The Mind And Page : Remedial Writers And Cognitive Reductionism By Mike Rose

Writing is examined in the first chapter of “Writing about Writing”, a textbook by Elizabeth Wardle and Doug Downs. Not only does it examine articulate writing, but specifically the threshold Concepts of writing: “ideas that change the way you think, write, and understand a subject,” (Wardle, Downs 2011). Terms are used to educate readers, these terms are essential for the writer to better understand how to write, and for the reader to better understand composition. Three terms seem to do this; construct, contingency, and rhetoric.

Downs & Wardle’s “Teaching about writing, Righting Misconceptions: (Re) Envisioning “First Year Composition” as “Introduction to Writing Studies” talks about several ways to refer to writing and our response to it. As well as the misconceptions students have towards the proper way of writing and how they have managed to break the “college writing” stereotype and discover their own way of writing.

The survey result Berrett includes shows that students see writing as “basically a performance”. Berrett also introduced an argument from the “Framework for Success in Postsecondary Writing” report, which claims that writing is not a “linear process”. The author states that successful writing requires various processes, habits and experiences, such as “curiosity, flexibility, persistence and metacognition”. Since for most highschoolers, writing is ‘’framed as preparation of tests”, they do not have the opportunity to “develop ideas or raise prose”. The author suggests the students require change in their mindset of writing. However, the only evidence the author provides is from a students’ self-reported survey, instead of actual writing assignments. This rather subjective evidence results in a less convincing argument. Despite this flaw in logic, I personally agree with the author. I find the transformation of writing from high school to university is challenging. The main reason is that my writing experience back then was more about “following directions”. The format and structure of the writing assignment was provided, and all the information I need was spoonfed to me. As a result, there was no researching and developing my own idea, and in the first week of university, when I was asked to write a lab report with my own theory, I brainstormed for hours before eventually generated one. Nevertheless, I hold onto the hope that improvements on creativity in writing can be made as I gradually develop my “curiosity, flexibility, persistence and metacognition”. In general, although I agree with the author’s opinion, I felt his claim lacks

Writing is a powerful tool for communication and connection. As an extension and expression of the mind, writing is as much about the mental processes of the author as it is about the final marks laid to paper. As we write, we hold in mind our own thoughts on the work, anticipate the reader’s thoughts, and think both in concrete and abstract ways in order to accomplish the task at hand. Whether an academic research paper, a novel, or text message to friends, writing seeks to engage, persuade, or impress concepts upon an audience. Like language and other art forms in general, the practice of writing is ever-evolving and is subject to cultural and contextual influence, expectations, and conventions. Each writer holds a theory

In the short essay, “Becoming a Writer,” penned by Russell Baker, he spoke of a memory from his past that later changed his perception of writing. After reading his piece, I reviewed the response questions listed below the essay to further my understanding of the piece. Almost like looking through a list of prompts as Russell did.

Early on McCarthy states the the point of this study and article is to, “Contribute to our understanding of how students learn to write in school.” (234). McCarthy literally wants to make the point that learning to write should be viewed as a growth process from both a social and individual aspect depending on the situation. (234). McCarthy observed a college student as he took three different courses composition I, poetry, and biology. McCarthy explains that through her examination of the the

In Dan Berrett’s article, “Students Come to College Thinking They’ve Mastered Writing,” the idea of freshman thinking they are or must be a refined writer is discussed. Students may think this way coming into college, but their teachers do not. While students might feel satisfied and think that they are prepared with their writing skills, professors found that these students did not necessarily meet the expected level (Berrett 1). Many students reported that they would normally write around 25 hours every week. They said that most of those hours of writing was for more formal purposes like passages to make changes in society (Berrett 1). It was found that one reason the new students might feel this way is that their assumptions about writing differed greatly from those of faculty members and their expectations. One big thing that students will not get for a while, is that good writing is not just listed as a bunch of steps one is to follow that automatically make one’s writing good. Good writing requires one to be in different mental states; it requires the understanding of how to write for different audiences and different reasons (Berrett 2). Berrett includes in the article that writing is not just universal and that in order to do very well, writers must use different forms of writing specifically for their purpose (2). It seems as though students think that, before they even take a class, they are supposed to know everything about writing; in reality, they are supposed to learn new skills and enhance others (Berrett 2). Berrett says that many believe the schools these students previously attended with their test focus might cause these feelings about writing (2). Berrett ends his article by saying that students these days do not think that informal writing actually counts as writing, and that students should practice writing for informal purposes because it can help them (2). Even if they feel like it, students are not fully prepared to write in all contexts when they arrive at college.

Writing is a practice that most of us were taught when we were young. We were taught the basics of grammar, how to form a sentence, conjunction words, how to write paragraphs and more. Although we have learned this skill while growing up and have used the skill every year after entering kindergarten, this does not mean our writing process will ensure the best work. The authors that I chose each encourage their audience to excel in the art of writing in their own way to help with the writing process.

In the last three parts of this paper, I described how my own literacy history has affected my pedagogy as a future teacher. As I looked closer at the different theories of rhetoric, I believe that I fall between the expressivists/new romantics and the cognitivists, as I explained in part two. I believe that when writers are able to become comfortable forming their own opinions in their writing in a writer-centric environment, they will be more likely to succeed in doing so with writing that has an intended audience. I believe this line of thinking or pedagogical approach will work best for developing writers, as it focuses less on the technical side of writing and more on the content- or being able to realize their own

From the early beginning of the school year to the current day, my writing skills and knowledge have improved and broadened over time. If not drastic, the change is noticeable nevertheless. For almost an entirety of eighth grade, assignments of varying difficulty challenged me to a degree. To be frank, some seemed as though they were beyond my comprehension and ability. However, determination amalgamated with knowledge obtained in advance helped me to overcome my doubts, for I exceeded my expectations; surprisingly good grades and comments are a delight, owing to the fact of that I don’t tend to think of myself as being proficient at writing. Consequently, the assignments given to me this school year shaped me into who I am as a writer.

In today’s workforce, jobs are heavily based upon the skills that one has and how well one can perform them in their field of study. A major component skill that lacks in many young people today is writing. Writing plays is an important role in life, one needs it to communicate with other people. If young people are not taught this in their years of schooling and do not learn to master it, consequently they will come out on the bottom with poor writing skills. Which in

In order to assess Kamil’s writing skills, I collected and analyzed a few writing pieces of various types of writing. Kamil’s style of writing and the tone differ depending on the type of composition, which means that he is aware of the purpose and the potential audience when he writes. The graphic aspect of writing indicates that Kamil has knowledge about forming the 26 letters of the English alphabet. His writing is also legible and clear most of the time. Some pieces of Kamil’s writing, such as “Feature Article”, “Oil Spilling”, “Minecraft”, and “How I came to America” include a thoughtful and interesting introduction as well as an effective and creative conclusion. In these compositions, Kamil groups and organizes facts logically, he links the ideas together, using transition words, e.g. “After ten hours of doing stuff we finally got to America! Thereafter we went througth the securite machines…” Also, a variety of sentences is applied in these pieces. On the other hand, a persuasive letter and an opinion piece, “What would you rather do: find your way through a corn maze or tour a haunted house?” include a few confusing sentences and thoughts. The introduction and closing are not precise, as they do not clearly state Kamil’s personal opinion. For example, in a persuasive letter to the principal of his school, Kamil states a few good reasons why his school should not have air conditioning, he supports his arguments with some pieces of evidence, and then, in closing

Above all the skills that I gained, writing was predominantly the skill set that I developed most. Given that I had trouble understanding the texts, I was left with no other choice other than to force myself to interpret the writer’s

After our first essay, we immediately began our second, “oh my God”, were my exact words that I remembered myself saying, as I took a deep breathe. In fact, during all of this mind boggling confusion going on in my head, I felt that this next essay was going to be more complicated. Which immediately lead me to recall “What is Academic Writing Myth #4” when Irvin suggested that “Some got it; I don’t – the genius fallacy” (5). Myth #4 suggests that when we begin to think of our writing flaws, we tend to blame genetics. We offer up explanations that it’s out of our control,

Cognitive psychology, Berlin’s second ideology, is similar to current-traditional in that it focuses on error. Yet, cognitive psychology “address[es] the ‘process’, rather than the ‘product’ of writing in the classroom” (Berlin, 480). This, to me, is a benefit because the focus is not what a student can produce, but, rather, the process and steps that they take to achieve their writing goals. Another positive aspect of cognitive psychology is that it emphasizes the individual: their process, their writing, and their goals. However, there are some liabilities that are associated with the cognitive psychology ideology. For example, it is a science-based ideology that refuses to acknowledge important ideological questions. This can be viewed as negative for several reasons. One reason is that it turns the writing process into a “one-size-fits-all” formula that is meant to achieve goals, but not to reflect on the value of those goals (Berlin, 482). It assumes that all writers go through the same process, which is not necessarily true. A second reason is that although this ideology considers itself to be apolitical, many of its ideals align with the ideals of the modern corporation. Therefore, it produces