THEORY OF WRITING

Luis Diaz Carrasco

Professor Gregory

ENC 1101

April 5, 2019.

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Theory of Writing

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In the last couple of years, there’s been research concerning college students and their writing experience in college. Studies show that a majority of the incoming freshmen are facing problems and difficulties when given writing exercises (assignments). Almost 40 percent of college freshmen, according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress, is lacking writing and reading skills, and most of them are not aware of it. These students need to know that engaging in writing and developing adequate writing skills and strategies, where they incorporate analytical and personal approaches, can be of use. Writing, will not only be useful for assignments, but it can also be used as a tool for future occasions.

In “Why kids can’t write”, according to Goldstein, a national correspondent for The New York Times who focuses on education impact on students, “[t]he Snapchat generation may produce more writing than any group of teenagers before it, writing copious text messages and social media posts, but when it comes to the formal writing expected at school and work, they struggle with the mechanics of simple sentences.” It is surprising the fact that even though these students are experiencing an all-time high in writing, whether it be on social platforms or other, their writing skills remain unpolished making them struggle in college.

Besides the point of students spending a lot of time writing and reading in social media, they have also have been exposed to writing in their earlier writing or English courses in high school, but still, find themselves having difficulties writing in college. In college, adequate writing skills involve more than just good grammar and punctuation. By my previous experience, when it comes to writing in college, professors expect students to think critically and rhetorically, as well as being able to analyze and synthesize texts; this includes incorporating personal opinions, ideas, and experiences. This means that in college, students need to go beyond the point of having well-structured writing, which includes grammar and punctuation, to the point of being able to wallow in complexity, think rhetorically, analyze and synthesize.

For the most part, the barrier of structured writing and analytical writing is due to the way in which students are taught and the basis of their learning. In “Writing What Matters: A Student’s Struggle To Bridge The Academic/Personal Divide”, Strasser points out how personal ideas and personal experiences should be introduced to be able to achieve syntactical and rhetorical points when writing. Strasser argued against the thought that writing courses should only teach grammar and style, having student opinions and personal experiences not being a focal point. In addition, in “Writing Steps: A Recursive and Individual Experience”, Warne, touches a similar point where she explains that even though there should be a standard writing process, there should an individual process of writing where the students incorporate their own approach to writing involving personal experiences.

When students just make sure of achieving grammatically correct sentences and do not incorporate an analytical and personal approach when writing, they fail to develop crucial writing skills. Without deeply analyzing what they read and what they write, they cannot produce feelings, emotions, or ideas that can persuade their readers; thus, these students fail to construct strong arguments or complicated writing assignments that ask for more than just good grammatical structure. In other words, they just accomplish developing superficial skills with no meaningful writing.

In general, my opinion of good writing is indeed much more than just having faultless grammar and impeccable punctuation. Being an adept writer, knowing how to engage in writing, having adequate writing skills, and knowing how to incorporate analytical and personal approaches, is a very powerful and useful tool. Knowing how to write will not only be useful for class assignments but it can also be used as a tool to help you progress and achieve professional goals. Students ignore the importance of having good writing skills when it has been proven that it is a critical productivity skill. Having adequate writing skills will not only facilitate communication in the workplace but it will also positively affect careers.

Having all the necessary writing skills will be a major tool in my future as I pursue my career. For example, I am currently a college student majoring in Biology with a pre-med track. When going into med-school you have to provide schools with an application containing a personal statement essay. That personal statement essay can be the make it or break it to being accepted to my desired med school. Knowing just to write sophisticated sentences will not be enough. I will have to incorporate critical thinking and personal experiences as well, in order to make the essay intellectual and persuasive and make myself stand out. I believe that if I develop all the skills to become a good writer and knowing the importance of them, I will be prepared enough to accomplish my goal with the help of writing.

Likewise, other students should be aware of the importance of knowing how to properly write, because it can be as helpful as it will for me. To help students understand how to write and why it is important, they should not only engage in reading and writing but also, they should be taught correctly. As Branson claims in “First Year Composition Prepares Students For Academic Writing”, a modern-day perception of first-year writing is that it is to develop general grammar mechanics. Branson asserts that first year writing and English courses will be helpful for students if they are taught with more focus on learning and deeper thinking than just basic superficial skills, like composition and grammar. In the same way, I believe that there should be more focus on argumentative and analysis-filled writing, where students will be able to elaborate on their own opinions and ideas.

In order to accomplish the goal of making students reach the desired level of writing colleges expect of them, I can refer to Christensen’s claims in her publication, “Teaching Standard English: Whose Standard?”. Christensen recalled how students constantly focus on the structural part of writing; she referred to those students as “language cops”, where they tried to avoid errors instead of writing to express and communicate with their own thoughts. Consequently, Christensen proposed solutions that encouraged students to practice writing and not being intimidated by the errors they commit. I agree with Christensen in her claims because sometimes when student focus on grammatical errors it can take away the focus from what they are intending to communicate.

In conclusion, students should be aware that developing effective writing skills should be a process of learning and self-development. Writing is extremely essential for students, because as mentioned before it is a helpful tool when needed. Students not only should focus on their grammar, but engage in depth, think critically and input their personal experiences when writing. Writing efficiently can give students a way of expressing themselves, like poets; it can also help them persuade other people and create movements, like politicians; it can be useful in many ways if put to good use.