Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Response to Chapters 8-10 of Writing to Change the World

I'm not much for original titles, even though I should be.  

I thought our last class was very successful.  There are definitely many similarities between writing and tutoring, and I think it was good to put her ideas into the context of our situation as tutors.  

In chapter eight, the author assumed her writing process would work for everyone.  She also oversimplified ideas, or restated points I consider to be "duh" points - ideas that seem obvious.  For example, our metaphors will be affected by our age, gender, social class and etc.  Everything we write will be affected by our context; even while considering our audience, we cannot change the fact we think the way our life situations have led us to think.  I also feel she wasn't very interested in writing her book.  She tells a lot about how to have good writing that will change the world, but didn't write according to all her terms.  One quote I found particularly funny was, "We need not beat people over the head with our ideas.  Readers are quick learners."  I agree completely with what she said, but I also think she does not follow that idea through all portions of her book.  There are times she stays on a topic a little too long.  There are also times I feel her title says everything for the section, the text following it is just repetition.  She also does not acknowledge that everyone has a different writing process.  I also feel like great writing that does change the world was not necessary done according to her description.  
     By the time I began chapter nine, I wondered if her definition of  "change writing" also included fiction writing, such as Animal Farm.  Sometimes I feel her structures do not open themselves to fiction writing, although many of her later points are relative to all writing.  She talks about not alienating readers, yet one time in the book she said people were "story-seeking organisms."  I find this to be very alienating.  Near the end of her section on "Insiders, Outsiders, and Connected Critics" she had a brilliant quote by Ted Kooser: "Your feelings will surface no matter what you are writing."  This is a very true quote.  I also thought the excerpt on marriage was very well written.  The difficult thing of reading this book is often her quotes and excerpts are written in a much more engaging way than the rest of her book.  
     I think chapter ten is one of her more valuable chapters.  Revising is critical, and I do not think all writers are encouraged enough to revise.  I had a teacher than had us turn the essay in, and then turn in a final draft for a grade later.  I found that I rewrote or reworked most of my essay before turning it in again.  Having the time to revise means fighting procrastination.  I think students today need help with this - all the reminders we can get!  I also think it would be useful for more professors to encourage revision by having draft deadlines separate from the final paper.  I must add one more idea to her thoughts about "Read[ing] Your Work Aloud."  It is invaluable to read your work aloud, and even better if you can get someone else's opinion.  I just think it should be stressed that reading aloud to yourself is also valuable.

Also, I want Phil's reaction to the first paragraph under "Use Your Audience to Help You Focus."

One last thing - what college campuses ban books with the "F-word"???

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