Writing About Writing

  

As stated in your textbook, part of the purpose of Writing About Writing is to give you the language and the ideas to figure out what conceptions of writing you are experiencing and which ones might be most , and what to do about that (p. 4). In that spirit, this introductory unit invites you to think deeply and differently about what you have already learned and know about writing, what some of the key concepts of WRTG 111 are, and what new questions about writing and reading you may have.

We will be exploring two writing concepts that will remain central to the course: ? that writers learn by studying writing, and ? that writers benefit from reflecting on their writing. Entering the Conversation To help you enter conversations about writing and to develop as a writer for many years to come, this assignment asks you to define and analyze a writing concept that stands https://iacademicessay.com/ out from your exploratory reading and discussion. You are encouraged to concentrate on a writing concept you believe in, are inspired by, or that has played a role in your experience so far.

Or on the flip side, you may frame your exploration to focus on a writing concept you dislike, have been confused by, or that has been an obstacle to your writing. For example, you may choose to re-think a common assumption that good writers are born that way without trying, and that some people just arent good at writing and never will be. The form your writing takes will depend on the rhetorical situation. What that means is that your choices about form will depend on your sense of audience, the concept you choose to explore, the claims you wish to make, the insights you plan to share, and the context in which your audience will be reading it.

For example, if you were to take up the concept that writers will always have more to learn and planned to claim that good writing comes as the result of practice or frequent failed attempts rather than the result of natural talent, you may choose to share such a message with other writers who lack confidence or with writers who are over-confident. https://getacademicessay.com/ And youd have to think about the best way to reach them.

Purpose In sum, this assignment challenges writers to explain a writing concept, provide examples of the concept in action, define terms associated with the concept, address common misunderstandings related to the concept, and explain in some detail how your chosen writing concept might help writers as they face new or challenging situations. Note: Writing about Writing refers to threshold concepts as ideas that transform thinking and that help to integrate and bring together many other ideas. To be an expert in a field is to understand the threshold concepts of that field. (See Criteria for Success on next page.) CRITERIA FOR SUCCESS A successful concept analysis ? Focuses consistently on 1-2 writing concepts that have emerged from reading, discussion, and experience. ?

Examines and connects ideas that come from experience to ideas that come from reading and discussion. ? Makes thoughtful claims about a writing concept and supports them with meaningful examples. ? Projects a sense of audience and purpose. ? Exceptional assignments not only maintain a consistent and thoughtful focus on a concept but also connect their experience to reading and research. They make claims, provide reasons, and use examples that help readers share in the experience and gain knowledge.

They project a very clear sense of audience. ? Competent assignments focus on 1-2 concepts and offer some ideas from readings and some connection to experience, but the integration is not as thorough. They make claims, but reasons and/or examples are not as strong. They are less aware of audience. ? Satisfactory assignments focus on 1-2 concepts but tend to think about experience and ideas from reading separately. They report information without making strong claims, and examples and reasons for their thinking are minimal.

Readers find it harder to understand the significance of the concept and experience. ? Assignments that do not meet expectations have generally left out significant parts of the analysis, either by not focusing, not connecting to the ideas in the readings, or by not supplying examples to help readers relate to the ideas.