By: Savannah Stuart

          In a constantly developing world of education and writing, English students continue to be burdened with completing a formal outline of their ideas for writing an assigned essay/paper. Thousands of teachers and people, such as the Youtube channel TSRA Official, help students write formal outlines, as they believe it “helps organize [and visualize a student’s] ideas before writing” (TSRA Official 0:31). However, Kristin Milligan, the associate director of the learning center at East Central College, argues in her essay “Formal Outlines are Always Useful” that formal outlines should not be the only form considered when organizing a student’s thoughts and ideas before writing. Milligan believes that this form of writing instills poor writing habits in student’s that writing is merely a product and not a process. Similarly, Aaron Hamburger, in his essay “Outlining in Reverse,” from The New York Times, speaks on the topic that over time, he has focused to writing his essay and not bothering with an outline that will waste his writing time and opportunity. Milligan and others introduce the idea that writing a formal outline will not directly help to form a coherent essay without hindering one’s creativity.

            Writing outlines are a bad idea because they hinder the creative process that is found from simply writing the essay. Formal outlines English teachers usually provide go through a strict process that limits what a student is able to say in the outline itself, such as writing the main idea and the supporting ideas and details to that main idea (TRSA Official 2:42). And because the school system and writing work together the way they do, the ideas presented in the outline are generally the only a student will and should mention in their essay/writing to receive ‘full points’. As Milligan implied, students and teachers have drifted away from writing as a “process” and are becoming more “focused on the product” and grade of the writing/essay instead (Milligan 163). This idea can be used about school in general, as students now tend to be more focused on the grade in a class and forget about a topic almost instantly after the assessment for it. What does that mean for writing in an English classroom; does it mean that once a student is done writing a research paper or a rhetorical analysis essay, or just about any type of writing, that they will most likely forget how to write it or what they wrote about? These creative ideas and processes that students use for their writing are almost immediately forgotten about because they are not constantly practicing their skills after the assessment is complete.

            The “time limits” and constraints that school’s and English teacher’s give students are the other major reason why formal outlines are a waste of time and resources (Hamburger 5). In school, student will typically have a schedule roughly six or seven classes, one of which including English or writing. Students are not given the time by these other classes, let alone their English classes, to write a detailed, formal outline and a formal essay and still be able to complete all of their classwork and homework in a timely fashion. Aaron Hamburger writes that “the longer [he] wrote, the more loose the structures of the outline became,” which allowed him to write and plan without the constraints of the typical outline (Hamburger 2). By writing little to none in the outline, Aaron Hamburger found himself becoming more comfortable writing and writing more creatively without the use of a formal outline. He found himself less worried about the time constraints he was under to complete his writing because he did not have as much to complete. A detailed outline could take days to complete, and by the time a student has probably completed an extremely detailed outline, there will be only a couple days, if that, to complete the actual essay/writing itself.  

             What does this mean for students and teachers moving forward? English students and teachers alike should abandon the use of a formal outline and use something called: reverse outlining. Hamburger describes reverse outlining as a way to format one’s ideas messily, such as completing the body paragraphs of an essay before completing the introduction and the conclusion, and putting it all together in the end with the correct conventions and stylistic choices (Hamburger 9). Milligan and Hamburger in their essays are not calling for the complete abandonment of an outline altogether, as for many, it can be an essential tool for writing and constructing a complex and complete essay. However, moving towards a free flowing, nearly limitless outline can help students test and implement different ideas that would not have been developed without the idea of reverse outlining or simply writing and rewriting again and again. The last and final key to this working is a student’s awareness of themselves and who they are as a writer. Finding out what style and format of writing can work for different individuals can be done by analyzing traits of individuals and what style they tend to lean towards with further research. 

Works Cited

Aaron Hamburger. “Outlining in Reverse,” in The New York Times. (2013).               https://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/01/21/outlining-in-reverse/

Milligan, Kristin. “Formal Outlines are Always Useful,” in Bad Ideas About Writing. Edited by Cheryl E.    Ball and Drew M.
  Loewe, 163-167. Web. https://textbooks.lib.wvu.edu/badideas/

TRSA Official. “Making an Outline.” YouTube, YouTube, 24 Apr. 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?       v=3ifS9c8I-so.

There exist many fallacies in the world of writing. In a book called Bad Ideas About Writing we will find a potent collection of such fallacies, but we will explore just one, “Creative Writing Is A Unique Category” written by Cydney Alexis. Alexis is an Associate Professor of English at Kansas State University. In her essay she sets out to alter how we perceive creative writing. Here we will explore her point while balancing her experience in teaching writing with the history of creative writing that she chose to highlight in her essay, D.G. Myers’ The Elephants Teach: Creative Writing Since 1880. In the skillful argument she presents, we learn that many people have preconceived notions about the difference between creative writing and the rest of literature. While acknowledging that there is a plethora of reasons creative writing could be considered a separate genre, we must consider the harm in doing so. Furthermore, it is understandable that we would feel the propensity to create categories in field of writing: The ability to categorize in an effort to create order out of chaos has benefited humanity in our efforts to evolve our civilizations but there are times when that mechanism can create more harm than good, this is an example of just that. This phenomenon is easy to overlook unless you teach writing but all who write are likely affected by it. Basically, when we consider one type of writing creative and the rest of writing not, what gets left behind as “not” automatically gets labeled uninteresting and those who write it non-creatives. When we remove the artificial barriers and treat all forms of writing as a creative endeavor, whether it’s an informative scientific publication or a masterful work of fiction, every writer gets to consider their work a creative contribution to the tapestry of our human story through literature.

There is first to consider how and why that schism happened and then the aftereffects that continue to take shape as a result of the unfolding of our collective human story. Which of course why wouldn’t it? Isn’t literature how our story gets told?

D.G. Myers explains how creative writing made its debut as a field by breaking away from the rest of literature in his book, The Elephants Teach: Creative Writing Since 1880, as a “dissent from professionalization”. (Myers 7) The status and privileges that were enjoyed by many professions were being challenged at that moment in history and “creative writing was the rare successful challenge”. (Myers 7) Simply put, those who wrote creatively were not taken seriously and found themselves excluded from those who had their work considered a respected profession.

Then what started out as a conservative reform of creative writing and challenge to professionalism that was based on the “humanistic argument that literature is not a genre of knowledge but a mode of aesthetic and spiritual cultivation”, eventually became a movement that provided writers with, “a quiet life and an agreeable way to make a dollar”. Which meant writers could then pursue writing as a professional endeavor on its own and earn a comfortable living. (Myers 7-8) It wasn’t easy to get taken seriously by the academic community though. When trying to get the teaching of creating writing established as a legitimate part of education there was much criticism. Myers explains that the, “criticism may have indicated very little more than a confusion over whether a school for writers would be run along practical and professional or literary and artistic lines. Conceiving of writing as an art—a light and winged and holy thing—critics of professional training could not imagine how anyone could be professionally trained for it”. (Myers 75) But eventually creative writing came to be perceived as, “a craft that could be taught” and with that the students of creative writing grew into a movement of professional writers who enjoy the recognition and prestige of most any other profession. (Myers 75)

What they could not have predicted prior to this movement though, was that the effort to legitimize creative writing as a profession would be so successful that creative writing became valued more than what it broke away from. Suddenly, the rest of writing and those who wrote in any other way were left behind as “some sort of remainder”. (Bad Ideas 191) As Cydney Alexis points out, “one sphere of writing is marked off as creative while others are de-valued”. (Bad Ideas 188) She goes on to explain her personal experience with this phenomenon by sharing the troubling discovery in the form of feedback she received while doing interviews for her dissertation, “people expressed the heartbreaking sentiment that there once was a time when they wrote creatively (poems and stories), but now, they are just academics or just workplace writers. Even more troubling was that when asked if they considered themselves writers, they resoundingly answered no”. (Bad Ideas 188) It seems that Alexis believes that we could still the pendulum’s swing (that was set in motion by the initial exclusion of creative writers) by having English and other related departments, “banish the use of creative writing in titling disciplines, tracks, and departments” and, “instead, bring us all together under the banner of writing studies, writing, or writing arts”. (Bad Ideas 192) It must be pointed out that Alexis’ argument carries with it the energy of this historical moment we are all living in. To divide can cause unnecessary suffering because one side of that dividing line will, by nature, inevitably try to place itself over the other. Let us learn at the very least this point from her essay and perhaps not just apply that lesson in the world of writing but in life as well.

Works Cited

1. Alexis, Cydney. “Creative Writing Is A Unique Category.” Bad Ideas About Writing, edited by Cheryl E. Ball and Drew M. Loewe, WVU Libraries, 2017, 187-193, https://textbooks.lib.wvu.edu/badideas/badideasaboutwriting-book.pdf
2. Myers, D.G. The Elephants Teach: Creative Writing Since 1880. Prentice Hall, Inc., 1996

No master chess player is born able to play the game perfectly. No Olympian can play the sport with their current skill in kindergarten. Even the most mundane of skills, such as driving, requires practice before anyone can become proficient in it. So why do we expect writing to be any different? Some people believe that good writers are born, not made, and while it is true that some people are more naturally gifted than others, it is also true that practice and effort can easily improve anyone’s performance on any task. In this essay, I will discuss how practice, effort, and having a teacher to guide you can make anyone a better writer, no matter their innate skill level. 

A common saying about learning anything is to practice, and practice perfectly. If you play the same three notes over and over again perfectly, you’ll be far better at doing so at the end than you were in the beginning. If a poor writer continues to practice, they will gain experience, which is “… more powerful than unchangeable ability, and…” allows them to overcome “… challenges which help move writers forward rather than delaying their progress.” (Parrot, Pg. 73). Continuing to practice will show improvement, and allow for a writer to not remain stagnant, instead changing with every attempt. This is better advice about writing than simply saying that you must be born with talent, as in addition to being true, it also provides hope to those who are not currently at the level they wish to be at, writing wise. 

Everyone has a memory of completing something with less effort than they likely should have. Oftentimes, as a kid or teenager, this is a chore, or homework, but even as an adult, this could occur. Making a true and honest effort to get better at writing is important in improvement. Some may argue that the youth are bad writers due to the way they converse online, and in person, in ways that may not go along with the academically accepted versions of English. For example, code switching is an important part of any person’s interactions. For POC especially, it can be difficult to know which linguistics to use when writing a research paper, as “….correctness in language devalues people…” and can make them feel bad at writing. (Pattanayak 82) As long as an individual put in the effort to try and learn, these issues can be overcome without discouraging them from writing under the pretense of not being born innately talented at writing. 

A good teacher can teach anyone, anything. Therefore, writing should be able to be taught to anyone, given that the teacher is good enough. A lot of writing courses are taught by adjunct professors, who “… have no job security or protection against being fired at will…” (Kahn 364). If teachers are unable to get the support they need, teachers won’t be able to teach well. If not given the support they need, their students will not be able to get better. If given the support system that they need, students will be able to improve, just as they would at any other subject. 

In conclusion, if the reader is not satisfied with the way their writing currently is, they should consider following the methods outlined in this paper in order to improve. Practicing through continuing to write, even when you do not feel that you are able to will help to improve your writing by showing you your mistakes, and what you excel at. Putting effort into the work you do is important in getting better. Additionally, having a teacher who is well enough prepared and well suited to teach this subject, and give students the attention they deserve is an important aspect in getting better at writing. If the reader wants to improve, they should write a comment, or other response, and make an effort to follow these guidelines in order to get better. 

Works Cited:

Bunting, Joe. 100 Writing Practice Lessons & Exercises. 7 Dec. 2020, thewritepractice.com/writing-practice/. 

Ball, Cheryl E, and Drew M Loewe. “Bad Ideas About Writing.” Open Textbook Library, open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/textbooks/794. 

Kahn, Seth. “Anyone Can Teach Writing.” Bad Ideas About Writing, WVU Libraries, 2017, pp. 363–368. 

Parrott, Jill. “Anyone Can Teach Writing.” Bad Ideas About Writing, WVU Libraries, 2017, pp. 71–74. 

Pattonayak, Anjali. “Anyone Can Teach Writing.” Bad Ideas About Writing, WVU Libraries, 2017, pp. 82–86. 

People have various ideas about writer’s block. The most common assumptions are that people get writer’s block because they don’t know how to express themselves on paper or they can’t find the right words. However, if that were true why do so many people, especially students,  struggle with writer’s block. Based on Mike Rose’s writing, “The Cognitive Dimension of Writer’s Block”, students battle with writer’s block, or inconsistencies while writing, due to their behaviors and tendencies in the writing process. In “Writer’s Block Just Happens to People”, Geoffrey Carter states “You have to try very hard in order not to create at all.” Therefore suggesting writer’s block is not an issue of creating. Instead, it is due to common mistakes made during the writing process.

Mike Rose suggest, premature editing interferes with cognitive behaviors connected to the writers process. Therefore suggesting any delay in expressing an organic thought completely may lead to writers block. Research infers that premature breaks in the writing process to fix grammatical errors can disrupt the natural flow of ones thoughts. As a result, one may get stuck tending to the small details rather than conveying a complete thought. “The Cognitive Dimension of Writer’s Block” teaches us that their are two primary rules writers should incorporate in their writing process flexibly and contextually. While putting less emphasis on corrective habits. Some students have taken certain rules and turned them into laws that can’t be broken. When, in reality, most  literary rules are circumstantial. Therefore, go to your professor and ask them rules you should ot should not focus so heavily on. Lastly, writing is not something you can get “correct by following the rules and using good grammar”(Rose 2).  Although these aspects are important, writing is our second form of communication that allows us to disagree and agree, to share our beliefs, and argue our opinion. Therefore, don’t get lost in the rules in an effort to be correct because you may miss what your trying to communicate.   

Inflexible planning or strategies can also produce blocks when writing. While composing, one should have “strategies that are flexible and multi purposed” to satisfy the needs of a project or assignment. When writers get “locked into one dimension of their processes, they have limited ability to monitor their activity and shift”(Rose 2). Having inflexible writing strategies can cause students to get stuck on one process, preventing them from shifting into other requirements of writing such as, researching, analyzing, composing, editing, and revising. As a result, students may get locked into composing, putting less effort in edit, analyzing and taking notes making it difficult to transition to the composing process. Ones approach to the writing process is expected to vary depending upon the writers preference which is why writing strategies should be flexible and multi purposed, to allow writing to adjust no matter the circumstance. Therefore one should take time to compose a plan that promotes flexibility in every forms of writing.    

Inaccurate assumption can be a huge danger to writers wanting to unblock. There are so many students who believe that passively writing, with no plan or structure, is a successful way to get through a paper. However it is shown that people who use this strategy “compose slowly and with some lack of analytic direction”(Rose 2). Without a planning stage, writers are forced to organize their ideas as they go. Rather than going through a process, passive writers will often skip planning, brainstorming, deep analysis or research to jump directly into writing. Consequently, these writers get stuck thinking about how they want to introduce or proceed in the next sentence, that they don’t get far when composing. Most people mistake writer’s block for this problem, but it is lack of planning and organization that prevents writers and students from gathering their thoughts. Thus, people should abandon the practice of writing with no plan or direction. Simply taking the time to organize and write out ones ideas, and compose a plan according requirement can help tremendously.     

Writing block doesn’t just happen to students, people from all walks of life can find themselves at a lose of word. Geoffrey V. Carter, the author of “Writer’s Block Just Happens to People”, provides readers with realistic strategies to help loosen and free one’s mind from the struggle of writing. “One can facilitate writing by embracing the blank page, by remembering ‘everything is in everything’, and playing with words and names”(Carter 1) These tactics are super helpful in getting your mind ready to do tasks much as reading, analyzing, and most importantly writing. Carter first suggests, “embracing the blank page”(Carter 1). He gets this idea from the article “The Unsuccessful Self-Treatments of a Case of Writer’s Block” by Dennis Upper. The article is simply a blank page, that has a short note reviewer at the end. Geoffrey Carter and Dennis Upper both want to get the point across that the blank page staring at you is nothing to fear. Instead see it as an opportunity to learn and grow as a writer. Carter’s next advice is to remember that “everything is in everything”(Carter 1). When approaching something unfamiliar it is best to understand it with what you already know. Allow yourself to explore a little bit of everything inorder to understand the common connection. Lastly Carter encourages writers to practice word play and free-writing to loosen one’s mind and to find hidden path of direction for writing. Carter states,“looking at your own name and the names of others, we might find puns and anagrams too help move writing along” (Carter 1). This approach to writer’s block encourages writers to let their mind to wonder and promotes thinking outside of the box. By loosening up your mind and disconnecting from the worries of writing can most definitely lead you to creation. So when writing seem very tense, remember there are easy remedies to get you through.        

For some, there are a number of conflicting behaviors within the writing process that may lead to writer’s block. By identifying them, writers can call out potential blockers, to create writing processes free from excessive editing and inflexible strategies. Writing can be challenging but having relaxing tactics such as word play will make a huge difference when brainstorming ideas. Having writer’s block can’t be cure, but there are practices one can put in place inorder to overcome the wanted void of being stuck.       

Citation Page: 

Rose, M. (2009). Writer’s block: The cognitive dimension. Carbondale, Illinois: Southern Illinois

University Press.

Carter, G. V. (2017). “Writer’s Block Just Happens to People”. In “Bad Ideas About Writing” (pp.

99-103). Morgantown, West Virginia: Digital Publishing Institute.

Upper, D. (1974). “The Unsuccessful Self-Treatments of a Case of Writer’s Block.” Journal of

Applied Behavior Analysis.

In today’s society, people think that writing is something that comes naturally, or easy, or they think they are defined, writers. But they are not. The real reason this is not true because people don’t understand writing in 2020. Elizabeth Wardle, author and college professor, tells us that it is one of the BIAW or bad ideas about writing to try to learn to write in general. In her writing “You Can Learn To Write In General” she talks about how it’s impossible to write in general. Her theory is that writing is always specific. Wardle says writing in the least bit of effort always contains context and specificity. Assuming everything you write Is simple is a bad idea. This bad idea can make writers understand less about how their writing speaks a lot more than they think it does. Therefore, writing is intricate and not simplistic. 

Elizabeth Wardle, the author of “You Can Learn To Write In General”, implies that all writers do this mistake but it also implies you can get better at writing. “It’s not just common sense that tells us that learning to write in general is not possible. Many studies of writing have been done—in workplaces, in classes across the college landscape, and in social and civic settings.” (Wardle, Elizabeth. Bad Ideas About Writing. Pg. 30) Wardle is saying that practice and research can make an average writer a better writer. These writers that struggle to think their words don’t have as much meaning can explore the basics of writing by not thinking so simplistic but thinking outside the box. This can increase the effectiveness of their writing easily and make them better writers. If you want to become a better writer and write more effectively. Growing as a writer requires people to study and to explore the perspective of multiple writers. Getting better requires the writer to focus on one topic, master it, and move on to the next one.  This means you’d have to gradually get better and apply your skills to your everyday writing. 

Improve your Writing: Show, Not Tell – YouTube   -Simple steps to become a better writer!!!

Wardle teaches her readers that people must continue to grow. That seems almost easier said than done. The world is changing and so is writing. That’s why “David Perkins and Gavriel Salomon’s entry on the transfer of learning in the International Encyclopedia of Education, Second Edition” tells its writers that the world is constantly changing. Educational practices change for multiple reasons. For example, people’s needs, societal demands, and so many other things can change the way people write, how their words are interpreted, the choice of words people use, etc. Altogether, both writers feel as though being a writer is an evolving practice. Thus, in order to get better at writing, you have to continuously study and practice it. Being a great writer requires more than a story. It requires writers to understand people, understand themself, continuously learn about the interests of their audience, know the current events of the world, etc. Writers have to be in tune with themselves, others, society, and the world in order to progress as authors.

Wardle and writer who share her same ideology teach her writers that writing is a sophisticated thing to do. It’s not easy and takes more than just doing. It takes practice, you have to study, understand the world, and understand people. Thus, when writing, we have to understand our words aren’t as simple as we think. When we write, every word matters, and every word has a meaning. Wardle sends a great message altogether. 

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
2. Peterson, Penelope L, et al. The International Encyclopedia of Education. Elsevier Academic Press, 2010.
3. Improve Your Writing: Show, Not Tell – YouTube. www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHdzv1NfZRM.

Standard English has been the #1 form of language. English has been around for decades for people to learn, speak, and teach with each other. The term “standard” is the type of English most people would strive for, especially in a writing classroom. Standard English is still presentable through the elements of writing. For Jennifer Cunningham and Lisa Delpit`s perspective, African American Language, however, has a different type of intellect. Cunningham explains this bad idea of African American Language isn`t part of English at all or have lesser form of speech and writing. African American Language in a classroom, teachers have their concerns from the way certain words are pronounced or how it`s written in a sentence. They regard this language as “ignorant” or “bad slang.” It affects African American students if teachers suggest something is wrong with their community and culture. So, what`s should be a better idea? Cunningham and Delpit believed that teachers should have patience and respect for African American students and their language.

Jennifer Cunningham author of, “African American Language is Not Good English,” describes this language as “remaining uninformed or misinformed about its linguistic complexity” (Cunningham pg.88). In other words, it`s based on their unique combination of mostly English vocabulary to define their spelling, grammar, and pronunciation to contribute their African roots. Cunningham uses examples such as, “I ain`t got no time is grammatically correct and emphatic than Standard English sentence I don`t have any time” (Cunningham pg. 90). Both Standard English and African American Language have their own linguistic rules that feature a grammatical transition for an African American sentence becoming more formal with Standard English stigma. Although, teachers did not realize the African American Language is more than just “broken English,” this language is made to express our history and struggles. A language that we heard growing up from our families and childhood friends showed us tough love and passion. Influenced by African Americans showed strength and independence for our freedom of speech.

Issues of African American Language in a classroom are divided into two categories: identity and culture. Lisa Delpit, author of “What Should Teachers Do?” and “The Skin We Speak: Thoughts on Language and Culture in the Classroom,” with Joanne Kilgour Dowdy. She resolves the situation with her own ideas and research. In “What Should Teacher Do,” Delpit addresses on how teachers should give African American students as much access to an education, despite how their language and culture is different from their other peers. It`s the teacher`s responsibility to know if their form of teaching reading and writing can affect a student chances of the future for better or worse. There`s many African American students who make their own decisions for Standard English to become another language for themselves as scholars, while others don`t have enough academic guidance to become successful or being corrected consistently by teachers who gave them the opportunity to read and write in their language. Delpit expresses her point of view of how overcorrection affect students` attitude towards teachers. One of the researches she used, shows a young woman sharing her thoughts about her teacher interrupting her form of speech. “Mrs.? always be making you ‘talk correct’ and stuff. She be butting into your conversations when you not even talking to her” (Delpit, “WSTD” pg. 150). She feels irritated by her teacher because her bitter behavior shows the teacher is controlling the way she speaks in her classroom. On the other hand, teachers are aware of their students` grammatical structure and have them involved in activities of role-play and storytelling, while not letting students feel they`re under pressure of correction. Delpit suggests if teachers set a boundary of “correcting,” then a student would develop reading and writing skills at their own pace.

In “The Skin That We Speak,” Delpit goes further deep with conflict between identity and culture for children in a classroom. Along with Joanne Kilgour Dowdy, they have gathered linguistic analysis and personal essays from African American students from diverse backgrounds, including Dowdy herself and Delpit`s daughter, Maya, to share their own experiences of struggling to have a better education and be respected as human beings. Dowdy began the chapter about growing up in Trinidad and manage to speak as proper as she could to achieve in school. Her fellow peers would imitate her accent, making her feel isolated from everyone and herself. She writes about how her mother taught her to “curse in white” (Delpit, “TSWS” pg. 5), meaning changing her appearance and speech to gain approval by society. Meanwhile, she writes her siblings didn`t change the way they are for society. They were confident in their own language and marched in protests, against changing their language and identity in classroom. Dowdy soon realized the “curse in white” phrase doesn`t define her ethnic. In the end, she finally accepted her Trinidad heritage and motive to never forget her identity. Delpit explains her daughter`s experiences from going to a white school and an African American school. She noticed a significant difference between culture and identity, summarizes a connection can created by those who speak the language you do. I predict Maya`s experience from a white school she never formed a bond with any peers and teachers who can understand her language without looking at her sideways. Now in an African American school, she can truly express her home language among the community of welcome arms.

To conclude, this better idea should remind teachers, especially African American students African American Language is here to admire the beauty and power of it. We should never judge the language from a Standard English perspective. Our language, identity, and intelligence are all part of what we came from.

Works Cited:

Jennifer M. Cunningham, “African American Language is Not Good English,” (pg. 88-92) “Bad Ideas About Writing,” By Cheryl E. Ball & Drew M. Loewe

Lisa Delpit, “What Should Teachers Do?” (pg. 149-156), Rethinking Schools, http://www.rethinkingschools.org/archive/12_01/ebdelpit.shtml

Lisa Delpit, Joanne Kilgour Dowdy, “The Skin We Speak:” Thoughts on Language and Culture in the Classroom, (2002)

Writing and grammar are branches to one tree they both have different types of information that are contained in them. Ever since humans developed the ability to write they’ve mostly been focusing on making grammar the primary factor in teaching. As explained in Bad Ideas About Writing: Teaching Grammar Improves Writing by Patricia Dunn, she goes on to point the main attributes that are affecting student’s ability to write and how research has shown what classes are lacking in that department. Another issue that corresponds with Dunn’s information is The Atlantic: What Happens to Students When Their Professors Are on Welfare by McKenna, Laura, which adds on the reasons why most students’ writings aren’t as profound. Laura explains in her articles how most professors who teach are limited to the spaces and time they have to teach students. Bringing this case to light it affects why most teachers would focus more on grammar then effectively teaching it in a way that would help develop writing skill as well. By making the students write more than they are doing now it will show that when you write more you begin to gain a better understanding of what you’re doing

For anything to improve you have to focus and work hard on it. Dunn’s article exposes the holes that most schools are trying to cover up which is the development of writing through the teaching of grammar. She states in her article, “Research has shown that isolated grammar exercises are among the worst uses of time in a writing class.” (Dunn 145). Isolating any certain part of a subject won’t cause anything to improve. When teachers are teaching a subject they also have to keep in mind the other factors that affect a subject which could be grammar. The factors are what make it what is. Other than isolating it why not break each into different parts and then at the end of the day combine them to see what has formed. In Laura’s article, this idea would contradict itself because time is of the essence and it must be used wisely. Laura says “Adjuncts readily admit they cannot support students outside the classroom, such as when students need extra help understanding an assignment….. even if they had the time to provide these services, many colleges don’t provide their adjuncts with office space” ( Laura 9th paragraph). Adjuncts in this case are professors who are hired into schools but are limited to the things they can do, compared to fully employed university instructors. Most of these professors work part-time and even some work full time, but the accessibility that they have are low. In response to Dunn’s argument of isolating grammar, this adds on to that. Showing how limited time could cause the teacher to teach less and have little to no time to go over the writing part of a grammar class. In response to the better idea provided about breaking each part and then combining them. A solution to limited time would be to form groups with the students and tell each one to write a response to how the other formatted their sentence or paragraph. Each day students will look at another student’s work. To maximize this idea would be to tell the students to not worry too much about the grammatical errors and see how the mistakes made could improve the format of the writing. Even when professors are able to effectively teach grammar that will improve writing there will be factors that limit them from fully teaching it, whether it’s the given time or communication between student and teacher. 

           Being able to effectively teach grammar in a way that improves grammar may not seem easy, but through research, a way can be found. Taking each bad idea and finding new ways to change it into a better idea. From Dunn’s and Laura’s articles many solutions can be found and seen from the argument that they presented mostly seen through Dunn’s argument. She made claims that gave solutions to teaching grammar like, “One way to improve writing is to stop looking for a better way to teach grammar. To improve writing, find a better way to teach writing.” (Dunn pg 144). Using grammar as a stepping stone to learning new ways to teach writing can be seen as a solution to making a better idea.

 Dunn Patricia A. “Teaching Grammar Improves Writing” in Bad Ideas About Writing. Edited by Cheryl E. Ball and Drew M.
Loewe, 144-149. Web. https://textbooks.lib.wvu.edu/badideas/

McKenna, Laura. “What Happens to Students When Their Professors Are on Welfare.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 26 May 2015, www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2015/05/the-cost-of-an-adjunct/394091/.

Writing, a skill that’s pivotal to how we communicate and think critically is important and needs to be explored more. In order to spread the importance of writing, Patricia A. Dunn points on the bad idea of ‘Teaching Grammar Improves Writing’ and discusses why this idea does not improve writing and therefore not a good practice in teaching how to write. Writing does not just involve the use of phrases and clauses and is rather more complex than that. Writers should be able to get instructions that enables them to become better informed writers. Luckily, there are a number of approaches that have been studied over the years that help writers succeed in writing, including George Hillocks who has reviewed over 2000 studies on teaching writing, and aims to shed light on it in his article of ‘Synthesis of Research on Teaching Writing.’

 Teaching students to become effective writers. Quigley, Alex. “The Confident Teacher.” The Confident Teacher, 29 Apr. 2017, www.theconfidentteacher.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/myhc_16815.jpg.

In his article, Hillocks gives three examples of instructional focuses that should be used when teaching writing. Sentence Combining is one of them; and it includes the use of syntactic structures to form proper sentences and is a powerful method for students writing to improve. Sentence combining help students arrange words and phrases to form meaningful sentences. Teachers are encouraged to adapt this method because it provides students with control over an organized range of syntactic structures that they can pick and choose from as they write. Syntactic fluency increases with age and classroom instructions needs to implement this method deeper and deeper as students move from lower to higher grades. A number of researchers conclude that direct instruction in sentence combining results not only in greater syntactic complexity, but in increased quality (O’Hare 1973, Faigley 1979, Morenberg Et al, 1978)

After learning how to form clear sensible sentences, writers can be introduced to the second type of instruction known as ‘scales’ What this means is that teachers allow students to revise and judge compositions based on a scale that they provide. By evaluating different compositions over a period of time, students are able to grasp important skill sets needed by their own and thereby improve their writing. As Hillocks states, “The use of scales and criteria guided revision papers appears to help students develop a better control over and understanding of discourse knowledge.” This is important because students in such practices improve a lot of aspects needed in writing such as, composing, selection of content and development of plans.

As students are exposed to multiple writings that are different in nature, it helps them build their own agenda of how to write papers, and this in turn helps prepare writers to a higher-level lesson in ‘inquiry’ which is the third method of teaching writing and is an instructional focus that concentrates on a writer’s ability of understanding and expanding on a particular idea. In other words, teachers present writers with data or scenarios and they learn strategies that will help them present that particular data in their writing. These strategies include, recording and describing, presenting evidence, discriminating and hypothesizing (Hillocks, pg.80) This method of ‘inquiry’ dramatically improves students writing because it increases the writers’ comprehension and ability to transcribe information in a fashioned way. Just like in elementary school when teachers used to assign us work involving drawings and the task was to explain ‘what’s happening in the picture?’ Inquiry works the same way, and it helps writers use strategies to expand on tasks. Hillocks states “The process of observing and writing is so much effective in helping students writing improve.”( Hillocks, pg.80) When teachers adapt the instructional focus of ‘inquiry’ they help writers learn strategies for transforming raw data and use it in their writing, which in turn affect writers’ plans and help their writing improve. 

The light of Writing. Duncan, Apryl. “5 Fun Ways to Make Handwriting Stress-Free for Your Child.” Verywell Family, 26 Sept. 2020, www.verywellfamily.com/teach-your-child-to-write-name-3128914.

In a world where writing is so dependable, students need to be prepared well enough to be ready just enough for it; and teaching grammar alone does not do the justice of creating writers. Pushing writers in the right direction requires a type of instruction that will benefit them in writing. In order achieve this, practices such as ‘sentences combining’ help students understand how different sentences can be formed together by the use of syntactical structures, therefore increasing their quality in writing; While the use of ‘scales’ effectively raises writers’ confidence and judgement in their own writing by simply revising and rating other compositions. Additionally, when teachers present writers with data that they will need to break down, examine and interpret it into their papers, it effectively turns them into good writers. As Hillocks states that, once curriculums begin to focus on the three instructional focuses, they will begin to produce more effective writers (Hillocks, May 1987.)

References

• Dunn, Patricia. “Teaching Grammar Improves Writing.” In Bad Ideas About Writing. Edited by Cheryl E. Ball and Drew M. Loewe,  144-149. https://textbooks.lib.wvu.edu/badideas/badideasaboutwriting-book.pdf
• George Hillocks – “Synthesis of Research on Teaching Writing,” Educational Leadership. May 1987.
  http://www.ascd.org/ASCD/pdf/journals/ed_lead/el_198705_hillocks.pdf

Many people, whether writing a book or just an assignment for school, can become frustrated and jump to the conclusion that they have writer’s block. The main idea in the article Writer’s block just happens to people by Geoffrey V. Carter is considered a bad idea because writer’s block does not exist. Edmund Bergler’s article Does ‘Writer’s Block’ exist? further displays how “blocks” do not happen in writing. Both articles include the common theme that when a writer ever feels blocked, instead of giving up, they should resume writing. A better idea about writing would be that writer’s block does not exist, and instead of feeling “blocked”, writers should continue writing to promote new ideas. 

A better idea about writing is that writer’s block is non-existent. Bergler states that “there exists no writer’s block” (Bergler 43). Writers believe they have come to a “block” when they become frustrated and overwhelmed with their work. Different factors can make writers feel overwhelmed including topic boredom, confusion about assignments, distractions, and stress. According to Carter, hesitation has been around since the beginning of writing. Numerous individuals confuse hesitation and automatically associate being hesitant with being blocked. In reality, you “have to try very hard in order not to create at all” (Carter 102). When assigned to a new writing task, it is typical for writers to become overwhelmed and struggle with writing good content right away. This common idea or concept leads writers to feel defeated. People must find a way around writer’s block instead of brushing it off as something that is common. 

The preeminent way around “writer’s block” is to resume writing. Writer’s block is considered a bad idea, but it is also just an “idea” … not an existent thing. For some people who feel stumped, it is easier to presume they have writer’s block and utilize it as an excuse for not writing. People use this excuse to procrastinate their work. Rather than giving up, writing anything (even if it’s not superior) can motivate real work. Bergler continues to explain how a “real writer continues to write, whether his product is saleable or not” (Bergler 45). Meaning that writing anything at all and just getting your brain working will more beneficial than not. According to the article 6 Reasons You’re Struggling to Overcome Writers Block by Jes Gonzalez, “the only way to overcome writer’s block is to simply write anyway.” You will never get anywhere in your writing if you delay the process. As claimed by Purdue University, a simple 10–minute writing session can help overcome frustration and promote ideas. Even if you write about nonsense, writing (in general) will boost your work. 

 The mindset that writer’s block just happens to people is an immensely bad idea about writing. Writer’s need to start getting that idea out of their heads. When struggling, blaming your problems on being blocked seems to be an easy way out, but it just worsens the problem and causes procrastination. To promote healthy writing habits, focus on writing when you are stuck. Even spending 5-10 minutes writing will conquer the feeling of being unable to write. In general, the idea of writer’s block is non-existent, and writing is the leading strategy to fix a lack of inspiration. 

Works Cited

       Ball, E. Cheryl; Loewe, M. Drew. Bad Ideas About Writing. Dunn, A. Patricia; “Writer’s block Just Happens to People”. Pg. 99-103 

       Bergler, Edmund. “DOES ‘WRITER’S BLOCK’ EXIST?” American Imago, vol. 7, no. 1, 1950, pp. 43–54. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/26301237. Accessed 7 Dec. 2020. 

       Purdue Writing Lab. (n.d.). Symptoms and Cures for Writer’s Block // Purdue Writing Lab. Retrieved December 07, 2020, from https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/the_writing_process/writers_block/index.html

       6 Reasons You’re Struggling to Overcome Writer’s Block. (2019, December 06). Retrieved December 07, 2020, from https://thewritelife.com/6-reasons-youre-struggling-to-overcome-writers-block/