Robert Taylor - Week 2

     I used to consider myself a one-draft writer: I thought I wrote only “one-draft” whenever I wrote anything. However, as I began examining my own process with more depth, through the lens of an instructor as well as a writer, the label no longer applied. Before I started writing this sentence, I already revised the first two sentences five times to make sentence-level revisions, if not global revisions. This is an integral part of my process: to write, read, reorder, reconsider, and rewrite in a focused, yet chaotic jumble of writing and revision.

    I model my process to students by writing in front of them. As an extremely self-conscious writer, it is hard for me to share my writing with friends, let alone produce it in front of high schoolers. Here is a scenario from my classroom: “This part doesn’t fit at all,” I say as I delete the entire section. A student then chimes in with, “What a waste of time,” leading me to undo the deletion and rework the ideas, helping them fit. Being able to show students the labor of writing, allows them to see their own struggles as a part of the process they use. Writing in front of a room full of teenagers is an exercise in being comfortable with discomfort, which is a fitting metaphor for writing in general.

Comments

  1. Sean TylerSeptember 7, 2020 at 4:15 PM

    I always forget that writing with students can be helpful. I'm always so concerned about doing too much work for them or being too directive that I forget that working alongside can be a good tool. I also tend to be protective of my messy first drafts, but sharing those may be something I need to learn.

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  2. Lucie BerjoanSeptember 9, 2020 at 6:52 AM

    Robert, I think this is such a great idea. Not only does it put you in the vulnerable position (that students are constantly in) of sharing your work, but it shows the students that writing is a practice. It doesn't just happen overnight and takes work to make it good! Also, I'm wondering if a draft can still be considered a one-drafter if each sentence is revised several times? Just because your revision looks a little different, doesn't mean you don't do it :)

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