The Context of Student Writing

1. The Context of Student Writing A CxC Workshop Jeff Cain

2. Qualifier This presentation is about the student�s mind and affect, not about the finished paper, sentences, thesis statements, logic, etc.�these are covered in other workshops. See �Workshop Notes� on the CxC homepage (Arts & Sciences ~~> CxC).

3. 1. Give yourself time to write. Start early! Try working for a chunk of time (not a number of pages) each day. Find a time that works for you. The human mind works best over intervals. Having momentum on the writing bolsters confidence.

4. 2.Find a scene of writing. Have everything you need in order to write already laid out in one place. Find out what �everything you need� means for you. Coffee, books, Post-its, music, pets, etc.

5. 3. If you don�t make a mess first, you�re not doing it right. Most people can�t start with a Roman Numeral outline. Have a mess of chaotic notes, thoughts, quotations, margin comments, lists, questions, cluster charts, post-its stuck in books, etc. Sort it out as you go.

6. 4. Don�t think until you write; write until you think. The act of writing generates ideas (possibly the most important thing to know). Use freewriting. Copy quotations and then respond to them. Plunge into the thesis (re-write it ten times). Write questions addressed to the author of the text.

7. 5. If you�re not interested in your topic, your reader won�t be either. If you�re given the option of inventing a topic, use it. If you�re given a topic on which to write, find an interesting intellectual angle. Take some risks in your writing. In college, a bored reader=a low grade.

8. 6. People like us don�t get "writer�s block." Franz Kafka and Sylvia Plath had writer�s block. We�re not Franz Kafka or Sylvia Plath. We get �I�m too lazy to write� block.

9. 7.Quit while you�re ahead. Stop writing while you�re going strong, typically at the end of a paragraph. Write the topic sentence or transition to the next paragraph and leave yourself a note or two on where it�s headed. At your next session, take up where you left off (makes starting easier).

10. 8. Good academic writing is the result of revision, not inspiration. Revise, revise, revise. There�s really no such thing as a �finished� paper, even after it�s published. If you can put an early draft aside for a day or two without losing momentum, fine.

11. 9. Own your writing. The master trope of academic writing is authority. Authority derives from reading, writing, and thinking. You can�t have authority if you�re just trying to play it safe and get a �B.� Your writing is yours, written on your authority. Own it, no matter what grade it gets.