Most common obstacles I am seeing so far
1. The essay is not about what Ascher and Staples mean, but how they make that meaning. The way that they use all the things and strategies we talk about: point of view, figurative language, diction, narration, etc. to communicate to the reader.
2. Getting stuck on writing the essay as it will be read. Start the essay where your thinking starts. If your thinking isn't ready for a thesis, then start with a body paragraph. If your thinking isn't ready for a body paragraph, then start with one way one of the authors conveys the experience. Then consider if the other author does a similiar thing or an opposing thing. Write those ideas down. It is important to have a strong opening thesis or claim in the essay; however, the writing of ideas, gathering of quotes, outlining and organizing, IN ESSENCE THINKING ON PAPER does not need to wait until after the thesis is generated. A thesis can always be edited and most often is the result of some previous writing and thinking.
3. There is no good writing, only good rewriting. Waiting for the perfect sentence, paragraph, essay, etc is very unrealistic and frustrating. It is a recursive process whereby your ideas grow and focus and the your language becomes stronger and more controlled as the work goes on. Do not hold back from writing your ideas because they don't sound good or right. Write them, read them back, tweak them. Seeing your ideas in writing is the beginning of finding out what you think, not the end.
NOTE: I just reread and changed much of this. For example, the final sentence read:
"Seeing your ideas in writing is the first step in finding out what you think, not the last step."
The "first step" "last step" was awkward. It communicated my idea, but honestly...it stunk. Changing to "beginning" and "end" is better. It is clearer. Ending the sentence with "the end" makes more sense. How would I have known this if I didn't write the terrible sentence first?
2. Getting stuck on writing the essay as it will be read. Start the essay where your thinking starts. If your thinking isn't ready for a thesis, then start with a body paragraph. If your thinking isn't ready for a body paragraph, then start with one way one of the authors conveys the experience. Then consider if the other author does a similiar thing or an opposing thing. Write those ideas down. It is important to have a strong opening thesis or claim in the essay; however, the writing of ideas, gathering of quotes, outlining and organizing, IN ESSENCE THINKING ON PAPER does not need to wait until after the thesis is generated. A thesis can always be edited and most often is the result of some previous writing and thinking.
3. There is no good writing, only good rewriting. Waiting for the perfect sentence, paragraph, essay, etc is very unrealistic and frustrating. It is a recursive process whereby your ideas grow and focus and the your language becomes stronger and more controlled as the work goes on. Do not hold back from writing your ideas because they don't sound good or right. Write them, read them back, tweak them. Seeing your ideas in writing is the beginning of finding out what you think, not the end.
NOTE: I just reread and changed much of this. For example, the final sentence read:
"Seeing your ideas in writing is the first step in finding out what you think, not the last step."
The "first step" "last step" was awkward. It communicated my idea, but honestly...it stunk. Changing to "beginning" and "end" is better. It is clearer. Ending the sentence with "the end" makes more sense. How would I have known this if I didn't write the terrible sentence first?
posted by MrGarland at 9:43 AM
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