The authors of this article discuss using a strategy for writing called the open-mind portrait technique. Most commonly, this technique is used to help students as they begin to craft narrative text, but in this case, the authors recognize that this technique can be a used to improve student’s expository writing skills; skills which become increasingly critical through middle and high school and finally into higher education and in most careers. Students struggle with writing in an expository manner, in reporting facts and making connections without expressing their own emotions or opinions. Furthermore, expository writing is inherently linked with the ability to read and comprehend information in a text book, something with which students
Whenever an opportunity arises where a researched-based strategy is presented as a viable option to use to assist students in their learning, we, as future educators, should be willing to use and/or adapt the method to improve our instruction and move our students forward. This article showed me the power of associative critical thinking using visual images. When students are able to draw symbols, sketch main ideas and include captions from an expository text they are reading into the outline of the human head, they are better able to recall the main ideas and include them in their own writing using their own words. Children in elementary school for the most part, enjoy drawing and so this strategy is appealing, and as Paquette & Fello (2010) point out, it is also developmentally appropriate for elementary-aged
Our classrooms will be the same, and the open-mind strategy is a viable option as an organizer for some students. Brainstorming, graphic organizers and a Venn diagram have been used as we have discussed pre-writing strategies and compared different styles of writing and the open-mind portrait is another example of these ideas, just presented in a particular way. We have examined organization on multiple occasions, both in our text book and in classroom discourse, as it relates to pre-writing, and again, the open-mind strategy is an aid to organization of thoughts and ideas. The primary continuum of ideas handout which we read in class correlates with the open-mind strategy as it allows the early grades to organize their thoughts pictorially and can be utilized as a graphic organizer for complex expository writing in the upper grades. If a student were to use the open-mind portrait method, I believe the teacher would see a correlation with an increased score using the 5-point writer’s rubric. Chapter three of our text book described the six plus one traits of the writers’ craft, several of which would be improved with the method described in the article; specifically, the traits of ideas, organization, and word
In this time, most teachers’ brains have been numbed from all of the talk about the thinking process and abstract thinking skills (Ravitch). Students need a lot of knowledge to be able to think critically as they are expected to (Ravitch). We stand on the shoulders of those before us, we did not restart as each generation comes up in the world as we wish it would (Ravitch). What we need to be learning is how to use our brain’s capacity to make generalizations so we can see past our own experiences
Writing requires a delicate balance between pleasing an audience, yet finding and sticking true to personal perspectives. More often than not, people find themselves ignoring their own thoughts and desires and just following along with the crowd, not standing up and arguing for anything, leaving behind a wishy-washy essay because they are too scared to stray from the obligations to others before the obligation to themselves. Anne Lamott’s “The Crummy First Draft” and Koji Frahm’s “How To Write an A Paper” both evaluate and stress the importance to find your own voice in writing and to be more critical towards readers. The reader’s perspective needs to play a role in writing, but it should not overrule the writer themselves. Writing needs to
When a person begins writing a paper it can prove to be a difficult task. Where do they begin, and how do they get to where they need to be? The articles “Shitty first Drafts” by Anne Lamott and “Accordions, Frogs, and the 5 Paragraph Theme” by Rob Jenkins bring together freewriting and careful organization into a symbiotic harmony. One has the reader focusing on letting their creative thought flow, and the other has their focus on an effective and adaptive formula. While each have their own unique viewpoint on how the writer can initially achieve their goals, the end goal is the same. With practice and skill, a little bit of freewriting and a little bit of organization can go a long way.
Although the greater picture is that reading is fundamental, the two authors have a few different messages that they seek to communicate to their audiences. “The Joy of Reading and Writing” depicts how reading serves as a mechanism to escape the preconceived notions that constrain several groups of people from establishing themselves and achieving success in their lifetimes. “Reading to Write,” on the other hand, offers a valuable advice to aspiring writers. The author suggests that one has to read, read, and read before he or she can become a writer. Moreover, he holds an interesting opinion concerning mediocre writing. He says, “Every book you pick has its own lesson or lessons, and quite often the bad books have more to teach than the good ones” (p.221). Although these two essays differ in their contents and messages, the authors use the same rhetorical mode to write their essays. Both are process analyses, meaning that they develop their main argument and provide justification for it step by step. By employing this technique, the two authors create essays that are thoughtful, well supported, and easy to understand. In addition, Alexie and King both add a little personal touch to their writings as they include personal anecdotes. This has the effect of providing support for their arguments. Although the two essays have fairly different messages, the authors make use of anecdotes and structure their writing in a somewhat similar
The very first chapter we read of Mindful Writing changed my perspective to see that anyone and everyone can be a writer. Brian Jackson, the author of Mindful Writing, wrote, “In this book I want to convince you that anyone writing anything for any reason is a writer…Writing is not something we do just in school. It is a vital means of influence in all facets of life.” It was through that very first reading that I began to think about writing as more than just a dreaded part of school, and I began to think of myself as more than just a student forced to write. Our very first assignment, My Writing Story, helped me to reflect on my identity as a writer. I realized that I was a writer every time I wrote in my journal or captioned an Instagram post. Throughout the semester, as I came to love writing more with each paper I wrote, I was able to create my identity as a writer. I learned that I loved research and analyzing others’ thoughts and ideas, but that writing simply on my own opinions, wasn’t my favorite past time. Through the countless readings this semester, I saw which writing styles I loved and which didn’t speak to me. Each day of class, I chipped away at creating my identity as a writer, and I’m grateful for the lessons that helped me shape and realize that
It is difficult to get my mind to focus on one idea, which makes it difficult to start a paper. Outlines are a great method for organizing thoughts, but outlines take time, and I have found that outlines do not necessarily help with all types of writing. Between American Studies and Honors Writing, I have written two research papers, for which I was required to compose outlines. The outlines undoubtedly helped the writing process operate smoothly, but I struggle to believe that an outline would have helped me write any other type of paper. In “Literacy, Identity, Imagination, and Flight,” Gilyard shares his approach to education and learning by stating, “A lot of my initial observations are the old ‘go for what you know’ variety that are important back in the ‘hood” (Gilyard 42). I interpreted this a few different ways. The interpretation that resonated with me most was that I can adopt other methods of organization, but sometimes what I am used to is best. This is especially true when I do not have a great deal of time to write a paper. On the other hand, while I agree with going for what I know, I need to begin stepping out of my comfort zone. This begins with finding a way to better organize my thoughts. One of my goals as a writer is to become better at brainstorming in advance, documenting my ideas clearly, then finally writing a paper with
Throughout my high school years, I did not necessarily find a liking in writing, as it was extremely graded hard on a rubric and mostly censored. I constantly felt pressure from my teacher to meet our school writing rubric, rather than expressing my thoughts on a topic creatively through my writing. Every week, Ms. Harper gave us three writing assignments all due on the same day next week. Due to these restrictions, I did not allow myself to think in a comprehensive sense. When I started college at Clayton State, that mindset of writing without creatively thinking on the topic prevented me from opening up my mind to different ideas. Luckily, English 1101 which was taught by Dr. Frank gave me a new perspective on writing and allowed me to open
Students have been writing essays since education was formalized centuries ago. There are several formats that they are taught throughout the course of their formal education, two of the most common being; Narrative, and Descriptive. Both of these have distinct characteristics that define them, and while they share many similar qualities and are developed to make the reader immerse themselves in the story. Narratives tend to have the power to capture and persuade on a deeper level than most descriptive papers. Two prime examples are the narrative I Want a Wife by Judy Brady and the descriptive essay Fish Cheeks by Amy tan. While they both do an exceptional job at delivering a lesson Brady’s causes you to think from the beginning, her use of the rhetorical devices such as pathos, ethos, and logos are incorporated with a heavy use of sarcasm and harsh remarks that claws for the reader’s attention.
Being back in grad school has been an amazing experience because it has put me back in touch with my own process of writing; I am conscious of how I write in comparison to the way in which I expect my students to write. I find myself using the information that I share with them, although at times I feel the pressure that I must earn all A’s on my papers because if I haven’t mastered the process of writing, then I must be a bit of a fraud to be teaching it. But then I have to remember what I have learned about my own process, and what I continue to learn about my own writing process. I keep in mind the epiphany I experienced in graduate school, and I seek to share this information, for current or later use, with my students in the classroom.
Hence, this technique has helped me a lot to become a proficient writer, which really assisted me to understand and care about the real world issues; how there are so many problems in the world that yet not have been solved. After continuation of some extra research on my topic, reflection, and different exercises on The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander novel, I was finally able to understand that I want to learn more about the topic on prison sentences which led me to research about my topic broadly, helped me select those sources that interested me a lot and helped me to develop more as a writer. A main purpose of this e-portfolio is to demonstrate four different areas such as my Composing Process, Rhetoric, Argumentation, and Multi-modal Communication Process through two different projects, Revision Process with multiple drafts, and additional resources that I used outside the class time and Transfer Process, how this course has helped and shaped me become a writer that I am
With the implementation of the No Child Left Behind legislation, students across the country are being required to read texts that have greater and greater complexity. Content-area teachers are charged with the task of supporting these students as they struggle to master these more complex texts (Fisher and Frey, 2014). By using reading strategies such as think-alouds, close reading and building background knowledge teachers can help make the reading more accessible for English Language Learners (ELLs). Stimulating critical thinking begins prior to reading. By tapping into the student’s prior knowledge, they will be able to make connections with the reading passage which is one of the first steps of critical thinking.
The student will state that the most important aspect of writing is originality, “For Intuitives, good writing is often equated with originality” (23). Originality is extremely important since originality crafts the writing assignment so that it will be unique and creative which prevents it from being ordinary. The Thinking personality type retains a plethora of strengths dealing with writing, experts say “Thinking types write better when they are experts on a topic, they don’t seem to need to be as emotionally invested in it” (24). This adaptability grants thinking types the strength to maintain a stable writing level and focus on any writing assignment for the reason emotions don’t hinder their performance. However, this student also possesses some weaknesses that need to be overcome in order to become a better
Although adequate writing skills are indispensable for life, leisure, and employment, quite a few students do not learn how to write effectively. Since writing is an exercise in thinking, it is important to balance the process of writing with the mechanics of writing. The areas of the brain involved in the writing task are varied yet interrelated; therefore, a student’s individual needs will determine the method of instruction they receive. Many students who have low expectations for their own academic success will not make even minimal efforts to complete a...
The ability to write well is not a naturally acquired skill; it is usually learned or culturally transmitted as a set of practices in formal instructional settings or other environments. Writing skills must be practiced and learned through experience. Writing also involves composing, which implies the ability either to tell or retell pieces of information in the form of narratives or description, or to transform information into new texts, as in expository or argumentative writing. Perhaps it is best viewed as a continuum of activities that range from the more mechanical or formal aspects of “writing down” on the one end, to the more complex act of composing on the other end (Omaggio Hadley, 1993). It is undoubtedly the act of
Paul, R., & Elder, L. (2006). Critical Thinking: Tools for Taking Charge of Your Learning and