Sean Tyler: Post 2

 Seeing the writing process outlined reminded me of the different tools I often ignore in my own writing. As a writer, my greatest weakness is in outlining. The prewriting phase of my writing process generally centers around researching and freewriting, unfortunately, I often do not immediately use this information to make a coherent outline. The first stages of drafting are the most satisfying part of the process for me, I love seeing a draft come together and actively making connections as I write. Because of my issues with outlining, revision becomes much more of a chore and I have to make large complicated edits and occasionally do an outline after the fact.

 As a writing teacher I most needed the reminder that there are multiple ways to approach prewriting and the first steps of drafting. I am fairly set in my ways with my own writing process, so I need to remember to provide my students with different approaches that may work better for them. Many students I have worked with in the past are most daunted by the drafting stage, so remembering strategies like clustering, question and answer approaches to brainstorming, and changing perspectives is important.

 

My immediate reaction is that working with graduate students may be 40% or more motivational. I know these students will be fairly familiar with the conventions in their discipline and more seasoned writers overall, but they may be facing more daunting paper lengths and work that closely relates to their chosen careers. As a graduate student myself I know this work is daunting, so being a supportive voice may be the most useful role I can play. After taking motivation into account, I expect it will be about 40% cognitive and maybe only 20% instructional. I expect cognitive strategies like having the student read their paper out loud or aiding them in fleshing out ideas by asking open ended questions will be the most helpful. As the student will be an expert on their topic, I expect that tutoring will be less directive overall. I am planning to use techniques such as pumping, responding as a listener, and referring back to previous topics when the student is in the drafting stages; after that I would like to have the student read their existing work aloud and see if there are any questions that occur.  

Comments

  1. RbtaylorSeptember 8, 2020 at 10:16 AM

    I've always hated outlines. When my teachers used to require outlines for writing assignments, I always felt constrained within the form of an outline. It never felt like my ideas were as free as they were supposed to be. I'm the type of writer who will stew on a good idea for days and weeks, turning it over and over in my head until I understand it better. I pre-write and draft in my head more than on the page. I believe this speaks to the individuality of writing processes. Every person approaches their writing in a way that works best for them.

    That's why I appreciated that the reading this week was focused on the aspects of prewriting that weren't as constraining as simply creating an outline. It seemed more about the thought process of pre-writing rather than a certain prescribed method.

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  2. David KimeSeptember 8, 2020 at 2:12 PM

    Reading your initial paragraphs, I found myself a bit awed. I experience the exact opposite effect, where things like outlining and revising feel more rewarding than trudging through a draft. Even with an outline, though, I can confidently say that I still require an immense amount of revision and remains a chore. Seeing Robert's comment, I too would say that I hated outlines, at least at one time or another. I now find it near impossible to write if I don't have it clearly written in front of me where I plan to go with my writing. And my outlines are never anything formal -- more like the example on page 36. It provides a way to visualize what to do so that I don't lose my focus (I inevitably do anyway), even if that outline winds up changing as I write.

    To your last paragraph, I am also a bit surprised. I find Instructional strategies to be more useful because it often gives students something more actionable. Granted, I have not really worked with graduate students before, as a tutor, so I can imagine the disparity as one myself. I will say that most of the Cognitive strategies felt a little condescending and would irritate me as a graduate writer.

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