless thoughts. So I feel a necessity a lot to rearrange my numerous thoughts before writing. And, as you said, word mapping would be most effective way to do that.
I think we both already have our strategy such as word mapping.
To Shingo.
- I think everybody has a pause while they are writing. Your technique is not to write and not to think for a while for relaxing your body. However I am little bit different. Rather, I prefer to push myself to writing. Of course it hurts my minds, but when I win this situation, I can get a better sentence or better contents.
Sam, assignment 6/25 1pm
Hi!
Comments to Zasha
I would like to adopt your technique. Taking notes on whatever you heard or read is the best way to remember the topic and to broaden your range of thought. With your wide range of knowledge stocks, you can think about the topic from a different point of view.
Comments to Ahmed
Please explain why you start from the least important thing to the most. I think it is a good way that you evaluate the importance of every piece of your ideas. However, it is more natural for me to start writing with the most important thing.
Richard, Assignment 6/25 1pm
My commend to Zasha
I can’t agree with your own technique more. It is truly a good method to let people think and practice to take note everyday. I sould try to get used to this habbit to let me have more ideas to write. It really helps me.
My commend to Ahmed
I sometimes have an good idea in the beginning but as I keep write, I forget it. My commend to you is that if you have time when you write, just write down every idea that comes into your mind whatever it is important or not. And then you can check this list when you review your article.
Ahmed………
To Shingo:
I totally disagree with what you wrote about the freewriting strategy.
You said that “My writing sometimes stopped against the direction”. In the freewriting there is no specific direction that confuses you. You just write and write and write about anything.
To Matthew:
Your technique is wonderful. But do you think that this technique is not that affective in timed writing!?
Zasha, 06-25-06/1pm
Sam:
Is very true that strategies depend on the different situations. For me, the word mapping is not so easy, but maybe it could help me in cause and effect situations as you. I like the idea of the post-it. It is very convenient, not just for what you said, but also because the different tipe of color and shape of the post-it paper can help you remember things.
Hideki:
Is intresting what you said about learn new strategies for be a better writter. I like that! I read that you prefer the word mapping strategy, but you said to me in the listening and speaking class that that method was a litter bit confusing for you. Maybe you understood it better after this homework. About the special strategies, you can use any of the previous obtions, but, DON’T DRINK TOO MUCH BEER. I don’t think that is very helpfull, maybe one or two but that’s it.
This is funny!!!
Hideki assignment for 06/25-8pm
Hello,
1. For me, the main reason of writing is to communicate with others. Almost everytime, for example, when I need to express myself correctly, to let myself known from other people, to report any materials to my collegues and a boss, and so on, I need to write.
2. My most favorite writing practice may be emailing with others, because it is very symple and easy. When I read the partner’s replying, I can confirm whether I was able to report and convey my opinions.
3. Regarding my writing probrems, the worst one is that I am not able to find an appropriate word immediately. Because I often think phrases in my native language and translate it, it takes more time for me to write in English.
4. I think the most effective solution for my problem is just practice, not only writing but also reading and speaking. The more I use English, The more I can get used to it.
See you tomorrow,
Hideki
Shingo, 6/25, 1pm
To Hideki,
You considered our current writing style “Quickwriting” least effective, contrary to me. It is interesting, isn’t it? I sympathize with your opinion that we should learn other techniques. But, on the other hand, I wonder it might be better to develop our current style. I don’t know which is better, now.
To Zasha,
I have the same feeling as you about “Word mapping”. I feel it is helpful in the second step, as you stated. “Word mapping” seems to be useful for me in editing the draft or after brainstorming. Using this technique from the first, I might take care of making a decent map rather than writing.
fadwa….6/25-1pm
to Hideki
I have the same habit as you do in deleting and writing, and that does take me a lot of time too. Sometimes I get really bored and just give up. On the other hand, I tried to make a good use of this habit by trying to write some of the ideas in a different piece of paper instead of deleting it. Those ideas might be helpful as I process my writing.
to Shingo
I am surprised to know that someone stops writing for a while to help himself to continue writing. I tried to do this one time and I promised myself that I will never do it again. Instead I do as Matthew does, I push myself in to writing for as much as I can.
Hi to all once again. It’s Eric. Hope you’re having excellent weekends. I am. I’ve had some scrumptuous meals, sampled a marvelous red Rhone, and saw Syriana. Have any of you seen it? Just came out on DVD last Tues. It has a very curious narrative style, I think, one that could only have occured in this age of so-called globalization: it’s fragmented, mult-voiced, multi-lingual, multi-cultural and yet “networked,” if that’s the right adjective, as one overarching story of geopolitical greed. If you haven’t seen it, I recommend it.
I’ve also read quite a lot, written quite a lot in my journal, and, after I finish this comment, I’m going fly-fishing. Anyone fly-fish? I’m a novice, but I love it. Like writing, it’s all about process, process, process. . . . Which is one of the reasons I’m passionate about it. Anyway. . . .
This weekend we’ve had and continue to have a very interesting, stimulating, enlightening ‘written conversation’ about invention strategies—discovery strategies—that help us to start a piece of writing, whether for ourselves or for a larger audience. I’m impressed that everyone so quickly picked up on the type of writing we’ve been doing—namely, “quick writing.” It’s an invention/discovery strategy that’s also sometimes called “focused freewriting.” Re question 1 on p. 9, it’s the strategy I myself have found most generative, followed by freewriting and another form of quick writing called “looping.” Anyone heard of looping? Tried looping? Looping is a form of freewriting that begins with a sentence, a word, an idea, an image, etc.—whatever compels your interest and curiosity—that you discovered in a previous freewriting session. Make sense?
Interestingly, as far as word mapping goes, like Zasha and Shingo I’ve used it primarily as a follow-up to a freewriting, quickwriting, looping, and/or brainstorming session. I’ve also used a version of Sam’s post-it strategy, but using index cards instead laid out on a desk, a bed, or a floor. I like the idea of different colors, though. Very nice. Anyway, as Sam says and others agree, it can really help you to “see”—literally see—relationships among ideas.
Before going, I’d like to emphasize a couple of things as we continue to explore, discuss, and reflect on invention/discovery strategies. First, try them all; practice them all. Then use them as writing tasks and situations require. Second, always remember that writing is a process—not a product—and that it is a recursive process and, when it’s done for an audience, ultimately a revisionary process. Tomorrow I’m going to ask you to tell me what you think I mean by that.
I’ll check back in after 8. Enjoy what’s left of your Sunday. I know I will.
Eric
1. As a habit, when I’m free doing nothing or bored or don’t have any activity to do at all, I like to grab a piece of paper and write stuff….most of them are usually meaningless. Even if I’m not in the mood for writing I draw bizarre things. I mean that I have to scratch
something. So, in general I enjoy writing….
2. My favorite is chating, I can chat and chat all day. Well not all day…….but I enjoy chating with my best friends a lot. Because we can talk about defferent subjects and we usually do that by English not by my native language.
3. My writing problem is finding a topic to write about. I have a difficalty in thinking of a topic that I can write about easily and with interest.
4. I am trying to solve my problem by reading a lot about different things. I know that a newspaper is veeeeeeery helpful, but it’s impossible that i would such a thing…I really hate newspapers,,I find it boring and difficult to turn a page. I read a lot of novels instead, I really wish that I will be able to find some time to read The De’ Vinci Code.
O0o00o0o0opps…I forgot to write my name ….
the previous passage is Fadwa’s assignment…6/25-8pm
Zasha, 06-25-06/8pm
Of course I'm ejoying my whole weekend! I'm learnig how to write. I wrote, I'm writing and I still have to do it until I finish all the homework. But that's ok. I'm also watching the World Cup.
Why and how I write…
I need to write because it is one way to communicate with others. It is a way of expression. Writing is necessary for school, for jobs and for ourselves. That’s why it is very important to write correctly. The better you write the better the people can understand you. For me it is very important because one of my goals is to write one or two books in the future. I want to make people understand very well how important is what I want to say.
My favorite writing practice are essays. By essays I can express myself more. It is a practice where I can write what I think, what I found and what other people think about the topic. I think that also it is the most convenient practice for me, for what I want to do in the future. Essays are the most common practice of writing in architecture, so this is the way my colleagues are going to understand me. Interviews can help me too, but maybe as part of my essay, as a complementary thing. Poems are the last thing I am ever going to use to express myself. I don’t really like poems. I read poems before and some of them were really interesting , but usually I immediately thought of a poem as something boring.
If I’m going to write in english, one of my problems is grammar and vocabulary, but in general I have problems organizing my thoughts. I think that the writing techniques that we learned in this chapter (Getting ready to write: begin at the beginning) are going to help me with that. I remember now that I have another problem when I’m writing. Sometimes or most of the time I write all that I have in my mind, my notes, everything, but it is not enough to complete the essay. Usually the professors ask you for a specific amount of pages and I can’t complete them easily. I don’t know how much more information I need to complete it or which kind of information I’m leaving out. Unfortunately many professors are more worried about the amount of pages than the content.
I think that one big problem that we all have is the pre-conception of essays. With this writing exercise I noticed that maybe people, including myself, have a pre-conception of what an essay is and we think first on how it has to look like rather than what we have to write. This blocks immediately our thoughts. The first thing I thought when I saw this task was “How I’m going to write a whole essay about this topic? I thought that that it is going to be impossible. But when I read the guide questions I just answered them so easy that now I can’t believe that I wrote the whole essay, and actually I think I’m writing too much now. The guide questions for this essay are precisely the techniques that we learned before. Questions, words or sentences about the topic that we have to think first to organize our thoughts and remember what we already know. I like this book!
I know this is going to help me a lot. Learning how to write step by step and practice those steps is THE WAY to be a better writer. This is going to help me not just in english, but also in any language if I need it. This is going to solve my writing problems and is going to help me to be even better.
I don’t know where all of this came from. I’m so surprised!!!
I have to say that this is the final product. I have two drafts before this one that I'm going to take to class tomorow.
Matthew assignment 6/25 8pm
Usually I write essays when I feel writing sometimes or I have to do my homework. For example, sometimes I feel like keeping a journal, and then I write my essay. If teacher give me homework, then I write my essay like now. When I apply to a school, I also have to write my own essay well.
I am a relatively good writer in my mother tongue, but I am still not good at English writing. Of course I believe I will make it better, because English writing could be more necessary than that of my native language in the future. That is, my major will require writing a good paper because doctors usually report a clinical case to the authority once a week.
My favorite writing practice is keeping a diary. Keeping a diary give me a chance to be honest of me, so I ask to myself about how I feel, how I think, etc.
The problem that I have when I keep a diary is to make a sentence too long. Or I can’t put a suitable connecter in a sentence. That means I have to stop and rearrange the sentences but I always failed to that. So my sentences are likely to be incoherent. I have to reedit my diary after finishing to solve this problems.
And I write same word that I always use as a habit, so nothing is new in my diary. It is also a problem because there is no new, creative word in my diary. So, I have in mind read books as many as possible in my extra time.
Sam, assignment 6/25 8pm
I subscribed cell phone yesterday. I experienced a life without cell phone for the first time in the past 10 years. It was not bad because my boss could not call me….
Anyway, the assignments….
Why do I need to write?
I think writing is like taking snapshots. When I write something, I include many pieces of description such as my thoughts, episodes, etc. You can imagine what you saw with pictures. You can imagine what you thought with what you wrote. Others can also understand your thoughts with it. Writing helps us to make others understand us.
What are my favorite writing practices?
Necessity is the mother of invention.
After I arrived in US, I faced many many problems. I practiced my speaking and listening skills through phone inquiry. But if the problem was so complicated, I write it down to explain the situation and email it. It must be accurate and attractive enough to let readers make appropriate moves. In this kind of practice, I developed my writing skills and also solved the problems.
What are my writing problems?
My writing problem is to think too much before writing. Off course, thinking is an inevitable process in writing. But in my case, I have a heavy hand in writing. When I start something at last after the long thought, the time is over!
How do I hope to solve my problems?
I found blogging is an effective way to practice writing. I appreciate Eric’s suggestion. It’s fun, flexible, interactive and less painful to write. It will solve my problems.
See you tomorrow!
Shingo, 6/25, 8pm
1. I will write to tell my opinions and feelings to many people. Interacting with people through my writing, I hope that this writing generate good influence both on other people and me. In other sense, I will write to record something for the future.
2. To be honest, I don’t very like writing. But, compelled to tell, I would like to say my favorite writing practices were e-mails to my friends and applications for loan transactions in my work. The former brought me fun. I could enjoy interacting with people. The latter brought me a sense of accomplishment and significance. I think that both of them not only made me feel good, but also made my writing skill better.
3. I think that I have a bad custom that I try to make my writing well-organized to shorter sentences. This custom sometimes made the meanings of my writing unclear and made people upset or misunderstood.
4. I hope that I could solve this problem by developing my vocabulary, knowing useful phrases, and making the flow of my writing smooth.
Richard, Assignment 6/25 8pm
I write because I express myself to other people. I wirte homework to tell my teacher what I have learned and what I have known. I write email to tell other people what’s my opinion and what are my requests. I write essays to tell admission committe what are my experineces, what’s my strengh, and what are my thoghts. Writing is just the way to let other people know me.
My favotite practice is email. In the leisure time, I can write email to my friends. Doing this practice, I write freely and don’t have to take care about the grammar. In the working time, I write email to contact to my clients, to my coworkers, or to my supervisors. When I write this kind of email, I need to take care of the grammar, my attitude, and the format. I think I can practice different styles of writing by email.
My writing programs is that I don’t like to descript things and to be creative so I may have great opinion about a topic but I can write my opinion completely. I always just write the main point and give a small example about it nad that’s all.
I think I need to read more and keep using freewriting everyday. Both of them will help me to be more creative, to have more ideas, and to be familiar with the writing process.
Hello, dear students, once again. It’s Eric. Here are my own thoughts (at this particular moment–another moment my thoughts might be a little (a lot?) different) on the last homework assignment.
Why do I write? In short, I write to discover what it is that I think. Short of an amazing conversation with a really smart friend (or lover), writing is the best way that I’ve found to find out what’s on my mind, what I know, and what I want or need to know. I say this even though, I must admit to you all, every experience that ever really ( I mean REALLY) mattered to me was beyond words. Beyond language. This, for me, is the one great paradoxes and mysteries of language. But writing, especially when I let the procoess take me where it will, is an exhilarating experience unlike almost any other.
What are my favorite writing practices? Journal writing. There’s absolutely NO pressure to put a good sentence together, to find just the right word, to express myself eloquently, blah, blah, blah. It’s just a chance–how many such chances are there in life–to be quiet, alone (does everyone know “alone” is a contraction for “all one”–a golden chance to find out what’s on my mind. Can you put a value on that?
What are my writing problems? All the ones all of you have described so well this weekend. Getting stuck with the right word, the right syntax or sentence structure.rhythm, the smart idea, and so on. Trying to wait for the right words and the right ideas to come to me–writing and deleting and writing and deleting and revising and deleting and editing and rewriting. . . . It’s horrible and exhausting.
How do I hope to solve my problem? By taking the pressure off to write brilliant essays, reports, articles, srcreenplays, stories, poems, etc. and just trust the process. Trust that the process of putting words on paper will eventually (maybe not this time, maybe not today) take me where I want to go. Where I need to go. Writing is a habit, a ritual of attenttion, something we should do as often as we can to find out and articulate who we are and what we think and believe.
Good night, all. See you tomorrow.
Matthew
To Zasha
I love your idea especially about the plan that you will write a book. I also feel like writing a book sometimes in my future. But in some respect, I think it can be a big challenge to some people to show themselves to others, because there are something we want to keep in our mind not to show to others.
To Sam
I also describe something when I keep a diary. Describing something is a good method to improve our writing ability especially for beginners. However, in order to be a better writer, I think we have to do more than just to describe. What I mean is we have to describe not only superficial things such as landscapes but also our mind or feeling.
Comments to Fadwa
I agree with your comments on newspapers. Reading newspapers is one of the most helpful way to develop writing skills. When I start reading for learning English, I read whole articles and ads. But I realized it was not an effective way. In that way, I have to read boring articles in which I am not interested. I can select articles which you like and read them as I like. This ad hoc reading style makes you feel relax to read newspapers.
Comments to Richard
I recommend you to read many kinds of books or articles. It may help you develop your creativity. And write down something about it anytime. You will be able to expand your ideas and improve your writing process.
By Sam.
Shingo, 6/26 in class
To Zashia,
I agree with you about the need for writing. Communication is really important in society. I feel writen documents sometimes bring misunderstanding. Once someone misunderstand your writing, you might have few chances to correct this. So, I also feel that making me well-understood is important, and writing will make you understood to many people at one time.
To Sam,
I agree with your opinion that needs to write will make our writing better. In my case, applications for American graduate schools made my skill better, while it is not so good. Therefore, I hope that I have a lot of opportunity that I have to write.
Hideki 6/26 in classmeeting
To Zasha,
I totally agree with you. The reason that I write is that, I think, writing is communication. Everytime and everywhere, in school and any organization, we need communications and interacting. Although I may not write a few books, as you mentioned, in the future, it is still important for me to write.
To sam,
I also has a problem of yours. I usually think too much and it makes me annoying to write. Last week, we learn “freewriting” technique, and I think this is a good solution of our problems. All I have to do is just writing whithout worring about topics and grammer. Then, it may be more easier to write.