Alesha Dawn Alexander

ENG 405

Dr. Dom Ashby

29 November 2018

Change is a Good Thing

Many papers I have written over the years, specifically in high school, are a faint

memory. Honestly, I can’t even remember a paper or writing assignment from high school

because it was just something to half heartedly do, turn in, get a grade, and move on. My entire

school career consisted of this constant routine, over and over. However, I began to get a new

perspective on writing when I began college, and especially since I have taken a writing

compositions course. Writing went from something to get over with as quickly as I could, and

has changed into a process that has changed me for the better. I now look at writing as an

opportunity to grow. This change in perspective has changed due to changes in the writing

process. Now that I know better myself, I will implement what I have learned into my future

classroom as a high school English teacher.

As I mentioned, in high school writing was more of a task to check off instead of a

process to work through. The only writing practice that I can remember being taught was the 3.5

paragraph. I would write five paragraphs; they would consist of an introduction, three main

points, and a conclusion. I vividly remember the first time a professor looked at me and said,

“Hey, if you wanna just focus on this one idea and write about it...that’s totally okay.” It’s safe to

say, I was completely shocked when he told me this. I couldn’t think of a single paper I had

written beforehand that didn’t fit the 3.5 format. The professor went on to tell me that sometimes
it is best to focus on one really great idea because it’s your strongest point, and when you try to

talk about other ideas that you don’t feel as strongly about it diminishes what you have to say.

This encouraged me to change my writing practice from the 3.5 essay to writing what I’d like to

say and how I’d like to say it.

After taking many English courses in college, there is no doubt my writing has evolved

and the writing practices I use have as well. One way in particular my writing process has

changed is in the drafting part of writing. I have always written my drafts about two days before

the paper was due. Yes, there are times where this might be acceptable depending on the writing

assignment; however, since writing is a process, two days is not enough time in between to

revise and edit. The problem in high schools are the times that students have from the moment

they are assigned a paper, and the time they must turn it in. In college, most of the time my

professors have assigned a paper weeks or even a month ahead of when it is due. This has

allowed me to focus on my drafting. I now will “word dump” and put all ideas I have at the

moment on paper. Once I have that, I will begin the actual process of writing. I will take time to

read what I have, organize it, cut unnecessary words, have someone else read it, add new ideas,

and genuinely make it a process.

Since my writing process has evolved since being in college, how I plan to teach writing

as a future high school English teacher has changed as well. Erika Lindemann says, “To give our

teaching purpose, to justify our energies, we must believe that our efforts make a difference” (3).

I honestly do not know how I would’ve taught writing prior to my Writing Compositions course

at EKU. However, now that I have been through the course, I have a better plan in motion with

how I will teach writing. First things first, I will create a writing assignment that is relatable to

the students. In other words, I will create community engaged assignments. Laura Julier states,
“Community engagement may take many forms, fundamentally what all have in common is that

students work with a community based organization of initiative, to write for purposes that are

shaped or defined by the public sphere” (57). Instead of having students write an essay with a

prompt they do not care about, I will provide them with a writing assignment that will feel close

to their lives through their community.

I had the opportunity to see this play out in a classroom I observed during my clinicals;

the teacher took time to ask students what they felt was a problem in their community. Every

time a student said something, she would write it on the board. Once students had the

opportunity to give their input, she had them vote on what the biggest problem our community

faced. They ended up voting on the drug problem. As their writing assignment she asked

students to conduct interviews with police officers, doctors, recovering drug addicts, and people

who have known someone to be on drugs. Once they finished their interviews and found

research, she then asked students to write a letter to the county official with ideas on how to fix

the drug problem. In the end, the county judge executive came to her class and spoke. Students

were able to see that their writing mattered and could make an impact; which is exactly the kind

of writing assignments I hope to create for my future students.

After creating a writing assignment students will feel connected to or excited to start, I

will make the process just as beneficial to them as well. Chris M. Anson recognizes that “Process

pedagogy is designed to help students engage in their writing, to develop self efficacy,

confidence, and strategies for meeting challenges of multiple writing situations” (226). I will

want students to peer review and make comments on each others work, and I want to make sure

they see my comments as well. Most importantly, I want them to have time to fix their errors;

whether that be word choice, grammatical, or organization. If students are able to take time and
fix their mistakes and find the common errors in their paper, then chances are they will not have

as many the next time they write.

Last but not least, another form of writing I want to implement in my classroom is “free

writing.” Honestly, I think free writing can be apart of the writing process simply because

students can get in the habit of writing. However, if I give them moments to write for fun and not

make it a heavy stakes assignment, they wouldn’t feel pressured, or hate doing it! By doing this,

students can start to appreciate writing and notice that it can be therapeutic. Justin Askins, a

professor of English, tells us, “Free writing will get students to produce something quickly and

without much emotional turmoil. But even though free writing is productive-how else could you

get two full pages in two ten minute sessions-” (68). I wouldn’t give any stipulations on what

they write. Some students might want to write a short story, a poem, song lyrics, or even a list of

things they hope to accomplish this year. Either way, students will be writing and practicing their

skills. I would also use free writing as a way for students to notice a commonality among their

writing. In other words, if students are constantly using the same word or misplacing a comma,

then they could look back in their writing and see how often they do. This would just be another

way of helping them improve their writing skills.

After students have created their assignments and written their hearts out, my goal would

be for them to make an e-portfolio of the work they are proud of. Although this isn’t exactly a

part of the “writing process” it is still a way for students to grow and learn. The practice of self -

assessing is extremely important. If students can make decisions about their own work, then they

are thinking critically. Saliha Chelli backs this up in saying, “The Portfolio has several benefits.

For example, it promotes students’ involvement in assessment, responsibility for assessment,

interaction with teachers and students about learning, collaborative and sharing classrooms,
students’ ownership of their own work, students’ ability to think critically and excitement about

learning” (224). Therefore, I would find portfolios an essential aspect of my classroom.

Overall, I’m thankful that my writing process has changed and that my eyes have been

opened to new writing assignments. I know that as a future English teacher I will create effective

assignments, I will give students time for the writing process, and hopefully I will prove to

students that their writing matters. In the end, students will have a chance to show off the work

they are most proud of, and there is nothing I would love more than for a student to be proud of

what they are doing and feel it has a purpose.

MLA Works Cited Page

Anson, Chis M. “Process Pedagogy and Its Legacy.” A Guide to Composition Pedagogies

(2nd ed.), edited by Gary Tate, et al., Oxford University Press, 2014, pp. 212-230.

Askins, Justin1. “Writing in the Zone.” Virginia English Journal, vol. 66, no. 2,

Fall2016/Winter2017 2016, pp. 68–71. EBSCOhost,

search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,sso&db=eue&AN=1212863

18&site=eds-live&scope=site&custid=s8356098.

Chelli, Saliha1. “Developing Students’ Writing Abilities by the Use of Self Assessment

through Portfolios.” Arab World English Journal, vol. 4, no. 2, June 2013, pp. 220–234.

EBSCOhost,

search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,sso&db=eue&AN=9002503

3&site=eds-live&scope=site&custid=s8356098.

Julier, Laura, Kathleen Livingston, and Eli Goldblatt., “Community-Engaged

Pedagogies.” A Guide to Composition Pedagogies (2nd ed.), edited by Gary Tate, et al.,

Oxford University Press, 2014, pp. 55-76.

Lindemann, Erika. A Rhetoric For Writing Teachers. New York, Oxford University

Press, 2001.