A Theory of Writting
_________________________________
Text Published:
A THEORY OF WRITING
As rational animals considered apart from other creatures by many capabilities - one of them being the efficacy to communicate – men and women long to reach each other. John Donne (1572-1631) said that “no man is an island” because we do not thrive when isolated from others. Communication is one way persons use in order to not be alone. For that purpose, they can talk to each other, make signs to each other, draw pictures to each other, and write to each other. Writing can be a meaningful way to communicate if given necessary attention. It demands time, energy, and money. Meaningful communication is to express oneself in a way that cannot give margin to misinterpretation. So, to be a writer, amateur or professional, is a way people find to approach to express a dimention of onself that must reflects thoughts, just as a physical mirror reflects an image. To write is to communicate a self inner truth. Bare in mind that not all kinds of communication can convey such a replection. It is not easy to write well, but it is not impossible.
The struggle to write lies in exactly constructing such an invisible but sensitive and intelectual mirror to translate in words, which forms sentences, which forms paragraphs, which forms texts, which, hopefully, forms... communication. Just a stream of words – or sentences and paragraphs – in an intended sequence does not mean exchange of ideas. My struggle in writing has been to constuct the exact message I want to convey, not depending only on the words themselves, but in what is written in them and among them, in spite of them and because of them.
Such a work is difficult, but not impossible. It requires practice, training, practice, thinking, practice, trying, practice, reviewing, practice, excluding and including, practice and... more practice. At least it has been like this for me. I don’t believe practice makes it perfect in writing, but it takes you very close to it. Perfection is something always located beyond where we are. Practice puts the writer closer and closer to what might be perfection. My accomplisments are not many, but they are accomplisments. I’ve got some pretty good ideas expressed in texts not so pretty good. And also I’ve got pretty good pieces of writing based on not so wonderful ideas. Those have been my accomplisments. My hopes and efforts points to improve my accomplishments. Four WPA Outcomes are always present when I think about writing, and they are commented here.
The first WPA Outcome, invention, is my ability to come up with original or inventive ideas. In Portuguese, my mother language, such ability is easily expressed in words and finds its accomplishments fast. In English, beautiful language and my language of choise in trying to construct texts, words must be exercised a lot, many times covering distances with the speed of a turtle. With the turtle-rabbit fable in mind, I do believe it is just a question of focusing the abilities to “win the race”. I experience, day after day, text after text, that the turtle transfors itself in a rabbit.
The second WPA Outcome is reading. While writing is a painstaking activity, to read is a pleasure. Critical thinking sets the balance, because on the mirror of life, it is not my intention to reveal only other’s reflections. No offense intended, nor to them, neither to myself. As I receive communication from others, and willing not to be an island standing alone, I must write - in response or not - to the others. We must reach each other, reading and writing, with the essential critical thinking to glue everything together, trying to make – and maybe really making - sense of everything.
From the third WPA Outcome, rhetorical knowledge, I gathered the tools to give a possibility of entrusting my ideas into words, “killing” the ideas as themselves and making them become facts eternally born in text. Knowledge is power, but only if transformed in real power. Rhetorical knowledge gives the power to know how to, conscienciouly, build bridges to connect to the other islands of existence. I experience rhetorical knowledge as one of the foundations of writing and without it, everything crumbles around.
Critical thinking, the fourth WPA Outcomes, works like a sieve, first separating what is “out there”, and in the second instance, how to use what becomes “in here”. I basically criticizes everything I read, just for the sake of critizing, but in a positive way. Almost everything must go through an intelectual sieve, or purpose, in order to be transformed in a critical perspective. After that, and only ofter that, some use can be put in a way that means something to construct and grow the knowledge for rhetorical purpose. I know it does not sound ok, but my advise is that you should feel free to critisize everything you read.
Reading is a must for anyone who wants to think critically. In my case, it makes me aware of all the other islands wishing to connect. I read just about everything and I don’t read more for lack of time. I get the average of one hour per day of free reading, that is, reading what is not required from work and studies. To read is to visit a person and know him/her a bit or a lot, depending. To read is to reach and to be reached, to buid a bridge but only up to the half of it.
Composing is exactly the work of finishing the other half of the bridge. For me, it is the most difficult part from all the four areas mentioned in the “WPA Outcomes Statement”. What I mean by composing is not only to write for the sake of writing. But to write-composing like a musician-writer composes a song, a melody: a sequence of notes put in a particular way, with all the chosen variations – I wish I knew more about music to express myself better using this image. Composing is the result beyond getting the sum of parts together. Composing is not only to have good ideas, but includes them. Composing is not only to write grammatically correct, but includes it. Composing is not only a sequence of words, sentences, paragraphs, texts... but includes and suppose all of them. To compose is to create and make something knew out of a buch of preexisting stuff.
Openness is my chosen Habit of Mind in order to achieve the WPA Outcomes. Opennes doesn’t mean I have to accept everything the comes in my way. It doesn’t mean to believe everything I read. Openness means to give a try just about almost everything. Well, in writing, just about everything. It is the only way to grow, or at least try to grow. Whitout openness there is no way to go beyong the world each person builds for him/herself. Opennes has not always being a natural habit of mind in my life. But with practice, and time given, a second nature just kicks in and then comes the time when openness is not an effort anymore. Only with real choices we have the opportunity to select what we believe to be the right idea, the precise sentence, the correct way to deliver the message, resulting in really expressing what we want to communicate.
When I began this course, I didn’t know it was going to be that good. And it is only good for me because I accept it. I gave a try and it worked well. It does not work better because I don´t get the full potencial it can give. Openness to the course gave me the opportunity to try. Without openness I would give up at the first lesson. “This must be just another course, more of the same I had taken before”, I thought during the first week.
With openness, rhetorical knowledge was able to find its way into my life as a writer. And with rehtorical knowldge I could go beyond the technical texts I am used to write. Rhetorical knowledge is real power. Power given, power taken. Not that I am THAT powerful. For sure I am more powerful to write than I had ever been.
I grew – and will continue to grow – as a reader, a reader, and critical thinker throughout my like by accepting the knowledge given, trying without fear of doing wrong, and always with the desire to do right. How come? Practicing. I am sure this text is not a wonderfully written piece of text, and said that, I can firmily say that is what I have and it is much more that I had ever supposed I could do using written English.
I don’t have any problem writing technical texts work-related. I am pretty good at it. But such texts does not express what I want to say. They let things express themselves using these same hands typing the words you now read. I say that they are not “my texts” even though my name is engraved there as the author. This type of written material reinforces the island in me, letting things communitcate to me and to others, but not letting me communicate with others; they do not help build bridges to connect to people. I mean, real people, real exchange of ideas, real reflexions of life, real identities. It is even worst: technical writing about things permits exchange and reflexions of “ideas” from a product, not from a real person.
My writing related with the work I do for a living is accomplished. The satisfaction is great. Now I aim to have a personal writing experience. With my professional and personal life set, the challenge - for a lifetime - is how to express and help build bridges so I can, being an island, build connections with other islands. The intention is not to destroy my island. As a human being I want to be effective and affective in communicating. I do not agree completely with John Donne. In my opinion, every person is an island and without denying such a reality, men and women long to thrive to reach each other and buid a continent.
The struggle to write lies in exactly constructing such an invisible but sensitive and intelectual mirror to translate in words, which forms sentences, which forms paragraphs, which forms texts, which, hopefully, forms... communication. Just a stream of words – or sentences and paragraphs – in an intended sequence does not mean exchange of ideas. My struggle in writing has been to constuct the exact message I want to convey, not depending only on the words themselves, but in what is written in them and among them, in spite of them and because of them.
Such a work is difficult, but not impossible. It requires practice, training, practice, thinking, practice, trying, practice, reviewing, practice, excluding and including, practice and... more practice. At least it has been like this for me. I don’t believe practice makes it perfect in writing, but it takes you very close to it. Perfection is something always located beyond where we are. Practice puts the writer closer and closer to what might be perfection. My accomplisments are not many, but they are accomplisments. I’ve got some pretty good ideas expressed in texts not so pretty good. And also I’ve got pretty good pieces of writing based on not so wonderful ideas. Those have been my accomplisments. My hopes and efforts points to improve my accomplishments. Four WPA Outcomes are always present when I think about writing, and they are commented here.
The first WPA Outcome, invention, is my ability to come up with original or inventive ideas. In Portuguese, my mother language, such ability is easily expressed in words and finds its accomplishments fast. In English, beautiful language and my language of choise in trying to construct texts, words must be exercised a lot, many times covering distances with the speed of a turtle. With the turtle-rabbit fable in mind, I do believe it is just a question of focusing the abilities to “win the race”. I experience, day after day, text after text, that the turtle transfors itself in a rabbit.
The second WPA Outcome is reading. While writing is a painstaking activity, to read is a pleasure. Critical thinking sets the balance, because on the mirror of life, it is not my intention to reveal only other’s reflections. No offense intended, nor to them, neither to myself. As I receive communication from others, and willing not to be an island standing alone, I must write - in response or not - to the others. We must reach each other, reading and writing, with the essential critical thinking to glue everything together, trying to make – and maybe really making - sense of everything.
From the third WPA Outcome, rhetorical knowledge, I gathered the tools to give a possibility of entrusting my ideas into words, “killing” the ideas as themselves and making them become facts eternally born in text. Knowledge is power, but only if transformed in real power. Rhetorical knowledge gives the power to know how to, conscienciouly, build bridges to connect to the other islands of existence. I experience rhetorical knowledge as one of the foundations of writing and without it, everything crumbles around.
Critical thinking, the fourth WPA Outcomes, works like a sieve, first separating what is “out there”, and in the second instance, how to use what becomes “in here”. I basically criticizes everything I read, just for the sake of critizing, but in a positive way. Almost everything must go through an intelectual sieve, or purpose, in order to be transformed in a critical perspective. After that, and only ofter that, some use can be put in a way that means something to construct and grow the knowledge for rhetorical purpose. I know it does not sound ok, but my advise is that you should feel free to critisize everything you read.
Reading is a must for anyone who wants to think critically. In my case, it makes me aware of all the other islands wishing to connect. I read just about everything and I don’t read more for lack of time. I get the average of one hour per day of free reading, that is, reading what is not required from work and studies. To read is to visit a person and know him/her a bit or a lot, depending. To read is to reach and to be reached, to buid a bridge but only up to the half of it.
Composing is exactly the work of finishing the other half of the bridge. For me, it is the most difficult part from all the four areas mentioned in the “WPA Outcomes Statement”. What I mean by composing is not only to write for the sake of writing. But to write-composing like a musician-writer composes a song, a melody: a sequence of notes put in a particular way, with all the chosen variations – I wish I knew more about music to express myself better using this image. Composing is the result beyond getting the sum of parts together. Composing is not only to have good ideas, but includes them. Composing is not only to write grammatically correct, but includes it. Composing is not only a sequence of words, sentences, paragraphs, texts... but includes and suppose all of them. To compose is to create and make something knew out of a buch of preexisting stuff.
Openness is my chosen Habit of Mind in order to achieve the WPA Outcomes. Opennes doesn’t mean I have to accept everything the comes in my way. It doesn’t mean to believe everything I read. Openness means to give a try just about almost everything. Well, in writing, just about everything. It is the only way to grow, or at least try to grow. Whitout openness there is no way to go beyong the world each person builds for him/herself. Opennes has not always being a natural habit of mind in my life. But with practice, and time given, a second nature just kicks in and then comes the time when openness is not an effort anymore. Only with real choices we have the opportunity to select what we believe to be the right idea, the precise sentence, the correct way to deliver the message, resulting in really expressing what we want to communicate.
When I began this course, I didn’t know it was going to be that good. And it is only good for me because I accept it. I gave a try and it worked well. It does not work better because I don´t get the full potencial it can give. Openness to the course gave me the opportunity to try. Without openness I would give up at the first lesson. “This must be just another course, more of the same I had taken before”, I thought during the first week.
With openness, rhetorical knowledge was able to find its way into my life as a writer. And with rehtorical knowldge I could go beyond the technical texts I am used to write. Rhetorical knowledge is real power. Power given, power taken. Not that I am THAT powerful. For sure I am more powerful to write than I had ever been.
I grew – and will continue to grow – as a reader, a reader, and critical thinker throughout my like by accepting the knowledge given, trying without fear of doing wrong, and always with the desire to do right. How come? Practicing. I am sure this text is not a wonderfully written piece of text, and said that, I can firmily say that is what I have and it is much more that I had ever supposed I could do using written English.
I don’t have any problem writing technical texts work-related. I am pretty good at it. But such texts does not express what I want to say. They let things express themselves using these same hands typing the words you now read. I say that they are not “my texts” even though my name is engraved there as the author. This type of written material reinforces the island in me, letting things communitcate to me and to others, but not letting me communicate with others; they do not help build bridges to connect to people. I mean, real people, real exchange of ideas, real reflexions of life, real identities. It is even worst: technical writing about things permits exchange and reflexions of “ideas” from a product, not from a real person.
My writing related with the work I do for a living is accomplished. The satisfaction is great. Now I aim to have a personal writing experience. With my professional and personal life set, the challenge - for a lifetime - is how to express and help build bridges so I can, being an island, build connections with other islands. The intention is not to destroy my island. As a human being I want to be effective and affective in communicating. I do not agree completely with John Donne. In my opinion, every person is an island and without denying such a reality, men and women long to thrive to reach each other and buid a continent.
_________________________________
Draft:
Human being are rational animals, apart from other creatures by many capabilities, being one of them the the efficacy to communicate. John Donne (1572-1631) says that “no man is an island” because they do not thrive when isolated from others. To communicate is one way that human beings find in order to not be alone. For that purpose, they can talk to each other, make signs to each other, draw pictures to each other, and write to each other. Writing is the way to communicate which extract, almost always, the most elaborated kind of communication. To produce a piece of writing demands time, energy, money ... and leads to express oneself in a way that cannot give margin to misinterpretation. So, to be a writer, amateur or professional, is a way that men and women find to have a picture of onself that may reflects more precisely than a clean and utterly flat mirror. To write is to communicate the self inner true most of other canals of communicationg can not convey. It is not easy but it is not impossible.
The struggle to write lies in exactly constructing such an invisible but sensitive and intelectual mirror that can translate in words forming sentences forming paragraphs forming texts forming... communication. It is not just the justapostion of words one after the other in order to form a sentence; it is not just a sentence after another in order to form a paragraph; it is not.... well, you get the picture. My struggle in writing has been to constuct the exact message I want to convey, not depending on the words themselves, but in what is written in them, in spite of them and because of them.
Such a work is difficult, but not impossible. It requires practice, training, practice, thinking, practice, trying, practice, reviewing, practice, excluding and including, practice and... more practice. I don’t belive practice makes it perfect in writing, but it takes you very close to it. Or better, closer and closer to what seems to be perfection. My accomplisments are not many, and they are. I’ve got some pretty good peaces of writing on ideas not so pretty good; I’ve got pretty bad peaces of writing on ideas wonderfully conveived. Those had been my accomplisments and my hopes they continue to be accomplishments.
One ability I have is to come up with original or inventive ideas. In Portuguese, my mother language, the ability I have takes a speedier way, in company of a habbit, to find its accomplishments. In English, beautiful language and my language of choise in trying to construct “the mirror”, words take a lift, it seems, with a turtle. With the fable in mind, It is just a question of focusing the ability to beat the true deal. I experience, day after day, ways to express and make real this natural ability for ideas.
Read is a pleaser, write is a painstaking activity. Critical thinking sets the balance. I do not want to be “simply” the reflection of other’s mirrors. No offense intended. Nor to them, neither to myself. As I receive communication from others, and willing not to be an island, I must write, in response or not, to the others not-to-wanting-to-be-islands around me. We must build a continent, reading and writing, with the essential critical thinking to glue everything together and with sense for life.
Rhetorical knowledge has given me the tools to give a possibility of entrusting my ideas to know what road to take in order to kill themselves as ideas and become facts eternally born in the manger of a text. Knowledge is power. Rhetorical knowledge gives the power to know how to, conscienciouly, build bridges to connect to the other islands of existence. Rhetorical knowledge is the foundation of writing and without it, everything crumbles about.
Critical thinking works like a sieve, first separating what is this and what is that, and in the second place, how to use this and that. I basically criticizes everything, but in a positive way. Almost everything must go through the sieve in order to be thought in a critical perspective. After that, and only ofter that, some use can be put in a way that means something in order to construct and grow the knowledge of rhetorical knowledge. I know it does not sound ok, but feel free to critisize it.
Reading is a must and for me is a please. It makes me aware of the others islands wishing to join the continente. I read everything and I don’t read more for lack of time. Unfortunatelly, I get the average of only one hour per day of free reading, that is, reading what is not required from my work and my studies. To read is to visit a person and know him/her a bit or a lot, depending. To read is to reach, to buid a bridge up to the half of it.
Composing is exactly finishing the other half of the bridge. For me, it is the most difficult part from all the four áreas mentioned in the “WPA Outcomes Statement”. What I mean by composing is not only to write for the sake of writing. But to write-composing like a musician-writer composes a song, a melody: a sequence of notes put in a particular way, with all the chosen variations – I wish i knew more about music to express myself better, now – resulting in the end, having something that is more than the sum of its part. Composing is not only to have good ideas, but includes them. Composing is not only to write grammatically correct, but includes it. Composing is not only a sequence of words, sentences, paragraphs, texts... but includes and suppose all of it. To compose is to create and make something knew out of a buch of preexisting stuff.
Openness is my chosen Habit of Mind in order to achieve the WPA Outcomes. Opennes doesn’t mean I have to accept everything the comes in my way. It doesn’t mean to believe everything I read. Openness means to give a try just about almost everything. Well, in writings, just about everything. It is the only way to grow, or at least try to grow. Whitout openness there is no way to go beyong the world each person builds for hem/herself. Opennes has not always being a natural habit of mind in my life. But with practice, and time after time, a second nature just kicks in and comes a time that is not an effort anymore to practice openness. Only with real choices we have the opportunity to select what we believe to be the right idea, the precise sentence, the correct way to say so I can really express what I want to communicate.
When I began this course, I didn’t know it was going to be that good. And it is only good because I accept it. I gave a try and it worked well. If it does not work better it is because I didn’t get the full potencial it can give. Openness to the course gave me the opportunity to try. Without openness I would give up at the first lesson. “This must be just another course, more of the same I had taken before”, I thought during the first week.
With openness, rhetorical knowledge was able to find its way into my life as a write. And with knowldge I could go beyond the technical texts I am used to write. Or the “facebook messages” kind of writing. Knowledge is power and the power given, the power was taken. Not that I am THAT powerful. For sure I am more powerful to write than I have eve been.
I grew – and will continue to grow – as a write, a reader, and critical thinking throughout my like by accepting the knowledge given, trying withou fear of doing wrong, and practicing. I am sure this text is not a wonderfully written piece of text, and said that, I can firmily say that is what I have and it is much more that I had ever supposed I could do using English.
I don’t have any problem writing technical texts work-related. I am pretty good at it. But such a texts does not express what I want to say. They let things express themselves using thise same hand typing these words. I say that they are not “my” texts even though my name is engraved there. This type of written material reinforces the island in me; they do not help build bridges to connect to people. I mean real people, real exchange of ideas, of life, not only dry and deathful exchange of other’s ideas. Even worst, ideas of a product.
My professinal writing is accomplished. What I aim now is to have a personal writing experience. Will I get it? Really, I don’t know. My future professional life is set, kind of speaking. No worries about that. My personal life is set also. What is not set, and that is the challenge – I believe, for a lifetime – is how to express my personal believes into professional-content texts that will help me build bridges so I can, being an island, build bridges to connect with other islands.
The intention is not to destroy this island of mine. As a human being I am, of course, na rational animal. I know I am apart from other non-human creatures by many capabilities, being one of them the the efficacy to communicate. By the sake of such a efficacy to communicate I abhor the idea of putting myself apart from other human beings by the lack of effective and affective written communication. I do not agree completely with John Donne. In my opinion, every man and every woman are islands, but not only islands. Without denying the reality of being an island, such a rational animal longs to thrive and reach the continent.
The struggle to write lies in exactly constructing such an invisible but sensitive and intelectual mirror that can translate in words forming sentences forming paragraphs forming texts forming... communication. It is not just the justapostion of words one after the other in order to form a sentence; it is not just a sentence after another in order to form a paragraph; it is not.... well, you get the picture. My struggle in writing has been to constuct the exact message I want to convey, not depending on the words themselves, but in what is written in them, in spite of them and because of them.
Such a work is difficult, but not impossible. It requires practice, training, practice, thinking, practice, trying, practice, reviewing, practice, excluding and including, practice and... more practice. I don’t belive practice makes it perfect in writing, but it takes you very close to it. Or better, closer and closer to what seems to be perfection. My accomplisments are not many, and they are. I’ve got some pretty good peaces of writing on ideas not so pretty good; I’ve got pretty bad peaces of writing on ideas wonderfully conveived. Those had been my accomplisments and my hopes they continue to be accomplishments.
One ability I have is to come up with original or inventive ideas. In Portuguese, my mother language, the ability I have takes a speedier way, in company of a habbit, to find its accomplishments. In English, beautiful language and my language of choise in trying to construct “the mirror”, words take a lift, it seems, with a turtle. With the fable in mind, It is just a question of focusing the ability to beat the true deal. I experience, day after day, ways to express and make real this natural ability for ideas.
Read is a pleaser, write is a painstaking activity. Critical thinking sets the balance. I do not want to be “simply” the reflection of other’s mirrors. No offense intended. Nor to them, neither to myself. As I receive communication from others, and willing not to be an island, I must write, in response or not, to the others not-to-wanting-to-be-islands around me. We must build a continent, reading and writing, with the essential critical thinking to glue everything together and with sense for life.
Rhetorical knowledge has given me the tools to give a possibility of entrusting my ideas to know what road to take in order to kill themselves as ideas and become facts eternally born in the manger of a text. Knowledge is power. Rhetorical knowledge gives the power to know how to, conscienciouly, build bridges to connect to the other islands of existence. Rhetorical knowledge is the foundation of writing and without it, everything crumbles about.
Critical thinking works like a sieve, first separating what is this and what is that, and in the second place, how to use this and that. I basically criticizes everything, but in a positive way. Almost everything must go through the sieve in order to be thought in a critical perspective. After that, and only ofter that, some use can be put in a way that means something in order to construct and grow the knowledge of rhetorical knowledge. I know it does not sound ok, but feel free to critisize it.
Reading is a must and for me is a please. It makes me aware of the others islands wishing to join the continente. I read everything and I don’t read more for lack of time. Unfortunatelly, I get the average of only one hour per day of free reading, that is, reading what is not required from my work and my studies. To read is to visit a person and know him/her a bit or a lot, depending. To read is to reach, to buid a bridge up to the half of it.
Composing is exactly finishing the other half of the bridge. For me, it is the most difficult part from all the four áreas mentioned in the “WPA Outcomes Statement”. What I mean by composing is not only to write for the sake of writing. But to write-composing like a musician-writer composes a song, a melody: a sequence of notes put in a particular way, with all the chosen variations – I wish i knew more about music to express myself better, now – resulting in the end, having something that is more than the sum of its part. Composing is not only to have good ideas, but includes them. Composing is not only to write grammatically correct, but includes it. Composing is not only a sequence of words, sentences, paragraphs, texts... but includes and suppose all of it. To compose is to create and make something knew out of a buch of preexisting stuff.
Openness is my chosen Habit of Mind in order to achieve the WPA Outcomes. Opennes doesn’t mean I have to accept everything the comes in my way. It doesn’t mean to believe everything I read. Openness means to give a try just about almost everything. Well, in writings, just about everything. It is the only way to grow, or at least try to grow. Whitout openness there is no way to go beyong the world each person builds for hem/herself. Opennes has not always being a natural habit of mind in my life. But with practice, and time after time, a second nature just kicks in and comes a time that is not an effort anymore to practice openness. Only with real choices we have the opportunity to select what we believe to be the right idea, the precise sentence, the correct way to say so I can really express what I want to communicate.
When I began this course, I didn’t know it was going to be that good. And it is only good because I accept it. I gave a try and it worked well. If it does not work better it is because I didn’t get the full potencial it can give. Openness to the course gave me the opportunity to try. Without openness I would give up at the first lesson. “This must be just another course, more of the same I had taken before”, I thought during the first week.
With openness, rhetorical knowledge was able to find its way into my life as a write. And with knowldge I could go beyond the technical texts I am used to write. Or the “facebook messages” kind of writing. Knowledge is power and the power given, the power was taken. Not that I am THAT powerful. For sure I am more powerful to write than I have eve been.
I grew – and will continue to grow – as a write, a reader, and critical thinking throughout my like by accepting the knowledge given, trying withou fear of doing wrong, and practicing. I am sure this text is not a wonderfully written piece of text, and said that, I can firmily say that is what I have and it is much more that I had ever supposed I could do using English.
I don’t have any problem writing technical texts work-related. I am pretty good at it. But such a texts does not express what I want to say. They let things express themselves using thise same hand typing these words. I say that they are not “my” texts even though my name is engraved there. This type of written material reinforces the island in me; they do not help build bridges to connect to people. I mean real people, real exchange of ideas, of life, not only dry and deathful exchange of other’s ideas. Even worst, ideas of a product.
My professinal writing is accomplished. What I aim now is to have a personal writing experience. Will I get it? Really, I don’t know. My future professional life is set, kind of speaking. No worries about that. My personal life is set also. What is not set, and that is the challenge – I believe, for a lifetime – is how to express my personal believes into professional-content texts that will help me build bridges so I can, being an island, build bridges to connect with other islands.
The intention is not to destroy this island of mine. As a human being I am, of course, na rational animal. I know I am apart from other non-human creatures by many capabilities, being one of them the the efficacy to communicate. By the sake of such a efficacy to communicate I abhor the idea of putting myself apart from other human beings by the lack of effective and affective written communication. I do not agree completely with John Donne. In my opinion, every man and every woman are islands, but not only islands. Without denying the reality of being an island, such a rational animal longs to thrive and reach the continent.
_________________________________
Instructions:
WRITING PROJECT #3: A THEORY OF WRITING
in two stages:
1-) before revision and proofreading
2-) after revision and proofreading
1-) before revision and proofreading
BACKGROUND AND OVERVIEW
As writers learn, work, and grow, many of us find it helpful to construct a “theory of writing.” For your third project—and as an important part of your final e-portfolio—you will have the opportunity to construct your own theory of writing as a way of helping you to chart, analyze, and enrich your own writing. This theory should be developed from your literacy practices throughout the course and beyond.
In this short essay, you will reflect on your development as a reader, writer, and critical thinker and explain how your learning has led you to a specific theory of writing. Your theory should be informed by your literacy practices and the learning outcomes of the course. It should also suggest how your prior experiences with writing will prepare you for successful engagement in future personal, academic, professional, and civic occasions for writing. Your reflection and theory of writing should be supported by concrete evidence (i.e. quotes, examples, screen shots, anecdotes, and/or other examples) from your own work and composing practices.
REQUIREMENTS AND DELIVERABLES
1. Your essay should include a thesis that makes a claim about what you understand the act of writing to be, and your essay should be organized in such a way that a reader can follow your thinking and reasoning from paragraph to paragraph and within each paragraph.
2. Your theory of writing should illustrate your current struggles, accomplishments, and abilities as a reader, writer, and critical thinker.
3. Your essay should relate your writing and your writing process to one bullet point of each of the four outcome areas of the “WPA Outcomes Statement” (i.e. “Rhetorical Knowledge,” “Critical Thinking, Reading, and Composing,” etc.). Additionally, you should discuss how you used one of the Habits of Mind from the “Framework for Success in Postsecondary Writing” to achieve one or more of the WPA Outcomes.
4. You should support your claims about writing with specific and concrete references to your own work (i.e. notes, process work, passages from your essays, project reflections, Writer’s Journals, feedback on your peer's work, etc.). This support might take the form of quotes, screenshots, excerpts, narrated examples, peer reviews, anecdotes, etc.
5. Your theory of writing should conclude by suggesting how your growth as a reader, writer, and critical thinker throughout first-year composition prepares you for future personal, academic, and professional writing and research projects.
6. Within your essay, you should not merely provide support; instead, you should explain what your support is support for and how that support works.
7. Your completed essay should have a title and be approximately 1700 words in length.
PROJECT SUBMISSION
- Rough Draft: Your rough draft will be submitted for peer review and to your e-portfolio.
- Revised Draft: Your revised draft should be uploaded to your e-portfolio.
TIPS
- Get started early.
- Review this week’s materials and discussions.
- Set a writing/research schedule and stick to it.
2-) After revision and proofreading
WRITING PROJECT #3: A THEORY OF WRITING
BACKGROUND AND OVERVIEW
As writers learn, work, and grow, many of us find it helpful to construct a “theory of writing.” For your third project—and as an important part of your final e-portfolio—you will have the opportunity to construct your own theory of writing as a way of helping you to chart, analyze, and enrich your own writing. This theory should be developed from your literacy practices throughout the course and beyond.
In this short essay, you will reflect on your development as a reader, writer, and critical thinker and explain how your learning has led you to a specific theory of writing. Your theory should be informed by your literacy practices and the learning outcomes of the course. It should also suggest how your prior experiences with writing will prepare you for successful engagement in future personal, academic, professional, and civic occasions for writing. Your reflection and theory of writing should be supported by concrete evidence (i.e. quotes, examples, screen shots, anecdotes, and/or other examples) from your own work and composing practices.
REQUIREMENTS AND DELIVERABLES
1. Your essay should include a thesis that makes a claim about what you understand the act of writing to be, and your essay should be organized in such a way that a reader can follow your thinking and reasoning from paragraph to paragraph and within each paragraph.
2. Your theory of writing should illustrate your current struggles, accomplishments, and abilities as a reader, writer, and critical thinker.
3. Your essay should relate your writing and your writing process to one bullet point of each of the four outcome areas of the “WPA Outcomes Statement” (i.e. “Rhetorical Knowledge,” “Critical Thinking, Reading, and Composing,” etc.). Additionally, you should discuss how you used one of the Habits of Mind from the “Framework for Success in Postsecondary Writing” to achieve one or more of the WPA Outcomes.
4. You should support your claims about writing with specific and concrete references to your own work (i.e. notes, process work, passages from your essays, project reflections, Writer’s Journals, feedback on your peer's work, etc.). This support might take the form of quotes, screenshots, excerpts, narrated examples, peer reviews, anecdotes, etc.
5. Your theory of writing should conclude by suggesting how your growth as a reader, writer, and critical thinker throughout first-year composition prepares you for future personal, academic, and professional writing and research projects.
6. Within your essay, you should not merely provide support; instead, you should explain what your support is support for and how that support works.
7. Your completed essay should have a title and be approximately 1700 words in length.
PROJECT SUBMISSION
- Rough Draft: Your rough draft will be submitted for peer review and to your e-portfolio.
- Revised Draft: Your revised draft should be uploaded to your e-portfolio.
TIPS
- Get started early.
- Review this week’s materials and discussions.
- Set a writing/research schedule and stick to it.
in two stages:
1-) before revision and proofreading
2-) after revision and proofreading
1-) before revision and proofreading
BACKGROUND AND OVERVIEW
As writers learn, work, and grow, many of us find it helpful to construct a “theory of writing.” For your third project—and as an important part of your final e-portfolio—you will have the opportunity to construct your own theory of writing as a way of helping you to chart, analyze, and enrich your own writing. This theory should be developed from your literacy practices throughout the course and beyond.
In this short essay, you will reflect on your development as a reader, writer, and critical thinker and explain how your learning has led you to a specific theory of writing. Your theory should be informed by your literacy practices and the learning outcomes of the course. It should also suggest how your prior experiences with writing will prepare you for successful engagement in future personal, academic, professional, and civic occasions for writing. Your reflection and theory of writing should be supported by concrete evidence (i.e. quotes, examples, screen shots, anecdotes, and/or other examples) from your own work and composing practices.
REQUIREMENTS AND DELIVERABLES
1. Your essay should include a thesis that makes a claim about what you understand the act of writing to be, and your essay should be organized in such a way that a reader can follow your thinking and reasoning from paragraph to paragraph and within each paragraph.
2. Your theory of writing should illustrate your current struggles, accomplishments, and abilities as a reader, writer, and critical thinker.
3. Your essay should relate your writing and your writing process to one bullet point of each of the four outcome areas of the “WPA Outcomes Statement” (i.e. “Rhetorical Knowledge,” “Critical Thinking, Reading, and Composing,” etc.). Additionally, you should discuss how you used one of the Habits of Mind from the “Framework for Success in Postsecondary Writing” to achieve one or more of the WPA Outcomes.
4. You should support your claims about writing with specific and concrete references to your own work (i.e. notes, process work, passages from your essays, project reflections, Writer’s Journals, feedback on your peer's work, etc.). This support might take the form of quotes, screenshots, excerpts, narrated examples, peer reviews, anecdotes, etc.
5. Your theory of writing should conclude by suggesting how your growth as a reader, writer, and critical thinker throughout first-year composition prepares you for future personal, academic, and professional writing and research projects.
6. Within your essay, you should not merely provide support; instead, you should explain what your support is support for and how that support works.
7. Your completed essay should have a title and be approximately 1700 words in length.
PROJECT SUBMISSION
- Rough Draft: Your rough draft will be submitted for peer review and to your e-portfolio.
- Revised Draft: Your revised draft should be uploaded to your e-portfolio.
TIPS
- Get started early.
- Review this week’s materials and discussions.
- Set a writing/research schedule and stick to it.
2-) After revision and proofreading
WRITING PROJECT #3: A THEORY OF WRITING
BACKGROUND AND OVERVIEW
As writers learn, work, and grow, many of us find it helpful to construct a “theory of writing.” For your third project—and as an important part of your final e-portfolio—you will have the opportunity to construct your own theory of writing as a way of helping you to chart, analyze, and enrich your own writing. This theory should be developed from your literacy practices throughout the course and beyond.
In this short essay, you will reflect on your development as a reader, writer, and critical thinker and explain how your learning has led you to a specific theory of writing. Your theory should be informed by your literacy practices and the learning outcomes of the course. It should also suggest how your prior experiences with writing will prepare you for successful engagement in future personal, academic, professional, and civic occasions for writing. Your reflection and theory of writing should be supported by concrete evidence (i.e. quotes, examples, screen shots, anecdotes, and/or other examples) from your own work and composing practices.
REQUIREMENTS AND DELIVERABLES
1. Your essay should include a thesis that makes a claim about what you understand the act of writing to be, and your essay should be organized in such a way that a reader can follow your thinking and reasoning from paragraph to paragraph and within each paragraph.
2. Your theory of writing should illustrate your current struggles, accomplishments, and abilities as a reader, writer, and critical thinker.
3. Your essay should relate your writing and your writing process to one bullet point of each of the four outcome areas of the “WPA Outcomes Statement” (i.e. “Rhetorical Knowledge,” “Critical Thinking, Reading, and Composing,” etc.). Additionally, you should discuss how you used one of the Habits of Mind from the “Framework for Success in Postsecondary Writing” to achieve one or more of the WPA Outcomes.
4. You should support your claims about writing with specific and concrete references to your own work (i.e. notes, process work, passages from your essays, project reflections, Writer’s Journals, feedback on your peer's work, etc.). This support might take the form of quotes, screenshots, excerpts, narrated examples, peer reviews, anecdotes, etc.
5. Your theory of writing should conclude by suggesting how your growth as a reader, writer, and critical thinker throughout first-year composition prepares you for future personal, academic, and professional writing and research projects.
6. Within your essay, you should not merely provide support; instead, you should explain what your support is support for and how that support works.
7. Your completed essay should have a title and be approximately 1700 words in length.
PROJECT SUBMISSION
- Rough Draft: Your rough draft will be submitted for peer review and to your e-portfolio.
- Revised Draft: Your revised draft should be uploaded to your e-portfolio.
TIPS
- Get started early.
- Review this week’s materials and discussions.
- Set a writing/research schedule and stick to it.
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Done!
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