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The education problem writing
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“Editing allows me to collaborate with people whose talents make up for my weaknesses.” Reading Hugo Lindgren’s article “Be Wrong as Fast as You Can”, this quote stuck out to me more than any other. Last year I began writing for the Crimson White newspaper, and after almost 40 articles I began to realize that I had found a rhythm to writing and began to think that I was pretty good. However, this past summer I spent some time as a copy editor and realized very quickly where my weaknesses were. Being able to edit other people’s work really connected me as a writer to others who were far better than I was. As journalism students we spend so much time reading news, and through doing that we learn so much through other’s style. On the other hand, it was not until I began editing other people’s work that I realized how much I had to learn. …show more content…
It has been funny to me during the first week of classes how many teachers have asked the question, “how many of you are good at math,” because it is usually assumed that if you are good at writing it is probably one of the only things that you are really good at. Therefore, it becomes very scary to think of yourself as doing anything other than writing. Journalism is also one of the scariest job markets to enter into. Even former president Obama stated that “traditional journalism is dead,” (http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/314759-obama-traditional-journalism-is-dead) so why do we do it? We continue on because we love it. We love to write, but for every good writer there is a good
What about writing and the writing process makes it so disliked and, in some cases, even feared? “Fun?” by Lex Runciman, an English teacher at the Linfield College in Oregon, is an insightful article that explores why many people don’t enjoy writing. He is a very credible author because he has taught college English classes for many years and has written and published several books. His main claim throughout the article is that many people dislike writing and feel that it is frustrating because it is not perceived as or made out to be fun, enjoyable, or rewarding. Runciman wrote this article because, at the time, he felt that there was not enough being done to reverse the negative image that surrounds writing. He wants his readers to realize through his article that writing and the writing process can actually be an enjoyable and rewarding experience. Runciman uses evidence, assumptions, and language and tone as a basis for his argument.
I am more knowledgeable about invention, arrangement, style, and delivery, all in which create a masterful piece of text. A few examples, I have learned to organize and construct my thoughts and ideas clearer. I have been taught to use stronger transitions and focus more on the delivery and content of the body element of essays. Further, the instructions and advice I have received throughout this term have influenced my understanding of the purpose of writing. My outlook on writing has been modified by shifting my perception of writing from, writing to prove I am a good writer by perceiving it as using “fluffy” or BIG words to impress my audience. I grew to understanding that good writing’s purpose is to engage the writer by mind-striking ideas and arguments, which therefore will prove and title me as a “good writer”.
In the essay “Getting Started” by Anne Lamott. The author reaches out to her students and other fellow writers who struggle to overcome the infamous writer’s block. Thought out her paper she gives us hints and tips to train and prep us for our future papers. Her tips range from training you mind to prepare for a long and often strenuous essay, learning to take information in slowly to not overwork your brain and the last one always tell the truth in your essay. She threads through her essay that writing may be hard and seems like there is no silver lining but it’s not impossible to do. When done reading this essay I widely agree with Lamott’s writing ideas and tips they can be helpful for many struggling students. As one myself I found
In “Writing to Learn: Writing across the Disciplines,” Anne J. Herrington finds different sources stating that writing is to be taken serious. Janet Emig says, "writing represents a unique mode of learning-not merely valuable, not merely special, but unique” (1) meaning that writing is far more essential than we ought to make it seem. Anne Herrington wants educators teaching in economics, history, chemistry or any other subject to guide their students into understanding why progressing their writing skills will be more helpful to them. At the end of the day, it all comes down to the educator; whether he/she wants their students to use writing as a way for students to adapt to different disciplines.
Self-motivation and determination are two of the main ideals of being journalist. If a journalist does not have the desire to find and report a story, he has no career. A journalist depends on finding the facts, getting to the bottom of the story and reporting to the public, whether it’s positive or negative. Janet Malcom states in the book The Journalist and the Murderer, “Every journalist who is not too stupid or too full of himself to notice what is going on knows that what he does is morally indefensible.” (Malcolm, 3) Her starting words speak volumes about “the Journalist and the Murderer” and the lessons that can be learned.
However, these techniques that I fostered as a child proved lacking when I entered middle school. It turns out that in comparison to my previous writing, I was no longer writing for my own self-improvement or joy; I was now writing to please someone who was grading the work. After many dissatisfying remarks about my writing, the self-conscious feelings I had as a child crept up on me once again. I felt the need to impress and be perfect. For every paper I wrote from then on, there was that little voice in the back of my head telling me that I had to try twice as hard because English was my second language. For a very long time, I was not able to write a paper without scrutinizing it harshly. “The oppressor,” as Anne Lammot states in “Bird by Bird,” kept me from what I truly wanted to write and made me focus on the unattainable goal of being perfect. Perfection is something that “… limit[s] us…[and] keep[s] us from experiencing life” (Lammott 30). The purpose was not to write for me, but for others, and that was my flaw; I was just writing to please. Technicality was my only worry and I did not worry if what I was writing actually had
In the past three months I feel like I have accomplished a great deal. As the semester comes to an end I find myself reflecting not only how I have survived the first semester but also what I have learned. The most important thing I have learned so far is how to become a better writer. I did not think it could really happen to me. I did not think I could handle all the work. I did not think I could actually become a better writer. Some how after all the hours of writing, and putting effort into the papers that I wrote this semester, I became a better writer. I did this because I concentrated on two very important areas, with the attitude of, if I could just become better in those then I would become a better writer. With help from an awesome teacher and a reliable tutor I have become a better writer by improving my skills in the areas of procrastination and content.
People write for many reasons. They write to educate, , and to entertain to express
Similar to my “one and done” mentality, my lack of revision on my writing pieces is because of meer laziness. Revision is in fact very important because it offers you the chance to look at your writing pieces from a critical perspective. It allows you to analyze all of your points and change anything that needs to be changed for the better. In Shitty First Drafts, I like how Anne Lamott describes this process as dental work. She says, “check every tooth, to see if it 's loose or cramped or decayed, or even, God help us, healthy”. This sums up revision in an very alternative and pictorial way. Lamott and Shirley Rose would see eye to eye in the subject of revision because in All Writers Have More To Learn, Rose discusses what I conveyed to be a form of revising called Externalization. Rose states that Externalization allows the writer to see how clearly it reads, what it is conveying, and if it can be improved in any way. In conversation I feel Kathleen Yancey would introduce a similar yet interesting outlook on revising to Rose and Lamott because in Learning to Write Effectively Requires Different Kinds of Practice, Time and Effort, Yancey illustrates revision in the form of seeing if what you wrote was what you thought you were writing and the question of if it will fit with the perception of the audience. I thought that this was a pretty interesting outlook for Yancey to develop in the context of
I wrote short stories, poems, and articles; all centering on an idea of deep relevance and striking resonance. I experimented with various styles and numerous techniques with the majority of them proving to be useless and unimportant. However, despite these seemingly futile grasps at concrete steps towards amelioration and evolution as a writer, all of this experimentation paid off when it finally led me to the one particular style of writing that I enjoyed immensely: essays. After discovering my hidden talent for creating formal compositions and literary pieces, my writing had improved vastly. This was because I finally gained the crucial self-analytical skills required to be able to identify my strengths and weaknesses and break through this obstacle which had obstructed my path to
I knew from the beginning that writing was one of my major weaknesses. With each paper or revision my ability to express my thoughts, ideas, and knowledge into words has grown tremendously. One of
As a frequent writer, I’ve noticed that writing is one of those factors that doesn’t come easily to me. Often, I find myself struggling to write papers or essays. Writing is something that I’ve never really put much interest or a lot of effort in; however, when it came to writing a paper as an assignment for a class, I always tried my best to write well. I’ve realized through my writing experience and knowledge that writing takes time and has to be worked on repeatedly before it is a polished paper. Writing takes a lot of thoughts and ideas along with revision and editing. One has to spend time on writing to make sure that it satisfies them or others.
Journalism is type of writing that investigates and includes lots of research of good and bad stories and some events. Journalists tend to write news stories that people should know about and haven’t already heard. Journalism comes in different categories; some are reporters, writers, editors, and photographers. People who tend to like journalism are those who love language and enjoying writing and reading, are called journalist; they work as reporters at newspapers, magazines, websites, TV stations, and radio stations. Good journalists love to read and want to find out what is going on around them and the world. They write short and long stories as they must write true stories. Journalists write stories that are from real people and they make the stories real too. People are not interested in reading newspapers now as much as they used to long time ago. These days’ people carry news on their iPods, cell phones, laptops, and more. They can even watch them on TV. A long time ago people knew the news through newspapers or the rich would have a radio which was the only way to know what is going in the world, but now news are everywhere.
McLoed and Hawley (as cited in Wilson, 1995) elucidated appropriately, "a recurrent journalistic controversy has involved the question whether journalism is a true profession or merely a craft." Sparked primarily by Lippmann and Dewey, extending into the age of the penny press (mid 1980s) and later, the attempt to commercialise the news (late 1980s) to our present era, there has existed a contentious debate on journalism being distinguished as a profession (Wilson, 1995).
While I enjoy writing, I wouldn’t consider myself to be a great, or even good, writer, especially not when it comes to assigned writing. Often I find myself avoiding the assignment until a week before the due date and very little sleep the night before I have to turn my paper in. I never cease to be amazed when my teachers return the papers, which I consider to be incredibly mediocre and below my teachers expectations, with rather decent grades on them. However, I wouldn’t say that I am a bad writer either. When it comes to writing, my first challenge is always figuring out what I want to say and how to say it in a way that is understandable and meets the expectations of my reader. Knowing that my personal thoughts and opinions will be graded by someone who may or may not understand the point I’m trying to make, intimidates me. In his essay on self revision, Donald Murray statement that both professional and student writers are “overly critical, think everything is dreadful, tear up page after page, never complete a draft, and see the task as hopeless” (Murray), is the epitome of my writing process.