I really like the writing activities that Dr. Hawkins introduced to the class. I completed the writing assignment where I analyzed the most important event in the session. I wrote about the event, describing it in detail. This exercise helped to transform my entire paper. I noticed how much more exciting and interesting the paper sounded if I used a narrative approach and described the events I witnessed during my tutor observation. My first draft included statements like, “The student found this information very difficult.” After I added descriptive writing, I had sentences such as, “The student looked from the floor to the computer screen before uttering ‘Um, I’m not sure’”. I think this type of writing makes the paper much more interesting to read because the reader can truly relate to these descriptions.
It is funny how we become so focused on improving other students’ papers that sometimes we forget how much we can improve our own. For instance, I knew when I wrote the first draft of this paper that I even became bored as I read over it. I more or less proofread my own paper, which is not as important as looking to improve or enhance it. I can look at someone else’s paper and give them ideas to enhance it or make it more interesting. I cannot believe when I had my own writing (which I was not satisfied with) I did not take the same steps that I take when I have clients. I hope I can (re)learn to remember to step back after I complete a writing assignment to see how it can be enhanced.
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There certainly is something quite boring about academic writing. I remember writing a paper for my English Methods class about why I wanted to teach English. I love the subject because it allows for creative freedom that you just can't find in subjects like Science and Math--however, I wrote the paper exactly in the way I was saying I didn't want to--it was empirical and scientific! It was sooooo boring, and I even told the teacher that as I handed it in. I could have avoided this goofy incongruity had I known about these revision techniques. Prior to learning them, I was stuck on how to revise my paper. I could have created a script between teacher and class or even narrated a scenario from my past. Sadly, I turned in a pitiful paper. : ( If more professors would give us creative leeway to show what we can do, writing assignments would be much for fun for students to write and professors to read.
ReplyDelete"It is funny how we become so focused on improving other students’ papers that sometimes we forget how much we can improve our own." - One of the things I found most rewarding about being a tutor was that, to really be able to help students revise, I had to get creative about my own revising processes. (I find this as a writing teacher as well.) It does become "stale" to only look for what is wrong with a paper instead of looking at how it can be improved; to me, that's what revision is all about, and in my writing classes as well as in my writing center tutorials, I've always tried to stay away from making revision error-based. Instead of collecting rough drafts and marking them up, for instance, I conference with students about their ideas, have them write a draft, and then give them a revision assignment like what you all did so they can start playing around with form, point of view, description, focus, etc. It makes revision much more useful to students, because it shows them how to go about revising their work when they don't have a teacher or a tutor to point out their errors. I think that's why I like the Fulwiler article so much: He makes us remember that as tutors, we are there to help improve writers, not just their papers, and that means teaching them creative approaches to revision, even if they can't turn in that particular revised draft.
ReplyDeleteI like your point about how we as tutors/english majors sometimes forget to enhance our paper. sure, we know how to write an "A or B" paper but that doesn't always mean it is enticing to the reader or even ourselves.
ReplyDeleteI often tell my clients in the writing center that it is hard to edit/revise/proofread etc our own papers. There are so many approaches but i know that i tend to get hung up on the little things and not always the bigger picture of the text.
I know i will use these techniques on future papers.