The Problem with Prewriting

The Problem with Prewriting

  How many times have you heard about the writing process, seen diagrams, listened to professors as they explain the writing stages?  The steps to writing have been drilled into us, but there is a serious problem with the prewriting process; people skip it and start out with the writing stage. 

Prewriting is a crucial element in the development of good writing.  When you are assigned an essay, you should always take time to think about it, plan it, research it, plan some more, and outline your main ideas.  

One of the best ways you can break through the ominous writer's block, which can inhibit the flow of words on your screen, is to brainstorm.

                                

                 You can make a list of random ideas, a flow chart, a diagram, a jumble of sentences with possible connections.  Brainstorming can be twenty minutes of freewriting, it can be the exploration of a topic from various perspectives, it can be a list, pictures, or anything that helps you to get your creative juices flowing.  Once you have some great concepts or ideas, try to connect them, make sense of them, and explore how they can work together.   

                 After you have your topic and some great ideas, you can begin an outline.  From your introduction to your main ideas and conclusion, you should organize your ideas in a way that makes sense and flows.  This will help you to develop your thesis and to create a strong essay that keeps the reader on track.  

                 While there are many other things that should be considered in the development of a great paper, prewriting should come first.

                                                                                                            

Once Upon A Time...

While looking for inspiration on the internet for a story, I stumbled upon a gem on one of my favorite websites, Tumblr. It is an entire Tumblr page solely dedicated to providing writing prompts. Looking for ideas to write about can be difficult and time-consuming. Therefore, I wanted to share some of my favorite writing prompts from the site with you. 

 

You can look through the Tumblr page yourself using the following link:

http://writingprompts.tumblr.com/

 

Enjoy!

 

 

The DOs and DON'Ts of Writing

students3k.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/dos-and-donts-work.jpg

I recently came upon a list that described the Do's and Don'ts of writing a paper from the University of Tartu. I wanted to share this list, not because I found it amusing, but also because it seemed pretty relevant to what I see here in the Writing Center.

Here is my (abridged) version of 10 Do's and Don'ts when writing a paper:

DO be conscious that  phases of writing exist and differs person to person. One person may benefit from writing a complete introduction first while others like to dive right into the body.
DON'T go into a paper without any plan!

DO define your topic! Then refine it with a good hypothesis.
DON'T attempt to cover everything that your class has taught you within the semester.

DO collect information that is relevant to your topic and make sure you take good notes. This will make the highly feared citation process easier.
DON'T copy word-for-word from a resource. It's not cool and it's plagiarism.

DO write on a regular basis. Pace through the paper.
DON'T write the night before a paper is due or "when you're in the mood".

DO organize your arguments and explain each step.
DON'T accumulate facts without any explanation.

DO write first, correct later.
DON'T expect a perfect rough draft. It's rough for a reason.

DO realize writing is a learning process. Hence the existence of the WC!
DON'T set high standards for the first draft. It'll frustrate you more.

DO be trouble-shooting oriented when writing. Go back one phase in your writing process and re-work it until you have overcome the issue. If you get stuck ask others for advice or see us at the WC!
DON'T work through issues you have questions on alone.

DO build confidence as a writer!
DON'T be hypercritical of yourself when writing or set unrealistic goals.

To see the original list, go to http://blog.ut.ee/10-dos-and-donts-to-solve-your-writing-problems/.
-Lindsay

Thesis Statements: As Easy as 1, 2, 3

             One of the most common roadblocks in writing an effective paper is a strong thesis statement. Yes, the same dreaded thesis statement that your Professor told you to make sure you had in your paper. As a writing tutor, I very much agree with your Professor. A thesis statement is a great way to unify and “nutshell” your argument or analysis.

      Before I continue, I wanted to clarify what a thesis statement is exactly, because while your Professors may urge you to write one, they often do not explain how it should be written. Instead they may tell you to visit the Writing Center to get help from a tutor. I decided to make this learning process even easier by showing you how to write a thesis statement right here on the computer.

So here it goes…

 A thesis statement should accomplish three major goals:

1. State a condensed interpretation of the main idea of your paper (Topic)
2. Assert your position on the claim or argument your paper presents (Focus)
3. Provide the reader with a “guide” so they know what to expect from your paper (Main Points)

By reading over these goals, you might be able to correctly conclude that writing a thesis statement should not be the first step of your writing process. You may have to conduct some research, clarify your argument, and find relationships between the main points of your paper. Once you know what direction your writing will take, you can construct a “working thesis” which you will support with evidence in the rest of your paper.

All in all, while a thesis statement may appear difficult and tedious, it gets easier as you continue your research and make an opinion about the topic. The best part is that after you have worked hard formulating a strong thesis statement, the rest of your paper will become that much easier to write because you will have a distinct direction and an easy-to-follow plan.

For more detail and specific examples on this topic, you can visit the following links:

https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/545/1/

http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/thesis-statements/

Recipe for Organization

  ** Written by Lindsey Burke**

       To produce a powerful and complete discussion on a topic, we know that organization plays a key role in its overall success.  Just as in cooking, we need to know when to introduce certain ingredients so that together, everything can be cooked to absolute perfection.  And, of course, the more tasty the dish, the more “wowed” the chef leaves the audience of diners. 

            When a chef is creating an original dish, he or she might begin by composing a recipe that they expect to follow and perhaps modify along the way.  Similarly, writers can create an outline.  In academic writing, teachers often provide students with an assignment sheet that details all of the essential components that must be present in the paper.  Do not underestimate the importance of this document!  That is your list of allergies and special dietary information for your audience (after all, we know how grumpy someone can be when they notify the chef of specific necessities or requests, but the chef makes the order incorrectly and includes the wrong things).  In addition, this sheet illustrates all of the major subtopics and components of the “main course,” that is, the different foods that your teacher wants you to have on your plate. 

In your outline, you can list each of these subtopics separately (and leave some space between each one).  Try giving each of these sections a title, or try wording each one in the form of a short answer question if it makes writing easier.  Also, be careful to make sure that your list is in a logical order.  By doing this, each topic will be able to build off of the information provided in the one before it. 

Then, when you have considered each of these subtopics or main groups of food that will make up your plate, think about what ingredients are needed in the making of each item.  In terms of writing, think about how that subtopic relates to the overall subject of your essay.  How can you address that idea by using information from your sources?  Do you use any of the same ingredients in this subtopic, as you do in another?  Does that relationship mean anything? 

Once you’ve written a paragraph or two for each main component, and when all subtopics are cooked to perfection, think about an appetizer (introduction) and a desert (conclusion) that might go well with your main dish and fit nicely with the theme of your paper.  Your thesis should introduce each of your subtopics or food groups that will appear in your paper or on your plate.  Then, put everything together and serve by compiling all sections into one word document.  And voila! Bon appetit!  The finished product is a paper where nothing is over or under-cooked, and instead, everything’s developed just right.  Yet, in order to create a paper that’s well organized, it’s important to first spend time thinking about the topic and planning.  If a chef didn’t do this and improvised instead, their meal would probably turn out gross!

Writing Center "Magic"

Imagine: You have a VIP (Very Important Paper) coming up. It’s worth half of your grade; and you’re freaking out. How can your professor even give you such a task? Well, they did, so now it’s your job to DO it. So, you start writing down all of your ideas and have a pretty decent chunk done. If only you could make sure it was wonderful… Wait, you can do that, too! Take it to the CCC Writing Center!

Off goes your little baby. You drop it off and ask the Writing Doctor to do a whole body checkup. You’ll be back in an hour. Perfect!

Well…maybe not.

While that sounds great, that’s not how it works.

You see, the CCC Writing Center Consultants are trained to do magic on YOU not on your paper. Our goal is to make YOU the best writer that we can, not to produce the best paper that we can for you.

I know, I know. That’s not going to help you with your paper that’s due tomorrow. But that’s why we offer our services throughout your writing process. Consultants will be able to guide you at any point in your writing, which will help YOU to make your OWN paper the best it can be.



Now go back to that scenario: You have a VIP coming up. Whenever you have gotten stuck in a stage of your writing before, you have always come to the Writing Center and have understood what methods you could use in the future to help yourself improve in that area. Now, for this paper, you have a good portion done, and you want it to be the best that it can be. So you make an appointment and come to the Writing Center.

Now when you come in, we don’t have to focus on major issues like your thesis, audience, and organization; we can focus on sentence structure and word clarity.

Bam! Imagine that paper! It will be sparkling like an Olympic gold medal.

So, what is your job? Don’t wait to the last minute to get assistance, and be ready to take ownership of your work. Our job is to help you get there and to make you feel good about it.

Remember: YOU are the only one who has true power over your work!

Style, Style, Style...What About Writing??

Look past the style
at the writing inside

“APA Style=10% of grade.”

Eeeek! 10% of my grade is a lot. I better make sure I get the APA formatting perfect; no sense losing points for something that isn’t content related.

Is this your thought process for a paper? Well, while it doesn’t make sense to lose points on something so seemingly trivial, there is one very important point that you might be missing.

WHAT ABOUT THE OTHER 90%?!

Professors assign papers in order to test your knowledge and research skills. And while formatting is important, the content of your paper is even MORE important.

For some, writing a paper in a particular style is inconsequential; they would probably write it in a particular format anyway. But for many, writing in a style is cumbersome and hampers their ideas. Wouldn’t it be nice to go back to writing without limitations?

Here’s the good news: You can! And the only barrier to doing it is yourself.

First, work on content and research. Without these things, it is nearly impossible to write papers well. If you are well prepared to start a draft (with research and possibly an outline), the words will come much easier. The main point is to get all of your good ideas on paper, and then you can begin to mold them to create a visually appealing essay, meaning in the proper format.  

And don’t forget your bad ideas. They need to get on paper, too. (No, you won’t keep them, but if you have them written down, then the rest can be awesome because you know what you don’t want to be in the paper.)

Now, once you have your ideas down, organize. If you have an outline scribbled down (or made into a formal outline) compare it to your paper. If you’re using a word processor, highlight the main points of your essay and make sure that you followed through with what you promised the reader (your thesis/argument and main points).

NOW you can worry about the formatting. If it’s in APA Style, look at the title page, running head, abstract, keywords, headings, references, and parenthetical (in-text) citations. If it’s MLA Style, check your heading, title, paragraph layout, parenthetical citations, and works cited. If it’s CMS, check your title page, footnotes/endnotes, parenthetical citations, and bibliography.

It may be tough work to forget formatting for a bit (while you do that important thing called writing), but your paper will thank you. Writing in a particular style is just to make the paper easier to read and the information easier to comprehend/utilize. Therefore, formatting style should take second place to the information that should be understood—your writing.

So, the next time you get a paper assignment with “APA Style=10% of grade” written on the rubric, don’t panic. Get your writing done first, and then worry about the formatting. Style is important, but the 90% is even more important.