Monthly Archives: December 2021

The Myths of Writers

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The Myths of Writers

Everyone writes these days, either they are writing a college essay, writing down notes, composing an email, or simply texting someone. Some people are even ambitious enough to draft short stories or poetry, but few would view themselves as writers. Why is that?  What do you think when you hear the word writer? Do you imagine a man in a dress shirt and blazer sitting in his study like Tolkien writing masterpieces after masterpieces or do you imagine someone in a manic state scribbling down poem like a mad man while bottles of alcohol litter the floor like Egar Allen Poe. Why, why do we view writers like this as either brilliant geniuses or damaged alcoholics, and why do we view them as above us in terms of writing? Why do we put writers into these stereotypes and why do we put otherworldly expectations upon ourselves when we try to write.  

“Day one of getting my life into gear” peoplesimage is free to use under the Unsplash license.

 

Authors, Teri Holbrook, and Melanie Hundley, address these issues as to why people view writers as not real people in the book Bad Ideas About Writing. In their article Writer are mythical, magical, and damaged, Both Holbrook and Hundley explain how there are at least four popular portraits of writers they are shown in modern media. They also explain how rather than telling the truth, the media loves to portray writers as other worldly figures because it gives them a delightful story to write about.  Holbrook and Hundley use their article to combat these misconceptions and stereotypes that constantly surround the regulations of writers. 

 

The first popular portrait of writers is that they have magical power. The authors, Holbrook and Hundley point out how writers are promoted as people who are above others in them of writing and poetry being able to effortlessly write a piece and be done. However, “these depictions are harmful and perpetuate the idea that writing isn’t just easy but it magical works” (Holbrook 54). Holbrook explains that writing takes dedication and determination and points out that anyone can write, and they do not have to have special abilities to do so.  

 

Other medias have portrayed writers as reclused, damaged and are abusers of alcohol and drugs. As stated by Holbrook “these media represent writes as damaged or fragile people whose magical gifts allow them to share imaginative worlds with their readers even as they restrict their participation in the real world around them.” (Holbrook 54) These tropes are supported by some real-life examples like Edgar Allan Poe and Ernest Hemingway; however, most would agree substance abuse would not be an occupational hazard or a job requirement. As quoted by Alistar Cooke’s claim that “alcohol is has no more connection with writing than with plumbing” (Holbrook 54). The psychological portrait of writes the is prevalent in pop culture needs more nuance to it. Being a writer is a difficult job and can push people over with how demanding the pressures can be but most writers learn how to handle this stress without feeding into the cliché of a damaged author. 

Jane Piirto, author of the article “Themes in the Lives of Successful Contemporary U.S. Women Creative Writers” explained that even though many writers do show forms of depression and substance abuse, most writes know how to handle the occupational necessity of rejection and other uncertainties, simply put it, writer have the necessary coping mechanism that doesn’t include substance abuse or agoraphobia” (Piirto 45) 

fountain pen on spiral book

”Fountain pen and a notebook” by Aaron Burden is free to use under the Unsplash license.

Why are Holbrook and Hundley discussing about this topic, why is it important to address the popular stereotypes and cliché that surround writers. Hundley simply puts it that while their stereotypes have a thread of truth to them, they don’t represent the whole of all writers. This view that writing is simple effortless and are done by those of extraordinary abilities simple “dismissed the real effort put in by writers and discouraging young writes who might dismiss their owned labored as evidence that the don’t have what it takes.” (Holbrook 55). Some young writers might strive to be this image of perfect that simply doesn’t exist and are discourage from writing as a profession because to them they haven’t reach the level of writer that they believed to be a “true writer”. 

The reality is, while stories of writers who can whip up a New York best seller in hrs. or damaged, drunken hermit who can somehow write master screenplay are entertaining they do not represent the writing community as a whole. These popular myths of writers, if taken too seriously, can influence the general public as to how they view writers or the writing profession. It can also influence and discouraged aspiring writers as to what a “real writer” should be. 

 

 

references 

 Holbrook, Teri and Hundley, Melanie “Writers are Mythical, Magical, and Damaged,” in bad ideas about writing. Edit by Cheryl E.Ball and Drew M.Loewe, 53-63 web

Piirto, Jane ” Themes in the lives of successful contemporary U.S. women creative writers” (1994).

Reading and Writing Are Conenected

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The bad idea is that reading and writing are not connected. The bad idea that they have been
taught in a way that appears like they are different when they are connected and the focus on
writing versus reading. This idea is bad because reading and writing are the skills we need in
order to communicate and practicing the two can improve the way students become stronger
thinkers and come up with ideas. In Reading and Writing Are Not Connected, Ellen Carillo
explains her better idea of reading and writing being connected and how the two should be taught
together. In Sofia Westin’s essay, “Social media eroding skills?” She explains that social media
could be the problem to why students aren’t able to write as coherently as they should be and
why students are seen lacking in vocabulary and critical thinking. Carillo and Westin believe that
reading and writing being taught together is the better idea and the two skills are how students
can create ideas and focus on other skills like grammar, vocabulary and writing.
Carillo’s better idea that allows reading and writing to be taught together is what she believes
will help students become better thinkers. She thinks there should be an equal focus on both
reading and writing because there is a connection made when learning the two. She explains
writing as an output to what students read and students being able to write better is connected to
how well they can read. She explains reading and writing is about creating ideas and in “Reading
and Writing Are Not Connected”, Carillo explains this idea saying “When one writes, one is
creating meaning by putting words and ideas together. When one reads, the same thing is
happening” (Carillo 40).
Westin’s better idea is reading and writing skills being fundamental for students to have better
critical thinking skills, vocabulary, and grammar. Her idea focuses on social media being the
reason students are not able to progress in their writing, and that is because they don’t spend
enough time reading. She explains students’ use of social media often affects their grammar and
vocabulary which can make students’ writing become less effective. In her article she presents a
source that shows the effects social media can have on students’ literacy skills “The five major
areas students felt a deficiency in were concentration, cursive writing, spelling, reading a printed
map, and grammar, respectively” (Westin 8). This supports her idea of why social media affects
students in all areas relating to reading and writing.
Carillo’s better idea of reading and writing being taught together focuses on students being able
to develop ideas of their own and become better thinkers. She also targets this idea to college
students in order to progress in any subject, it starts with reading and writing. Carillo suggests “if
students are not given the opportunity to continue working on their reading throughout their
college careers, they may struggle analyzing, interpreting, and evaluating all that surrounds them
since comprehension is a crucial step toward these more advanced interpretive practices” (Carillo
39). She believes that students may struggle in the future with analyzing, interpreting, and
evaluating if there isn’t an equal focus around reading just as much as writing.
Westins’ better idea focuses on how reading is a fundamental skill needed for students to be able
to write. If students read more, they can have better grammar and vocabulary but because we are
in the digital age and everything is technology, social media makes everything harder for
educators. She explains how social media has become students’ main source of “writing” and has
become harmful regarding communication skills. She believes for students to become engaged in
wanting to read and write it’s important for them to see the harmful effects social media could
have on their reading and writing skills and put communication skills before social media skills.
In conclusion Carillo and Westins ideas are important to think about for students to become
better thinkers. Practicing reading and writing together and providing strategies for students is
what students need in order to improve literacy skills. Also, being aware of the effects social
media has on communication skills that are harmful to students reading and writing skills. It’s
better to focus on the idea that there is a connection between reading and writing and the benefits
of practicing both at once to become a successful reader and writer.

A Better Idea for Writing

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Carillo Reading and Writing Are Not Connected Kassner and Estrem Reading practices in the Writing Classroom, ” both believed that reading and writing are the two essential skills to communicate and be successful in school. The idea that reading and writing are not connected is one of the bad ideas that people often believe. In the Reading and Writing Are Not Connected essay, Ellen Carillo explains why this is a bad idea and what she thinks is better. She feels that it is better when reading and writing are taught for students commonly. Also, under further Reading, Kassner and Estrem, “Reading Practices in the Writing Classroom” under Carillo’s essay support the idea of teaching reading and writing together for students. They both believed that reading and writing are not only connected but are also interdependent.

” Some books and pen on the table” by Debby Hudson is free to use under the Unsplash license.

Moreover, Carillo believes that it is a better idea to teach the students reading and writing simultaneously. She said, “Teaching reading and writing together will help students become more proficient in both” (Carillo 41). In other words, it allows the students to put ideas together and have critical thinking. Through this process, the student can have a broader perspective on life. By reading and writing together, students will gain knowledge of writing and reading, which will help them become better writers and readers. Kassner and Estrem also believe that reading is one way to interact with the writer. “For others, the curricular demands of a course like first-year writing leave little space for actual reading instruction, since so much attention must be paid to a host of writing needs.” (Kassner and Estrem 35). By learning how to read, students will connect ideas better. These will help better the writing of the students. They will be able to understand and write about their beliefs. 

“Students gathering the ideas” by FORTYTWO free to use under the Unplash License

 In Carillo’s essay, she thinks it is a bad idea to separate the two processes. They are not just two separate parts of the work. They are much more than that. Carillo says that reading and writing are two parts of the same whole. Through reading and writing, students can gain experience with the world around them. Students will learn about other ideas and concepts and develop new ideas by reading and writing. In Kassner and Estrem’s essay, Kassner and Estrem also agree with Carillo that Reading and writing are not two separate processes. They said that reading and writing are not only connected but also interrelated. They both believe that reading and writing are connected and interdependent. They both agree that reading and writing should be taught to students together. Reading will help the students improve their writing skills. Therefore, the three of them believe reading and writing are deeply connected.

 

” Many laptops for finding resources” by Marvin Meyer free to use under the Unsplash License

Furthermore, Reading and writing together will help students become more competent in writing and reading. Carillo says that “When reading and writing are taught alongside each other in the college-level classroom, students can gain practice experiencing and relishing in opportunities to create meaning not just through writing.” (Carillo 40). This is where Carillo argues to have students read and write together to improve their comprehension. Students get a lot of information from what they read from a book and other resources. Through this process, the student can have a broader perspective on life. By reading and writing together, students will gain knowledge of writing and reading, which will help them become better writers and readers. 

“A brain represent Ideas” by Fakurian Design free to use under the Unplash License

Kassner and Estrem also support Carillo that “teaching writing is closely intertwined with teaching reading, yet many are stymied by how to engage productively with reading in the classroom. ” (Kassner,Estrem 35). They support the idea of teaching reading and writing together for students. It also shows the way students should be using different reading techniques to understand and understand the writing. Reading and writing together to understand the language is a process. It is a process that will help students become better writers and readers. They will be able to understand the language better. They will be able to write more meaningfully. They will be able to understand the world around them better. They will be able to express their understanding of the world better. They will be able to develop their ideas. They will become more informed and literate (Kassner, Estrem 35). Kassner and Estrem show that reading and writing have a deep connection with each other.

“Writing on the paper” by Aaron Burden free to use under the Unsplash License

The three of the others believe that reading and writing are the best ways to teach the student commonly. These things can’t be taught separately and should be taught together. They also agree that writing and reading are two parts of the same whole. By teaching and learning the reading and writing together, students will get a broader perspective of life. They will be able to become more literate and intelligent. Reading and writing are not only connected but are also interdependent.

 

Word Sites ​​ 

Ellen C. Carillo. “Reading and Writing Are Not Connected,” in Bad Ideas About Writing. Edited by Cheryl E.Ball and Drew M. Loewe, 38-42. WVU Libraries, 2017 Web

https://textbooks.lib.wvu.edu/badideas/

 

Linda Adler-Kassner, Heidi Estrem. “Reading practices in the Writing Classroom,” from writing program administration volume 31, number 1-2, fall/winter 2007

http://162.241.207.49/archives/31n1-2/31n1-2adler-kassner-estrem.pdf

 

The K-12 Education System Failure: A Bad Idea

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Is The Education System failing Students for the future? 

The education system for K-12 has failed students for the future. For staters college students. In school, people were told what they learn in K-12 would help them be successful in college. That might have been a lie. The bad idea of writing that was taught in K-12 was that reading was not important too writing. Which is the cause of college students’ problem in college today.

 

Over the years there has been a debate about the importance or reading to writing etc. Reading is the first step. People cannot write without reading, Reading helps you learn words, meaning, and how to write and build as a writer.  Julie Myatt Barger author of “Reading is Not Essential to writing instruction” writes about how  over the years reading is not taught enough. The authors Rebecca Moore Howard, Tricia Serviss, and Tanya K. Rodrigue wrote “Writing from sources, Writing from sentences”. The article was about how educators failed students buy not teaching them how to read.How that has caused patch writing and students not being able to fully understand what they read or is writing about. 

Preparing students' reading brains for the digital age - kappanonline.org

Students learning

 

There has been a long argument about reading. The question is, Is reading essential for writing? In the essay “Reading is Not Essential to Writing Instruction” written by Julie Myatt Barger. She argues how reading is not taught enough. “They should know this stuff before they get here!” (Barger 44). Barger quoted that indicting what professors think about college level students. Professors assume that by the time students get to college they have mastered the concept of reading. But in reality previous teachers do not teach what professors believe or expect. 

“First, their exists and education culture that privileges testing over sustained and meaningful encounter” (Barger 44). In the educational field of K-12 students are not taught to read for understanding and connecting. They are taught to read to pass test. Test that determines if they move on to the next grade level. The testing that determines if a student is capable of moving on to the next level. This does not only affect the student but also the teachers. “As teachers understandably grew fearful about losing their jobs because of test scores, they devoted class time preparing students for the test rather than developing practice that would help students improve as readers and writers” (Barger 44).  This shows how students can not enter college fully prepared because they were only trained to test take instead of learning.

Students taking a test

Rebecca Moore Howard, Tricia Serviss, and Tanya K. Rodrigue authors of “Writing from Sources, Writing from Sentences” educators have failed students. “We began our inquiry with an exploratory hypothesis: that college students, both L1 and L2 writers, patch write.”  High school teachers did not teach student the proper way to use another person material. This could lead professors to believe a student is purposely plagiarized, but in reality, it was not taught or corrected in high school. In college plagiarizing can cause a suspension, which is terrible to a college student future.

 

 
Plagiarism - Wikipedia

photo about plagiarism

The fact that reading was not put up to high standards and was only taught for test caused students to not understand how to connect to essays, books, articles, etc. They were trained to look for the questions answers. In the article “Writing from Sources, Writing from Sentences” by Rebecca Moore Howard, Tricia Serviss, and Tanya K. Rodrigue, “Three years after Brown and Day’ s experimental study, Sherrard (1986) asked ten paid undergraduates to alternately summarize or recall seven texts which were ordered randomly. She discovered that their most common method of summarizing is not to combine multiple sentences from the source but to paraphrase a single key sentence.” When test taking a student is taught that the best way to pass is to find the main sentence. The experiment showed how students do not mean steal, plagiarize, etc. from a author’s work. It is the way that best helps them when it comes to testing.

What Is Plagiarism? How to Avoid These 5 Types at All Costs

Caught plagiarizing

It is a bad idea for writing to not teach students to read. Reading helps students learn about writing. For example, if a student reads a argumentative essay or research paper they can learn how to give an author the credit that they deserve. Many people learn from seeing and being told. If a student reads, they can see MLA style, APA style, etc. If I student is told to follow the format of what they are reading it can and will better their writing.

Furthermore: Sources for why not teaching reading in K-12 is a bad idea. 

https://www.apmreports.org/episode/2019/08/22/whats-wrong-how-sch

All information is from these following sources: 

Barger, Julie Myatt. “Reading Is Not Essential to Writing Instruction,” in Bad Ideas About writing.  Edited by Cheryl E. Ball and Drew M. Loewe, West Virginia University Libraries Digital Publishing Institute Morgantown, WV, 44-50

https://textbooks.lib.wvu.edu/badideas/

Rebecca Moore Howard, Tricia Serviss, and Tonya K. Rodrigue’s, “Writing from Sources, Writing from Sentences,” Writing and pedagogy 2010, Equinox Publishing.

http://www.citationproject.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/HowardServissRodrigue-2010-writing-from-sentences.pdf

 

How to Learn to Write in General

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“Writer” by Nattakorn Maneerat. Unsplash

         In the book Bad Ideas About Writing, author Elizabeth Wardle says that there is no such thing as writing in general and instead, writing is always in particular. It’s a bad idea to assume that anything you write is simple. This poor idea can cause authors to be less mindful of how creative writing communicates far more than people believe it does. As a result, writing is complex rather than simple. In her article “You Can Learn to Write in General,” she explains how writing, in general, is impossible. According to her, a report is always specific. Wardle believes that even the most casual paper contains meaning and detail. This wrong thought can cause authors to be less mindful of how creative writing speaks much more than they believe it does. As a result, writing is challenging rather than easy.

 

writing

Name,unsplash

                                The writer of “You Can Learn to Write in General,” Elizabeth Wardle, believes that all writers make mistakes, but that you can improve your writing skills. “It’s not just common sense that says learning to write is impossible in general. Many writing studies have been conducted in the workplace, in college classes, and social and civic situations.” (Wardle, Elizabeth. Bad Writing Ideas, p. 30) Wardle is suggesting that practice and research can help a poor writer develop. Writers who feel their words have meaning might explore the principles of writing by thinking outside the box rather than thinking straightforwardly. It can quickly increase the success of their work and help them become better writers. If you want to improve your writing skills and become a more effective writer. Developing as a writer involves the study and analysis of different writers’ backgrounds. To improve, a writer must focus on one issue, master it, and then move on to the following meaning. You’ll have to work on improving your abilities and applying them to regular daily blogging.

Blood, Sweat, and Tears by Quinn Dombrowski

           Being a great writer requires more than writing a story. It needs writers to understand people, understand themself, continuously learn about their audience, know the world’s current events, etc. Writers must be in tune with themselves, others, society, and the world to progress as authors. When we write, every word matters and every word has a meaning. Wardle sends a great message altogether. When reading, we have to understand our terms aren’t as simple as we think. It takes practice, and you have to study, understand the world, and understand people.

 

boook

Citations

  1. Wardle, Elizabeth. “You Can Learn to Write in General.” Cheryl E. Ball and Drew M. Loewe, ‘’Bad Ideas About Writing’’. (2017) p30-32

A Bad Idea: Dual-Enrollment Writing Classes Should Always Be Pursued

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          In 1990, the dual enrollment was introduced in order to provide high school students with college class (Wilkinson, 338) It will be easier when you enter the college because you can use the credit to use for the bachelor’s degree. The most important concern is the high school in the college atmospheres. It is entirely different atmosphere than ordinary high school. Using this reasoning, the program is a bad idea for students. Most dual-enrollment classes are held on college campuses and are taught by college professors and students. Most typically, the juniors and seniors can take the college class for the credit. It is best if these students who are ready for college experience and class to do the dual-enrollment so it would aid them in long run.

        Students who succeed in their high school studies, by junior or senior year, often feel stagnate in their education. Some kids are naturally rapid learners, competent test takers and/or can retain material pretty well. All of these traits can aid in a student’s capacity to surpass their peers. To have the ability to get college curriculum early is a terrific academic choice. In research presented by the National High School Center, it is shown that that dual-enrollment programs have lowered the amount of remediation at the college level (Taczak and Thelin, 7). This opportunity can assist push pupils to continue their study It might be considered as a part of the process of transition into college. You are giving students a head starts on life. We know the ‘real world’ is nothing short of a competitive field.

        Additionally, one of the several advantages of dual enrollment is the ability to complete your college degree programs more quickly. If taken for both junior and senior year, you are only looking at 2 more years of college! Especially since the first 2 years are full of basic curriculum classes, when you finally get to college you will be able to jump straight into your degree focused programs. If done right, the dual-enrollment program can put you up for success in life. To get forward and stay ahead in your job and life is a hard and difficult undertaking. Yes, you are cutting short your “college years” and you won’t get the complete 4 years of experiencing college life. In my perspective, it is worth it. You are setting yourself apart from the competitors when you apply for a job or an internship. You are giving yourself that advantage that can place you above everyone else and secure that position.

       In addition, the college courses are offered at a lower cost which can aid families financially and yet give their child a higher education. A deciding element in high school graduates decision to not go to college can be the, ever increasing, expense. Low-income families are forced to disregard their child’s college education since tuition is out of their financial range. With dual-enrollment programs, they can have a chance at that degree. The classes are offered at a discounted price that can help college classes to become affordable. Within certain school districts, depending on conditions, the school will be able to pay for the kid to pursue the college-level courses.

     Dual enrollment is an individual preference. Which type of student are you and which type do you aspire to be? As long as you have completed high school, your high school experience and your perceptions of how the “college ready” program will affect your future will influence whether you agree with them. I’ve realized that the things that can help you stand out and achieve are eventually rewarding. How do you envision your life unfolding? Allow your dreams to serve as your motivation. You should claim control of your education in school and develop into the person you know you can be.

 

Kara Taczak and William H. Thelin. (Re)Envisioning the Divide: The Impact of College Courses on High School Students. The National Council of Teachers of English. September 2009. https://www.ncte.org/journals/tetyc/issues/v37-1

Caroline Wilkinson. Dual-Enrollment Writing Classes Should Always Be Pursued. Bad Ideas About Writing. West Virginia University Libraries Digital Publishing Institute Morgantown, WV. 2017.

 

 

 

Major Project 4

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There are two bad ideas about writing being focused on in this essay, Writers Are Mythical, Magical, and Damaged and First-Year Composition Prepares Students for Academic Writing. These ideas not only doesn’t help students with writing, but it also hurts them in their journey to become excellent writers. So a better idea is to throw these ideas away and one, Think about writers as a realistic career, and two, better realize the potential of the first-year writing.

“Writing” by jjpacres is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

In Teri Holbrook and Melanie Hundley’s essay, Writers Are Mythical, Magical, and Damaged; they explore the representation of writers in popular media such as television shows, films, books and why these depictions of authors and writing paint them in a harmful and reductive picture of writing. To a point where both young writers are disincentivized in pursuing writing as a career and writing itself is believed to be effortless, causing it to not be valued in a labor sense and downplaying non-individualized work that goes into writing. The two authors instead show a good idea of realizing that these stereotypes of writers in media are not always to be sought out or even something that’s bound to happen and that writing is a realistic career that works like many other careers.

“Watch Eye TV” by CJ Sorg is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

One of the sources Holbrook and Hundley had was Jane Piirto’s work on the Roeper Review,  Themes in the Lives of Successful Contemporary U.S. Women Creative Writers. Piirto’s article focused on the similarities of successful female writers and life. Many of these themes include unfortunate family situations, great teachers, and early reading habits, along with many other things(Piirto). The data makes the writers seem grounded but some of these themes may make people think that these things are ways that make writers different than others. However some of them could be said about how they’re similar, and it may seem that Holbrook and Hundley used this for their essay. For example, feeling like an outsider is a common theme for some of these writers but also something that many people all over suffer with. The data also show how writing is not much of an isolated job as some would say because getting an agent is helpful for building a successful career as a writer. These themes also help if anybody truly wants to be a successful writer, because as Holbrook and Hundley say, “analyze common themes circulating about writers and then strategize ways to combat them”(Holbrook and Hundley). 

“Civil Discourse” by Chirag D. Shah is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

But there are also arises a bad idea with how the public believes of how education teaches about writing, and that idea relates to first-year composition. Tyler Branson’s essay talks about this idea, “First-Year Composition Prepares Students for Academic Writing”. In his essay, Tyler explains how limiting people’s perception of first-year college writing is done, holding it to an old fashion way of mostly improving grammar and spelling. This outdated idea of the way first-year college writing teaching is done limits what could be taught in the classroom and doesn’t help prepare students for the academic writing that entails for them in the rest of their college experience. Tyler introduces the idea of the great potential of using First-year Composition as a way to develop a student’s use of language and their use of civil discourse.

In the process of this idea, Tyler uses Joseph M. Williams’ article, The Phenomenology of Error, which is located in the College Composition and Communication book. In the article, William puts the focus on the differences of how “errors” in papers are evaluated and how rules of grammar are enforced to and from different people. There is a point in the article where Williams takes an example from many writers’ published papers and took sections of text that had an error of some kind and yet no one, even the writer themselves noticed these errors. Williams even says that “if we read any text the way we read freshman essays, we will find many of the same kind of errors we routinely expect to find and therefore do find” (Williams). It seems that Tyler used Williams’ text to further emphasize the point of the value of teaching correction in first-year comp. It’s not much of a thing most people consciously look for when reading a paper. It’s a great skill but not something to put much focus on in academic writing.

“Academic Writing” by Max Choong is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Simply put these bad ideas are not good enough for these young writers. If people want these students to succeed, they would have to understand what these authors said and understand a better idea. That writing is a realistic career and better using writing opportunities that are introduced to students in the first year of college.

 

Work Cited

Holbrook, Teri, and Melanie Hundley. “Writers Are Mythical, Magical, and Damaged.” Bad Ideas About Writing, edited by Cheryl E. Ball and Drew M. Loewe, Digital Publishing Institute, 2017, pp. 53–59, textbooks.lib.wvu.edu/badideas/badideasaboutwriting-book.pdf.

Piirto, Jane. “Themes in the Lives of Successful Contemporary U.S. Women Creative Writers.” Roeper Review, vol. 21, no. 1, 1998, pp. 60–70. Crossref, doi:10.1080/02783199809553933.

Branson, Tyler. “First-Year Composition Prepares Students for Academic Writing.” Bad Ideas About Writing, edited by Cheryl E. Ball and Drew M. Loewe, Digital Publishing Institute, 2017, pp. 18–23, textbooks.lib.wvu.edu/badideas/badideasaboutwriting-book.pdf.

Williams, Joseph M. “The Phenomenology of Error.” College Composition and Communication, vol. 32, no. 2, 1981, pp. 152–68. Crossref, doi:10.2307/356689

A Better Idea for Writing

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There is always a discrimination when it comes to the races in every sector of our life. So, there’s also a question of priority present in the schools and colleges for valuing or devaluing the higher or middle classes compare to the working and lower classes. The author Anjali Pattanayak tried to highlight all those discriminations between classes and races in the writing and speaking field in her article “There is One Correct Way of Writing and Speaking,” in the Bad Ideas About Writing book. In solution to that from the further reading section of the essay Asao Inoue suggested how to organize the college class lessons in an easier and everyone reachable way in his book “Race and Writing Assessment,” for the diverse students across the country so that they understand and get most of the benefits they get wherever they go.

 

Pattanayak mostly focused on how the lower- or working-class people are suffering as speakers and writers at their own workplaces. She said “They understand that conversations that may be appropriate over a private dinner may not be appropriate at the workplace. These conversational shifts might be subtle, but they are distinct (Pattanayak 82).” Working class people doesn’t really understand or the change of this conversational shift. They get confused and make a mess in their output through speaking or writing. By stating working- or lower-class people Pattanayak mainly indicated to the African Americans or the other outsiders who comes to the country in order to change their luck. Naturally they are not native speakers nor some of them aren’t even used to speak English as their second language. So, they have a very short knowledge about the language and the uses of it in different places and situations. Pattanayak thinks the in the schools and colleges teaching way of language and the cultural topics may need to change because it is another reason of the slow growth of the lower-class families and the students of those families among others. She expressed her thought like this “In the context of educational settings, the cultures and identities of academia are valued more than those of the students, which sends the message that how they, their family, and members in their community speak and act are wrong by comparison. In essence, it sends the message starting at a very young age that who they are and where they come from is somehow lesser (Pattanayak 83).”

 

In this perspective Asao Inoue tried to come with the solutions in his article “Race and Writing Assessments.” In his opinion, “writing assessment needs to change in order to account for the increasing diversity of students in college classrooms today (https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED533148).” He thinks there should not be anyone-size-fits-all type of model in any educational system in any institutions. The practical advice, assignments and assessments all should be organized in a way that is reachable for all levels of life. No one should not feel that they do not belong in this society, or they are trash. Everyone has a role from their perspective and it’s all our job to make each other valuable and productive. All this reflects in Inoue’s words where he said, “the assessment practices attuned to racial diversity must be rooted in the contexts in which they are found (https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED533148).”

 

In conclusion, both the authors Pattanayak and Inoue seems to have the same discussion about the English as a language to the people who aren’t mostly familiar with it. Pattanayak says there’s not enough opportunity for the diverse students to accept English as writing and speaking source and Inoue discussed about how to train the teachers and improve the class modules to prepare all levels of students so that they can easily get to the most of the language in whichever way they want to use it.

 

 

                                                   Works Cited

 

Anjali Pattanayak “There is One Correct Way of Writing and Speaking,” Bad Ideas About Writing, edited by Cheryl E Ball and Drew M Loewe, West Virginia University 2017, pp. 82-87. https://textbooks.lib.wvu.edu/badideas/badideasaboutwriting-book.pdf  

 

Inoue, Asao “Race and Writing Assessment,” (2012). Peter Lang New York (vol. 7), Pages 230   https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED533148 .

 

A better idea for writing: Reading and writing ARE connected

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A Better Idea for Writing: Reading and Writing ARE Connected

The idea that Reading and Writing Are Not by Ellen C.Carillo shows that reading and writing
can be thought to be two independent practices because they aren’t typically taught together like they should be. However, it’s a bad idea to think that reading and writing that are significantly correlative have no connection when studies show the two do. The better idea is to think about how we can develop when reading and writing can be thought of as one connected study and not two discrete studies. Allowing the two to share a connection can advance students reading and
literary performance just instilling the importance of reading and writing together.

The pivot, reading and writing is what can be valuable in order for students to be coherent and stronger thinkers when it comes to other subjects as well. The importance of the connection between reading and writing starts with school. Reading is
something that as students we should want to progress in, “if students are not given the
opportunity to continue working on their reading throughout their college careers, they may
struggle analyzing, interpreting, and evaluating all that surrounds them since comprehension is a crucial step toward these more advanced interpretive practices.” (Carillo,39).

Practices such as writing that goes to show the connection is fundamental with how you become proficient in reading. With that also comes the use of technology or social media for example, that students utilize and the crucial effects it has on students’ development with reading and writing could be the dilemma. The ability to analyze, interpret, and evaluate can only be progressed if students take the time to read books, “English teacher Jacquelyn Rhoads believes social media have an impact on skills, but students don’t seem to think so.” Her students spend less time reading, especially the books she assigns. Reading, say educators, helps with vocabulary, grammar and writing.” The skills needed to read and write effectively establish that reading and writing share a connection.

The “creative” aspect of reading and writing is ideally thought to be referenced
towards writing, but being able to read text, put words together and make observations is the
same between reading and writing, “When one writes, one is creating meaning by putting words and ideas together, when one reads, the same thing is happening.” (Carillo,40) which shows how interchangeable the two are.

In conclusion, these ideas put together give a valuable approach to how this bad idea canultimately become a central principle. Ellen C. Carillo presents her ideas in which are subject to the idea of reading and writing having a connection and what the two studies are pivotal to in education. Also, predominant issues of student’s use of social media being a critical factor to
possibly link with existing bad ideas about reading and writing come better ideas. Dissenting
these ideas can come modification and if these ideas will be of enterprising to students and
educators.

 

 

 

Works Cited
https://textbooks.lib.wvu.edu/badideas/badideasaboutwriting-book.pdf
https://www.inquirer.com/philly/firsttake/20130406_Students_worry_that_social_media_erodes_
basic_skills.html

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A Better Idea for Writing: failure leads to success

 

The topic I have chosen to do my research on is “Failure is not an option” Allison D. Carri and Rory Carroll from Bad Ideas about Writing, and Silicon Valley’s Culture of Failure article. Their entire topic is about if failure is good or bad. They are arguing about both the good and bad sides of failure. When people think about failing in something they get very disappointed. They have this thinking that failure is not an option, but success is. Only successful people took the taste of success but what about the people who actually fail? So, in Allison’s argument, she successfully showed how both the good and bad sides of failing can affect our minds and control us. It’s like if you don’t know the taste of failure in life, you won’t know the joy of winning too! But also, it’s like if you fail then you’re not successful enough! 


                       In Silicon Valley’s Culture of Failure article, Carroll said that if at first, you don’t succeed try, try again”, or “if you get knocked down get back up” or “it’s not how hard you can hit but how hard you can get hit and keep going those counts” Carrol uses this evidence to show that success comes from one having the “mindset trained from failure.

In his article, Carroll said what about those tech entrepreneurs who lose – and keep on losing? What about those who start one company after another, refine pitches, tweak products, pivot strategies, reinvent themselves … and never succeed? What about the angst masked behind upbeat facades? it is this struggle or failure that paves the road to success. his evidence is to show how their failure led them to success while showing that the ones who stopped after one failure still fail.

 

                  Basically, I agree with both when they talked about how failure can be used as a lesson in different examples, and it can improve oneself more. Also, at the same time, I don’t agree with the fact that failure is bad. Metaphorically I would say if failure is bad and we only had one option which is to win then I guess this world would become more likely heaven. Everyone would be successful. But in reality, people fail and learn from their mistakes, and then if they try again, they do better. the only real failure is giving up. Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.

 

                  However, they also talked about the bad side of failure too, but when Allision took this entire concept to a point where she ends up writing that “Failure—and a willingness to fail often in large, obvious ways—should always be an option”. She even said how lab researchers try one thing repeatedly and then get successful results. Carrol as well he explains how businesses, companies try many times and they do better. The same way in writing too! If a writer starts writing he or she will definitely make mistakes but it’s more important than failure is how someone will learn from it and think of the failure as a learning tool and try again and then become successful. 

                     

                   In conclusion, I would say it’s a great article. I have learned a lot from it and I think failure should be an option. I also think Humans make mistakes and learn from them and it’s more important that people who we are surrounded with understand it and give positive advice and encourage us to try again and be successful! 

 

 

 

 

 Works Cited                                                      

Carri, Allison. “Failure is Not an Option.” Bad Ideas About Writing. Page: 76-81.

 

Carroll, Rory. “Silicon Valley’s culture of failure… and ‘the walking dead’ it leaves behind.” The Guardian. 28

www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/jun/28/silicon-valley-startup-failure-culture-success-myth.