Theory of Writing
Envision yourself behind that desk, pencil in hand. The clock is ticking and time is racing you, far quicker than expected. One hand begins to cramp up from the velocity and the other is merely an observer dripping in sweat. “Time Up!”, the professor says while you look at your paper and still needed two paragraphs and a conclusion. More often than not, students are pressured into writing highly structured essays that meet certain requirements to pass exams. However, one important task writing requires is the ability to articulate one’s own words and evolve into a well-thought analysis of any issue. Students should develop adequate writing skills and strategies where both an analytical and personal approach is incorporated. Professors should focus on this aspect of writing. The grammar mechanics are significant but they do not carry more weight than the quality and substance of writing. Authors like Branson, Osborne, and Christensen educate the public on how English classes should be approached in order to produce high scores on nation-wide exams and succeeding in difficult college classes. If I was asked what principles my theory of writing is based on, I would say, the essence of expanding on profound thoughts and ideas as well as challenging students to analyze and evaluate topics that can expand and diversify their perspectives.
Since every high school demands different requirements from students in distinct classes, some offer an improved and more intuitive academic curriculum than others. I have personally noticed the difference of what is asked in English composition classes in high school and college. To illustrate, the high school in which I attended for four years, a high pressure scenario was a common one for the majority of the student population. My English classes all consisted of the main theme, writing three college level essays in two hours. An introductory paragraph, three or four body paragraphs, and a conclusion was mandatory for a good score. With no previous preparation on the topics, you either understood the prompt in that moment or rambled about what you thought it meant. The goal here was to write enough in the structured form without grammatical errors in order to meet the standardized requirements. To corroborate, Tyler Branson, author of the article “First-Year Composition Prepares Students for Academic Writing” mentions that long ago, literary pieces were only evaluated on word usage and grammatical errors. This is an archaic problem that should have been improving through the years, but sill governs many students’ exam scores. In contrast, my English Composition class in college has proven to be a more creatively safe space. Students are able to share their opinions with their peers in class and have a discussion about any topic. Working in groups also allows classmates to collaborate and inspire one another. To have multiple activities scheduled during class is helpful for students to diversify their learning methods and explore different ways to address writing as a whole. An environment like this can influence students to write uniquely and approach issues in a more genuine way. Thanks to this open environment, I was able to discover my preferred style of writing, open form and what type of writer I am. The college style of administering English classes helps students to write freely and express themselves in a timely manner.
In light of the issue regarding typical English class stigmas, grammar and correct word usage should not be the priority. Mastering grammar and phonetics can only get a student so far in their academic career because it is limited. It serves its purpose, to facilitate communication and comprehension of the message of any text. Intense pressure is brought on by competitive academic systems and organizations issuing SAT, ACT, and AP exams. Because all schools want to have the highest passing rate for these nation-wide exams, administration is failing to teach students how to write a well-thought paper versus one that is empty in meaning and rushed into a two-hour time constraint. The academic system transforms students into robots that produce high scores and uniformity. For this reason, I admire Thomas Osborne, writer of “Late Nights, Last Rites, and the Rain-Slick Road to Self-Destruction”, for emphasizing self expression in his writing. He challenged the “paper cutout of a perfect student” role that many students tend to follow. Osborne knew his writing was distinguishable from others because of his “weird” writing style and humorous tone. Students can learn from common errors that lead to writers block and how to combat this impediment. For example, students should not seek to create parallel work from another student nor limit themselves from resorting to alternative options for inspiration. Any simple idea can be expanded upon and developed into a message or story for readers. It is important for students to own their voice and write with purpose. If more teachers were to share this mindset with students, the overall quality of writers would improve tremendously.
Ideally, students should be challenged on a daily basis, required to analyze and evaluate distinct topics. However, to get to this point, a strong foundation must first be established. It is crucial for all students to be able to excel in sentence structure and grammar, but also in the analytical and personal aspect. Regarding the approach, all students should have access to extracurricular programs that implement aid in certain topics of a class. For English classes, resources such as: workshops, clubs, mentoring, writing assistants, and tutoring should be provided in order for everyone to be on track at all times. This could be a way for some schools to break out of their web of losses and poor reputation regarding academic excellence. Once a professor creates a simple and concise formula for students to follow, it becomes a facile task to orchestrate a standardized grading rubric. In addition, author of “Teaching Standard English: Whose Standard?”, Linda Christensen, offers an effective method for motivating students to open themselves to the idea of elaboration and analysis. The sharing circle mentioned in Christensen’s article enables students to compare and contrast their personal experiences to other literary works. Sharing is a way to alleviate open wounds and provide “collective text” for students to analyze the origin of societal problems. Since there are various types of writers: the over-planner, brainstormer, procrastinator, open form, and close form, teachers should give students the freedom to explore their own methods of writing. More often than not, close-form argumentative is the most common way of approaching an essay in high school. This restricts the flow of natural thoughts, resulting in writers block. English class should be a safe environment where students can freely and respectfully voice their opinions aloud and in the written word.
Ultimately, writing is a powerful and versatile tool. It can be used in various fields around the globe. Some writers may have the purpose to inform, argue, analyze, or express a topic or issue. In the case of how writing should be conducted by the academic system, students should have the opportunity to find their voice. Writing is a trial and error process, which students need to experience in order to determine what their own purpose of writing is. A strong foundation with liberty to write fiercely and genuinely will allow students to connect with writing and obtain successful results in school. Authors like Branson, Osborne, and Christensen shed light on what ways the academic system can improve and the hardships students face in school due to ignorance. Uniformity will not create powerful writers who spark the minds of others, but teachers who push their students and provide the correct tools to do so will.
Works Cited
Branson, Tyler. “First-Year Composition Prepares Students for Academic Writing.” Bad Ideas, 2017, https://textbooks.lib.wvu.edu/badideas/badideasaboutwriting-book.pdf
Christensen, Linda. “Teaching Standard English: Whose Standard?”, 2010, https://
everydaywriter1.wordpress.com/2010/05/05/response-to-teaching-standard-englishwhose-standard-by-linda-christensen/
Osborne, Thomas. “Late Nights, Last Rites, and the Rain-Slick Road to Self-Destruction, 2011, https://writingandrhetoric.cah.ucf.edu/stylus/files/2_2/stylus2_2_Osborne.pdf