English Composition: Discussion and Paper

Transcript: ENG101 Week 2 Video - "This thing called writing"

Hello ladies and gentlemen and welcome back to round two of English Composition 101 class, my name is Tim Goss, and I will be you host throughout this video series as we go through the class.

We talked last week how to go through the videos and I hope you had some great discussions with your instructor and classmates. I want to start with a little recap about what we did last week in terms of talking a little more about what writing is. t=Then I want to give you a deeper understating of that. Then we'll take about this week.

So what I want to start with, let's just talk about this thing called writing. Now writing is something that for some reason a lot of people think writing is a foreign thing, that is something that is awkward or unusually. But is you went through the American school system, and I'm sure it's the same in many other systems, that you spent a lot of class time doing something with writing, in terms of studying literature, learning how to write essays, all the way back to writing your name. Even so far back as, drawing pictures in kindergarten could be viewed as a form of writing

Writing at its core is communication, and that seems very simple when you think about it, but it is a piece of how we communicate and talk to each other. So one thing we talked about last week and keep emphasizing and keep in mind is that your writing is not a solo activity, even if you may sit alone where it is quiet by yourself, an exchange between your mind and your fingers. Bt it also always has an audience, there's always somebody your writing is going towards.

So we're going to talk a little more about this communication concept. Also we'll talk about how writing is expression. It is the thing that tells the world who we are, what we are about, and what we think. And it also helps tell ourselves who we are, by expressing our existence. We'll get into this a little deeper as we go along.

Writing is also action. Writing always does something, it always ask something of the reader. Whether good or bad writing, it always ask something of us, it is inherent in the language.

Writing is also in essence a technology. It is simply a means of transferring one idea to another person, be it through geographical space, be it through time, or whatever. It is simply a series of symbols that are understood by a lot of different people and therefore communication can happen.

Lastly what I want to talk about how writing is power. If you want to change the world, write. If you want to get the girl or get the guy, write. It is all about power. They say the pen is mightier than the sword. Its an idea as long as writing has been around.

So buckle up, if you have any questions or concerns when you are done with this video, be sure to ask your instructor There's the Ask the Professor board, the discussion board, and obviously you can email your instructor, and they will get back to you as soon as they can.

Ok so lets talk more about how writing is communication, As I just said, anytime you sit down to write, sit down to give a speech, or sit down to talk, there's always what we call the speaker and the audience. it in writing those things go back and forth. These are always things that are going to happen, so right now I am speaking to you and you are listening to me. And the neat thing about writing is that this can go back and forth, so as the speaker, I need to know about who and what the audience is about, and then I try and cater what I write to what the audience will be interested in and will understand.

I do this through the text, when I talk about writing. The text can be anything from the text on the iPhone or a to-do list that you are writing to yourself, with you being the audience. It can be whatever. So you've always got a speaker and audience, and in the case of written communication you have text. But you also have context, which is a way to help understand your audience. The speaker and the audience in a perfect world understand a lot of the same things.

If you write to an American audience then you both share an understanding of many things common to Americans. If you're in the military and write to a military audience, again you have common things between you the speaker, and the audience. A lot of time we call that jargon, but often it just means we know how things go within a certain context.

You are all college students, and your instructor was or may still be a college student. So you both share, or are beginning to develop, an understanding of the nature of college and getting more acclimated to it and that give us our context.

As I said any piece of writing is communication.

Also every piece of writing is an expression, the transfer of one thought of one individual to another individual. And then if you notice how I have these arrows set up they go back and forth, expression is a two way street. Again it is understanding who you are as a speaker, who the audience, is and the context. And understanding that you're not just grunting at somebody, though even a grunt would mean you are asking something of somebody, but its actually you are expressing some idea, you're stating 'hey this who I am and what I am all about' to this other person. And they in turn say the same to you, crating a conversation.

So maybe a better way to state it is that writing is a conversation. even if it is written in a book from somebody who died a long time ago, you're still having a conversation with those thoughts because everything you read will be filtered through your head and through your own context and ideas.

Another thing about writing, and I mentioned this before, all writing is action, From the very formation of the English action, every complete sentence has a subject and a verb, and the verb is the action word that tells us what happened, or will happen. And then the subject is what does that action, So every basic sentence will have that. "he ran" we understand to mean that he ran, the subject ran. All writing is asking something of somebody else. Even if it is as simple as trying to ask somebody to take out the garbage or as complex as trying to get somebody to accept your ideas on global warming.

Most of all writing is technology, and because it is technology, it is not innate. Meaning you are not born with the ability to write, rather you must learn to write. And therefore everybody has the ability to learn how to write. And this class will help you do that. We also mention in the beginning that writing is power. Let me read you something:

Writing holds within it, the most influential force on earth. It can create empires and crumble them just as easily. It can teach us how to see ourselves and our reality. It molds, shapes, and organizes our world. More importantly, the act of writing demonstrates who we are, what we think, and what we deem important.

Simply put, if you want to know about something, write. If you want to change the world, write. If you want to know yourself, try writing.

What's really important to understand about writing being power is that the better you are at it, the more power you will have. Some people call it writing with transcendence, meaning writing to become more of a person, or improve one's station. But most importantly just understand is that what we are offering in this class is the chance to engage with the ideas of others and voice your opinion and join the conversation going on in the world that you are interested in. And to be able to do something with it, to have that power if you will.

The interesting thing you are probably thinking is 'gee that's great, writing is communication and expression, it's really neat that writing is power, but what does it mean in relation to this class?'

So what I am going to go over are some rules that will help you make the most of this class and throughout your education and professional and personal life. And to just get better at writing.

1) Be yourself. Don't try and use words you're not comfortable with. It's good to push yourself and learn new vocabulary, but don't just try and impress readers. If you use the wrong word or in the wrong context it will look like you're trying to impress the audience. Some people say they write like they talk, which is not really ever completely the case, however, you do want to put as much of yourself in the writing as you can. There is an academic voice that you will come across in your courses that will be important too.

2) Take the time to get it right. Read over your work and correct any mistakes you find. Then, do it again. Peter Elbow is one of the leading voices in composition studies, which is the study of how to teach writing. he says that if you have a three page paper you have to write and you have three hours to write it in, then write it three times.

Give yourself 45 minutes the first draft. Write as much about the subject you can without worrying about grammar or punctuation. Some call this free writing. Just write it all down. Then take that and reorganize it by keeping the good things and discarding the bad things. Rewrite the essay for the second time. Now take that and clean up the grammar and punctuation, look it over and rewrite it for the third time. Do some last edits and clean up and you will have a really great essay.

The point is that rarely will your writing be perfect the first time through. Give yourself time to get it right. The great thing about this is that it takes pressure off of your first draft.

3) Keep in mind that writing is supposed to be difficult. Struggling is part of the process. Every writer I know, have every met, or have read about has said that writing is a struggle. It's always hard, no matter what level you're at, the greatest writers in the world today, struggle with writing. they pine over every word, they have trouble with grammatical things. It's supposed to be that way. The great thing is trying to find those ideas and then when you make it through the struggle you'll have a great product.

4) Start early and take breaks when you need to. Writing is not a sprint, it is a marathon. So keep that on mind. Some of the writing we will do this week are relatively small products. This week you will be writing a descriptive paragraph, relatively small. Hopefully you will spend time to make it the best it can be. As we move on in week 4 we have a bigger essay, a narrative essay, where you will tell a story about your life. That week will take you more time. As I said in point 2, it will take time to go through and drafting over and over to do a good job. So I suggest starting very early.

When you finish your descriptive writing this week, it may be a good idea to look ahead at week 4 and start thinking about what you want to write and even start some drafts. That way you will have plenty of time to rework your writing and hopefully get the grade you deserve for all your hard work.

5) Remember all writing carries a message. Before you consider an essay finished, make sure you know what that message is and check to see if you are relaying that message in your writing.

Like I said in week 4 you're going to be writing a narrative essay, essentially a story of your life, But what you are doing essentially is passing on a message in narrative form. Say you are a military student and you want to write about your boot camp experience, an essay that has been done a lot before. Definitely check with your instructor if that is a topic to use.

But if you write about that you need to remember you are trying to convince your audience through narrative form, that boot camp is either something worth doing or worth avoiding. So keep in mind that is what you are doing, you are relaying that message. If you are writing about a relationship, you're not just saying 'Hey I feel great about this relationship', but also you're saying to the audience that they too, should try this relationship thing.

6) This is really, really important. Good writing shows instead of tells. If I were to simply tell you that you should believe something or feel a certain way, Hey buddy you should vote Democrat", you're probably going to need me to show you why. To give you some examples of why voting Democrat is a good idea. Same thing if I said vote Republican, or Green party, or whatever I need to give you evidence to support that statement. You are not just conveying information, you are trying to persuade them to accept your ideas.

7) Keep in mind, you're not likely to change the world in a single essay, especially not one you will write in a composition class. Keep your ambition manageable. I don't think you're going to have a lot of problems with keeping your narrative essays manageable, if you follow the guidelines. You're writing about a very specific event. If you were to write your entire life story, that would not be manageable.

As you move on in the class, you will write a persuasive essay, where you take a position on a controversial issue. Understand that no matter what you are arguing for, keep in mind you won't change the world, so don't try. What you are trying to do is join the conversation. Take you're writing seriously, do the best you can do, but don't take yourself too seriously. I hoe that makes sense. I'm not saying you should just tell a bunch of jokes, but don't think you will reach perfection Don't try and think that this single essay, as we just put, will change the entire world.

8) A college essay is meant to demonstrate how much you know about a subject and how well you can express those ideas in your own words. That is your primary goal. remember that, do that, and do it to the best of your ability. What I mean by this is that your essay is not once again to change the world. Its not meant to be necessarily, especially in your early stages of your college career, a published work. A college essay is simply meant to show your instructor , through words, that you know what you're talking about, that you've engaged with the material, you've listened to your instructor feedback. And that you are able to express those ideas through the filter of your own life and, again as we said to join the conversation. Do it to your best of your abilities. Take them seriously. But once again don't think you can change the world.

9) If you need help, get help. Ask your instructor, visit the Writing Center, ask a friend or family member to view your work and make suggestions. Writing is never a solitary act; don't miss out on an opportunity to get feedback before the grade. Once again there is always an audience. We have a really nice Writing Center that can really help you out. They will need time, so if you're writing an essay the day before it is due, it may be too late to get help from them. They usually need at least 48 hours to process your request. So start early, especially if you are struggling, go to the center as early and often a possible. It is part of your tuition and fees so it something you can use as much as needed.

Ask your instructor. He is not here just to give you a grade but to guide you. So send an email or use the Ask the Professor board. Again you probably don't want to ask really personal things in the discussion boards or the Ask the Professor board, rather use email instead.

Seek out friends and family members that have some sort of ability to read, I am assuming, so get them to read it and if they find a point they are reading your essay and get confused, use that feedback. If some wording is awkward for instance they will point it out. One great way to use your family members is to have them read it aloud to you, so you can find those places where it seems to be struggling to make sense, you can correct those. Again this will help you get the nest grade possible because you took the time to make it great.

10) Treat this class as an opportunity to develop and hone your skills. Don't treat it as something you need to get behind you. The things you learn in this class will accompany you throughout your education and into your personal and professional life. There's a lot of classes you will take, and I am not trying to blow off the importance of the other classes, however they are about learning a series of facts, processes, things like that. Things you may or may not use in your later life. writing is something you will use everyday in your life, and certainly in every class. So this class is a place where you develop those skills and where you get better at those skills. Take it seriously. Do your own work. If you have somebody else do it, you will not learn how to write for yourself, and eventually everybody in their lives needs this. So let us help you as much as we can. This is one of those classes that is justifiably important, and I don't just say that because I teach it. While you go through this class and learn what it can do for you, you will see this as well.

11) Try to enjoy yourself. Try to have some fun with your writing.