Writing right. Right?
The time has come. It happens to the best of writers, and I'm thankful it has taken a year for me to get to this point. It's time to write about writing and blogging. Every great writer hits a wall when it comes to things to write about, and after grading 150 essays over the weekend, the only thing I can think about is writing. But this isn't going to be a blog purely about blogging. Instead, it's how we grow as a writer.
8th grade is a pivotal juncture in a students career, or so I like to think. Before 8th grade, many teachers would tell kids, "Just write the same way you carry on a conversation. Writing should be natural." And in ways, these teachers are right. Writing should be an organic conversation delivering information to another person, but as we grow, writing has to become more sophisticated.
While grading papers over the weekend, I was, in all, impressed with the writing of my 8th grade students. They wrote a narrative, used chronological order, and even reflected on the piece at the end. However, I did notice my students wrote like they were carrying on a conversation with me, the reader, instead of telling a story. Conjunctions would be placed at the beginning of sentences; side notes in parenthesis were scattered about. While these conversations were entertaining, and for the most full filled the rubric for the assignment, they did lend themselves to the idea of just telling a story.
This is where I, as a composition teacher, come in to play. As we venture into high school, we should most definitely write organically. We need emotion, we need imagery, we need to see the world through your eyes, but we need to learn how to do this in a sophisticated way. A way that will show the world our brilliance as a writer and not as a conversationalist. It's my hope to empower you with words and techniques that you make you able to put your foot in the door with others that will notice your brilliance and take you seriously.
This is my lesson to you this year.
8th grade is a pivotal juncture in a students career, or so I like to think. Before 8th grade, many teachers would tell kids, "Just write the same way you carry on a conversation. Writing should be natural." And in ways, these teachers are right. Writing should be an organic conversation delivering information to another person, but as we grow, writing has to become more sophisticated.
While grading papers over the weekend, I was, in all, impressed with the writing of my 8th grade students. They wrote a narrative, used chronological order, and even reflected on the piece at the end. However, I did notice my students wrote like they were carrying on a conversation with me, the reader, instead of telling a story. Conjunctions would be placed at the beginning of sentences; side notes in parenthesis were scattered about. While these conversations were entertaining, and for the most full filled the rubric for the assignment, they did lend themselves to the idea of just telling a story.
This is where I, as a composition teacher, come in to play. As we venture into high school, we should most definitely write organically. We need emotion, we need imagery, we need to see the world through your eyes, but we need to learn how to do this in a sophisticated way. A way that will show the world our brilliance as a writer and not as a conversationalist. It's my hope to empower you with words and techniques that you make you able to put your foot in the door with others that will notice your brilliance and take you seriously.
This is my lesson to you this year.
what do we write about
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