Initially I was worried; as I thought about it more and more and read Hjortshoj's discussion on common college student errors though, I have become more at ease. I am guilty of some of the errors that Hjortshoj mentions, like the five-paragraph footstool and the single draft final paper, but I am also a hard worker. I think that with the help of English 103 and Professor Essid I am going to be able to leave those bad habits behind.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Transition to College Writing
My first few sessions of English 103, Introduction to Expository Writing, with Professor Joe Essid have felt like a splash of cold water in my face. I realized that although I did work hard on all my high school papers and usually received high marks for the work I'd done, I was given a larger margin for error and a lot more help when I encountered obstacles than I will receive here.
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In my Eng. 383 class that prepares Writing Consultants, we read an article by a scholar of writing from U Pittsburgh, David Bartholomae. He was revolutionary, teaching us that unless an error is a mere careless mistake, it provides evidence of "intention" by the writer.
ReplyDeleteIn other words, writers want to do their work as well as possible, even if the task bores or frustrates them. If nothing else, they do so for a higher grade.
I don't mind that. It's a required class, after all. What I hope to accomplish, however, is to help the writers see that unlearning old habits is gradual, so they won't get "slammed" for everything at once. In fact, good feedback should not be a "slam" at all.