This blog is an unprompted reflection about a specific process I experienced in my English Composition I class. The topic I have chosen is free-writing and how it has helped me in my writing process.
When I first started English Composition I, I had no idea what free-writing was. Free-writing is a way to get all your thoughts down on paper at the beginning of your writing process. Sometimes, people get stuck on what to write about or do not know where to start. The idea is to write in complete sentences (handwritten or typed) without stopping no matter what over a certain amount of time. If you do not know what to write, you can just start writing random words until something comes to your mind. For our Life-Choice Memoir, we did an in-class free-writing session to practice writing down our thoughts for thirty minutes. We were told by our professor to set a goal of how many words we wanted to achieve in that half hour. My goal was 600 words and I surpassed it during that time period, totaling to 1042 words. I never ended up using what I wrote during that session in my memoir, but it was an amazing feeling to be able to write over 1000 words in such a short amount of time. After that class, I knew I wanted to use this method as part of my process. I wanted to replicate it because I felt so productive and accomplished knowing that I could produce quality writing in just a half-hour. When I finally decided on the life-choice I wanted to write about, I used free-writing to write my opening scene. By the end, I had at least 350 words I wanted to use in my paper. I thought my writing was much more descriptive and created a good scene because I just let the words flow without stopping. I did not pause to check to make sure my spelling or grammar was right, knowing that I could go back later and polish it. Using this method, helped me focus on the five senses rather than just telling the audience everything I was experience. I was able to show the readers using descriptive language that I wrote during my free-writing session. Going forward, I will continue to use this method whether it is for another English class or for my own personal writing. I am trying to get back in the habit of working on creative writing because it was one of my favorite hobbies in high school. My friends and I used to write short stories for each other and it was one of my fondest memories. I will use free-writing to pick up this hobby again and hopefully create work that I am proud of in the future. To assist me in this process, I purchased a writing journal called Prompt Me which I mentioned in a previous blog. To gain more insight into this journal, please click on the link here. I encourage everyone to include free-writing in their processes because it is a very empowering and worthwhile form of writing.
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This blog features my reflection about my Research Paper that I am currently writing. Included below is my process of writing and how it has helped or inhibited me over the last few weeks. The video Reflective Writing helped me realize that by reflecting on my writing, I will become a better writer and make good revisions to my paper.
Who did you work with to compose your research paper? Was this a good approach? At first, I wanted to write about having reduced homework in America, but I could not find relevant research material on the topic. I talked to some of my family members about what topic I should write about and what would make a better argument. My mom suggested writing about standardized tests because I have experienced the struggles that come with it. I changed my topic to eliminating standardized tests in America and I was able to find a lot of credible sources while I was working on my annotated bibliography. My classmate, Candace Stoltzfus, was also doing the same topic as me and we decided to collaborate on the paper. This was a good approach because we had a similar focus for our paper. We both brought interesting points to the table and I think our final draft will be a very strong argument against standardized tests. What rhetorical mode and genre are you using? The rhetorical mode of this paper is argumentation and the genre is MLA Research Paper. When did you write this project? Good approach? I wrote the first draft of this project within three days. I set a goal for myself to write 500 words each day so that I would have 1,500 words by the next class. By the time class approached I only had 1000 words, but I still felt very accomplished with my work. This was a good approach because I set my goals high and was able to achieve a lot in three days. Also, I did not write my whole paper in one sitting so I think my writing turned out better when I stepped away from the project for a short amount of time. Where did you write this project? Good approach? I wrote most of this paper either in my bedroom or the cafe at DCCC. This was a good approach for me because I am less distracted in these areas and I am very productive. I like to work in areas where there is a little bit of noise, but not too much that it will distract me. Sometimes, I would write at the kitchen table, but I was not as productive because my family spends a lot of their time downstairs. Why did you choose to write about your chosen topic? Good choice? I chose my topic because I struggled with standardized tests in high school. I never scored high on the SATs and had hours of tutoring in Math which did very little to improve my score. My grades were very good in high school and I had a 4.0 GPA. However, my low SAT scores kept me from getting scholarships that I worked really hard for when I was applying for college. It was very frustrating and when I heard that Finland does not use standardized tests, I wondered why America still uses it even though it is ineffective. I made a good choice in choosing this topic because I have had personal experience with standardized tests which has allowed me to develop a better argument for my paper. How did it feel to write this argument ("during, after, and since")? Do you have any "if only" moments that can help you revise the draft? While I was writing my paper, I was a bit overwhelmed because there were so many facts I could put in my paper and argue several different claims. However, Candace and I decided to narrow it down to two claims: standardized tests affect critical thinking and the quality of teaching. After we combined our material together, I felt like our argument was much more organized in the structure. Since finishing our first draft, I know that we need to make substantial revisions. Because we combined two papers, it does not flow in the most effective way. An “if only” moment I have had is that we need to add more counter-arguments and refute them in our paper. We only have one counter-argument and we should definitely include more to make our paper stronger. How will you revise your argument? As I said in the previous question, Candace and I will work together to make our paper flow in a more effective way. We need to work on our transitions and may need to move paragraphs around. For our second draft, we plan on using more counter-arguments to refute in order to make our claims stronger. Recently, I have purchased a creative writing workbook and journal called Prompt Me by Robin Woods. When I was in high school, I really enjoyed creative writing and I used to write short stories all the time. Now that I am in college, I have not found much motivation to write for my own personal enjoyment because I have a lot of homework and studying. However, my English Composition I class has really inspired me to pick up writing again. To get back into the habit, I order Prompt Me on Amazon and I have absolutely loved it. I highly recommend it to anyone who likes to write or has writer’s block. Writing in my journal is my new favorite activity and I do it in between classes, while I’m watching TV, or right before I go to bed. There are a variety of prompts and endless possibilities of stories you can write.
Below, I have attached what the journal looks like and a story about my little brother Michael. He is five-years-old and has a very active imagination. Oftentimes, he will run around the house, punching and kicking the air like he is fighting a bad guy. He even adds his own sound effects and I always wonder what is going on in his head. I did a fill-in-the-blank prompt about him saving my brother Christian from being fed to sharks. It’s really short and doesn’t have much detail, but I hope you enjoy it. This blog post features my annotated bibliography for my research paper that I am in the process of writing. I chose my topic from the documentary film Where to Invade Next and I have written a full summary of the film in my blog post: Summary and Rhetorical Analysis of Where to Invade Next. My research question for my paper is: If American high schools eliminate standardized tests, will students' ability to learn and prepare for college improve? Below, I have provided sources that are relevant to my paper and will help me develop my argument that standardized tests should be eliminated.
Source 1: Clemmitt, M. (2015, April 10). Teaching critical thinking. CQ Researcher, 25, 313-336. Retrieved from http://library.cqpress.com/
Source 2: Moore, Michael, director. Where to Invade Next. Dog Eat Dog Films, 2016.
Source 3: National Council of Teachers of English. “How Standardized Tests Shape- And Limit- Student Learning."2014. Retrieved from http://cccc.ncte.org/library/NCTEFiles/Resources/Journals/CC/0242-nov2014/CC0242PolicyStandardized.pdf
Source 4: Taylor, Kate. “92 New York City High Schools to Give No-Fee SAT on Wednesday.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 1 Mar. 2016, www.nytimes.com/2016/03/02/nyregion/92-new-york-city-high-schools-to-give-no-fee-sat-on-wednesday.html.
Source 5: Wagner, Tony. The Global Achievement Gap: Why Even Our Best Schools Don’t Teach the New Survival Skills Our Children Need--and What We Can Do about It. Basic Books, a Member of the Perseus Books Group, 2014.
Source 6: Walberg, Herbert J. "Standardized Tests Effectively Measure Student Achievement." Standardized Testing, edited by Dedria Bryfonski, Greenhaven Press, 2012. At Issue. Opposing Viewpoints In Context, http://link.galegroup.com.libdb.dccc.edu/apps/doc/EJ3010478217/OVIC?u=pa_de_ccc&sid=OVIC&xid=94992545. Accessed 7 Apr. 2018. Originally published as "Stop the War Against Standardized Tests," Defining Ideas: A Hoover Institution Journal, 20 May 2011.
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Molly ZahnerI will use this blog to post my informal writing assignments for my English Composition I class. Archives
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