Your journal entry should summarize how you have historically approached writing tasks. What steps have you tended to take when completing such tasks?
You should also compare your past approach to the Writing Process as we have described it so far in our course. How are they similar? How are they different?
Finally, your journal entry should consider how rethinking the writing process might help you be more successful in the sorts of daily writing you do.
Historically, I have approached writing with the notion that I have the ability to sit down, write, and finish, and everything will sound perfectly polished. Not only is that virtually impossible for most, but it also causes me so much unnecessary stress when I don't follow any kind of process. It is worth mentioning that my last journal was a free write, which allowed me to be at ease when writing, without disctraction from my vicious editing.
Writing requires a process that isn’t linear. It became increasingly more difficult to write collegiately with my not-so-methodical approach. Essays were my worst nightmare, I became overwhelmed with making it perfect on the first go, that it would completely prevent my thoughts from flowing freely. It was circular and never ending. I thought I had to do it all at once, when really, breaking it down into different pieces not only helps with brainstorming, but makes the overall piece more put-together. Throughout high school I was taught methods to break down my writing assignments into more managable sections. This consisted of brainstorming, drafting, writing, and editing. I always rushed through these steps, because I saw it as too much work, but In hindsight, I made even more work for myself by not mapping-out my essays beforehand. Expecting to write without having a plan of attack is like going on a blind date. How am I supposed to know what to talk about if I haven’t even met them? The weather? That’s not interesting or “deep” enough. For a better analogy, its as if you tried to ride a bike before it is put together correctly. You get it, I was setting myself up to get absolutely nowhere.
My former English teacher’s would assign drafting worksheets to organize writing assignments into small paragraphs, which provided me with a sense of structure, and accomplishment with each step of the process. This helped the creative juices flow and helped aid my writers block. It seems that every English educator recommends following a writing process of some sort, all seeming to be essentially the same. I like the way this course outlines the writing process, because there are several steps, similar to the processes I learned in high school. The difference lies in the amount of steps each process requires. This course has five steps, whereas the method I tend to use from previous education only requires three; brainstorming, drafting, and editing. However, I recognize the value of the two steps I leave out, which are outlined in this course. Planning is where I am able write a short thesis summarizing what topics I want to cover. This step is often skipped-over, but essential to the writing process for its ability to break down ideas into sections that are easy to elaborate on. Revising is a step I often find myself completing as I am drafting. If I just left my writing the way it is while drafting, I would be allowing myself the entire creative process, in which I could then go back to edit. Exercising this process in these journals helps develop a better, more efficient approach to my writing that will set me up for academic success. In day-to-day life, applying the writing process to mundane things like writing professional emails, texts, and job applications could benifit me remarkably. With a little preporation, I will be perceived as more prepared, skilled, and experienced.
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