1 / 15

On the Importance of Writing

On the Importance of Writing. I write to find out what I’m thinking. I write to find out who I am. I write to understand things. Julia Alvarez author of Like Water For Chocolate. Writers are born, not made. Writers write perfectly the first time.

marlee
Download Presentation

On the Importance of Writing

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. On the Importanceof Writing I write to find out what I’m thinking. I write to find out who I am. I write to understand things. Julia Alvarez author ofLike Water For Chocolate

  2. Writers are born, not made. Writers write perfectly the first time. The first draft is what the reader sees in print. Writers learn to write through reading and writing practice. Writers invent and revise at every stage of the process. The text we see in print has been revised many times by the writer, by content editors, and by copyeditors. Two Writing Paradigms:

  3. Writing influences thought. For this class you will write 4 essays: • Remembered Event, • Explaining a Concept, • Arguing a Position, and • Justifying an Evaluation

  4. Remembered Event Writing the remembered event essay fosters detailed observation and stimulates reflection on personal ways of making meaning and finding values. Give examples: Eye witness accounts--for the courts or for the news. Reports—from the lab or the field.

  5. Explaining a Concept Writing to explain a concept will help you to read critically, to understand how concepts develop, and to participate in making knowledge. Brainstorm concepts—from parenting and relationships to sports and career. What are the concepts in each academic field?

  6. Arguing a Position Writing an argumentative essay encourages logical reasoning, helps to clarify personal values, and gives you the courage to voice your own position. Examples are endless. Parent/ child. Teacher/student. Manufacturer/consumer.

  7. Justifying an Evaluation Writing to justify an evaluation helps you to understand the reasons why you value what you value and helps you to share those values with others. Why is this important? Give examples—movie reviews, book clubs, travel guides.

  8. Writing Contributes to Learning. • Helps you organize ideas logically. • Helps you to present ideas in your field. • Helps to clarify and extend your own ideas. • Promotes precise, detailed observation. List examples of how writing works to help make knowledge in various fields. What other ways does writing contribute to learning?

  9. Writing Fosters Personal Development. • Leads to deep reflection. • Fosters self-examination. • Helps you to analyze your values and values of others. • Increases your personal confidence to assert new ideas. List examples of how writing fosters development.

  10. Writing Connects you to Others. • Offer your own point of view. • Influence others as others influence you. • Work collaboratively. • Internet, email, blogs, myspace. What other ways might writing connect you to others?

  11. Writing Promotes Success in College and at Work. • Helps you to demonstrate what you know. • Promotes understanding of different purposes and different audiences. • Develops your own clear explanations, logical arguments, convincing evaluations, and effective proposals. Give examples of how writing promotes success.

  12. Writers Learn through Reading and Writing Practice. • Learn different genres (types) of writing and understand reader expectations. • Use genres as models for writing. • Combine reading and writing as a way to greater understanding of a subject. • Think things out: “How do I know what I think until I see what I say?” E. M. Forster. • Understand that writing is cumulative and essays can be divided into smaller, more manageable portions.

  13. On Craftsmanship Writing has laws of perspective, of light and shade, just as painting does, or music. If you are born knowing them, fine. If not , learn them. Then rearrange the rules to suit yourself. Truman Capote author of In Cold Blood

  14. On Revision . . . The process of writing is a process of inner expansion and reduction. It’s like an accordion: you open it and then you bring it back, hoping that additional sound—a new clarity—may come out. It’s all for clarity. Jerzy Kosinski author of The Painted Bird

  15. On Learning From Other Writers I went back to the good nature books that I had read. And I analyzed them. I wrote outlines of whole books—outlines of chapters—so that I could see their structure. And I copied down their transitional sentences or their main sentences or their closing sentences or their lead sentences. Annie Dillard author of Pilgrim at Tinker Creek

More Related