Post here if you've chosen good student writing as the construct most relevant to your research question, but please read "Thursday's (7/28/11) Work" post first if you haven't already. If you've chosen a different construct. you don't need to respond to this one.
I want you to be as detailed as possible in your responses to these questions, so please don't think about answering this post in list or Q&A form. Try to compose paragraphs that get at all of the questions, but in a coherent, well thought through way.
--What is your idea of "good student writing"?
--Where have your ideas about what it means to be a "good student writer" come from?
--How have the readings we've done so far influenced your ideas about what good student writers do?
--What misconceptions do you think people have about "good student writers"?
--How might we go about changing those misconceptions?
Remember to read everyone's comments and make at least 1 additional reply (though what I really hope to see is a conversation develop and your collective ideas advance about the issue).
In my opinion “Good student writing” should include material about the topic the student has read, researched, or his/her own opinions/arguments. This material should be written in a clear, readable, understandable way and always focused on the main point. The ideas should be organized so that the thoughts flow on the paper instead of jumping here and there with different ideas and opinions. The audience knows when there is good student writing, when reading it they are able to follow it without being lost or without disinterest. My ideas about what it means to be a “good student writer” comes from my English Professor here at UTPA. He always emphasized that in order to have good student writing we had to stay focus on the main idea, to always state our points in a clear, understandable manner. That if we were to argue any points to be sure and state the reasons behind it. And this is the reason why I liked the article written by Murray. He stated the “All writing is Autobiography”. Good student writing can include/express some of the students’ own ideas and opinions and it would still be considered to be good student writing.
ReplyDeleteI feel that there are many misconceptions in reference to what good student writing should be. Many might think that if the student did not include a single argument on his/her writing that the paper was not worth reading; on the other hand if an argument was brought up, others might think that the student had no right to go against what has been written and believed to be true and correct until that day. Another misconception is that if the student did not include fancy words on his writing, it was lacking knowledge. Many have the misconception that good student writing should be a lengthy piece of paper with so many paragraphs and a good conclusion, when in reality good student writing should be a writing that brings the ideas across; something that has been written in a concise way, that focuses on the main point and that keeps the interest of the audience.
As an example I want to share this…….when talking about good student writting and staying focus on the main idea, I can compare it to a sermon (written by many different persons, some are experts and other are just beginning to learn). Though we are not literally reading it, but we are hearing it. In my opinion, the audience can always distinguish a good written sermon with one that was poorly written (or maybe the ideas were there but the persons did not know how to organize and explain them). The audience can easily follow a sermon that is being explained in a clear way, the ideas are following each other and they all relate to the main point. When a poor written sermon is given, the attention of the audience can be easily lost; at the end the audience has no idea what the main point was or what was the point that the writer was trying to bring across.
"Good Student Writing" should include information about the topic that the writer has researched and should also include their own opinions and also argumentative. The ending product should be organized so that the readers can understand what the writer is trying to say. The ideas should all be able to flow together. Like Sandra mentions readers are able to recognize 'Good Student Writing' when they are able to read it without confusion and losing interest. Also like Sandra, I enjoyed Murray's idea that 'All Writing is Autobiography.' I learned from my high school senior English teacher that in every essay/research paper the author should include a part of themselves in them. Their own thoughts and ideas.
ReplyDeleteMany of my thoughts on what "Good Student Writing" is has been influenced through my previous teachers. Many of them taught me that a writer should not personalize their writing. That if the writer does not include every idea out there on the subject the paper it is lacking information. That if a paper is not at least 3 pages long it is not worth reading. But all that has led me to believe that good student writing is a paper that introduces its ideas and it is made clear and their is no confusion when it is read.
Many of the articles we've read in 'Writing about Writing' are about how to improve our writing and reading skills. I've learned that their is no perfect way to write a perfect paper. But there are ways to improve our writing to make it the best it can be. In 1301 I learned that there is no way to write a perfect paper due to the fact that writing skills can always be improved. There is always something new to learn and will always be.
Most students before entering college think that many of the things that we learn now is wrong when it comes to writing. I believe that it should be introduced to students early on that many of these misconceptions are actually wrong. Which means that most English educators that teach to mainly high school should look into this more in order to pass these teaching to their students. It would make the transition into college writing so much easier for many.