Unit 2: How To Be A Good Writer

It is essential to understand that classes taken in grade school do not give students a full understanding of each subject. With the topic of writing, there will always be a new lesson to learn, an aspect to improve, or a differing way to explain. Author Craig Vetter states in Bonehead Writing, “This is your enemy: a perfectly empty sheet of paper. Nothing will ever happen here except what you make happen.” Each story, essay, or response comes from a writer’s experiences. With each attempt at a new piece comes an underlying story of emotions the writer is facing. Each person’s writing is unique and the ideas people have are related to their past experiences and what they believe to be familiar with when deciding which writing style to use. As a high school student, I have learned many things about writing that helped me become the improved writer I am today, but the most essential advice I have received is practice makes perfect. Although there is no actual perfect way of writing, I have discovered that each essay I write, my writing improves. It is easier to spot mistakes, find areas to improve, and ponder elevated word choice to use.

It is crucial when it comes to promoting interest in writing that students are confident in their skills. If students do not exemplify confidence then the writing process will be very daunting. In order to promote confidence in the classroom, the teacher can encourage that student’s write about things that interest them, whether it is journaling about their weekend, or writing fictional stories. When the teacher gives opportunities for students lacking

Writing is an essential tool and has been noted as a precursor for great speaking by teachers at all grade levels. However, with writing being an important aspect throughout one’s academic career and beyond, it is one of the most tedious tasks to teach. It sounds like a cliché, but in order to get better at something, one has to keep completing the task and each time, accomplish something different while maintaining prior knowledge. There are various ways that enhance a student’s writing abilities and the focus of these research strategies will prove that encouraging students to write enhances writing.

The nature of writing has changed in the past century. While writing still remains a form of visual communication, much of this change has been a result of technological advancements such as, from pen to paper or from a typewriter to a networked computer. The changes and expansion in the ways we are able to write today have brought about changes in writing pedagogy as well. The teaching of writing has been part of formal schooling in the United States for over 200 years (Kean 7). One major pedagogic change in United States’ education has to do with the implementation of the Common Core State Standards. These standards have led to a change in the instruction of writing in schools. This paper, will focus on instructional changes of writing over time and current expectations for writing abilities as whole.

Weekly, one-page response papers are assigned based on their readings, which helps students understand my writing expectations, and gain confidence as the transition from generalized and vague language to academic writing. In class writing assignments, which deal with key questions from their reading, also helps students make the transition. After reading “Why I Write” by Joan Didion, I invite students to write a short essay about their writing process. Each reading and writing assignment escalates in difficulty, with the intention to build confidence, reduce anxiety, and overcome fear about their writing process, while increasing their academic language.

The ability to diagram a sentence does not make a good writer. There are many students capable of identifying every part of speech who are barely able to produce a piece of prose.” (College Entrance, 2003 p. 16). Grammar and writing are not one in the same, and the previous statement tells me that writing instruction needs improvement in today’s classrooms. I firmly believe time is of most importance when it comes to good writing. It’s crucial that appropriate time is carved out of every day for writing. I think it’s important to make writing cross-curricular; this can be very time consuming, but allowing students to see the value of writing in every subject will be beneficial to their future. During designated writing time, I want to incorporate all five of the developmental stages of the writing process. When a student can pre-write, write, revise, edit and publish their work, they are building a strong foundation of their writing

Corporations and educators have noticed the essential role of good writing skills in individual’s everyday life. Writing skills are one of the important qualifications employers and educators look for in professionals and college graduates. However, it turned out to be one of the serious deficiencies they possess. Professionals and college graduates mostly encounter these deficiencies in terms of not having the potential to practice good writing skills. Moreover, employers get disappointed with new college graduates writing skills. Formally, grammar was taught by the use

Cremin & Myhill (2012) describe being able to write, and read, as being a gateway to empowerment; this is because writing is a requirement of most academic schools and tertiary institutions. For this reason it is imperative that teachers engage in language education and help their students grow as writers.

An important topic in education is that students are not learning how to write well. Students should write more and get feedback to use in their writing. To help the students improve their writing, teachers should create a lesson plan here students write without getting a grade. Otherwise, students may falsely believe that there is a right or wrong answer in writing. In addition, students need to understand that teachers are trying to make them a better writer. I argue that school districts need to incorporate a writing class.

Few would argue with the statement that writing skills are in state of decline. It is readily apparent that something needs to be done to resolve the issues that are preventing students from grasping the fundamentals of composition. However, there is a divergence of opinion when it comes to determining the cause of the nation’s writing ails. Many blame technology, giving cell phones and television particular attention. Others give technology a more indirect blame, claiming that email, instant messaging, and cell phones have robbed students of a desire to learn proper writing skills. While these ideas may bear some truth, the root of the problem lies within the instruction of writing, which to a large extent is ineffective. The writing

There are many skills that students learn throughout their educational career. Among one of the most important skills that students will gain is the ability to write. They will not only learn the penmanship skills needed to physically put words on a paper, but they will learn how to communicate their thoughts and ideas using those words. Tony Wagner (2008) recognizes “effective oral and written communication” as one of seven survival skills needed to “thrive in the new world of work” (p. 21-22). Preparing students for the 21st century workforce is a both a personal focus and school-wide focus of my inner city high school. As a campus, we constantly work to provide students with opportunities to strengthen the skills outlined by Wagner. When test scores arrive we always fall short in one area: writing.

One of the biggest challenges teachers have faced in the classroom has to do with writing. Usually students do not want to write, because they have never been encouraged to do it or to enjoy it. It’s worth remembering that most people never write anything of any length in their daily lives, or anything using a pen and paper, or without using a spellchecker. But this is often what we ask our students to do in English.

Writing is a literacy component that allows students to communicate their ideas in a coherent and fluent manner. Writing captures the vivid imagination of the writer when all of his abstract ideas are organized in an interesting and cohesive essay. Writing becomes an effective tool in preserving the students’ creativity and reflective writing styles. Therefore, when students produce well-written and organized essays, these essays are products of a tedious and deeply personal process of thinking. The importance of writing encompasses even outside the realms of the classroom as it is a crucial skill students must develop so they will be able to gain communicative competence. However, writing and writing instruction have become a challenged to both students and teachers. As writing is taught in all English subjects, one central issue is the difficulty of teaching students how to write. Writing simply becomes a way to complete a grade. Writing is not simply instructing the students what to write and think since they have difficulty organizing their ideas. Writing is taught as a process that will train students to think coherently and consolidate their ideas properly. Therefore, students must be equipped with the writing skills set forth in the English K to 12 Curriculum Guide (Department of Education 2013) which states that Grade 6 students should be able

Writing can be incredibly intimidating for anyone, and students often feel inadequate or incapable. Using the meaningful literature we read as mentor texts, I aim to make students aware of strategies and tools that authors use well with intentions that they can implement similar

Rod Smith Shane Penrose Kate Whited Sandusky High School Submitted to Dr. Joanne Arhar Action Research in the Classroom