Elizabeth Wardle’s You Can’t Teach Writing in General
To a certain extent, Elizabeth Wardle is correct. There is no exact way to write a paper “generally.” However, it may be disagreed upon that there is no way to teach writing generally. The term “Writing Generally” can mean a multitude of things to a multitude of people. When some people hear this term, they may think this is just writing in a non-creative way – meaning you’re writing a paper without trying to portray a message or story. But there are so many forms of writing: Creative, academic, business… the list goes on!
When I first heard the term “general writing,” my initial thought was: Can’t that just mean you are writing for yourself? Then I asked myself Wait, isn’t that just journaling? So no, there is no exact way to write generally. But yes, there is a way to teach it. You can cover the main writing forms over a broad lecture and go in to more detail in each unit. It can also be taught and viewed as an “overview of writing.” I appreciate the way Wardle views her ideas so optimistically. She did not write this paper with a negative intent or connotation, but rather a positive one. She explains at the very end of her article when she says, “But this isn’t bad news. Rather, it gives writers permission to keep learning, fail, and to engage in new kinds of writing in new situations.” (Wardle, https://kean.instructure.com/courses/17660/files/folder/Readings?preview=832765)
Catherine Savini’s Looking for Trouble: Finding Your Way into a Writing Assignment
I appreciate Savini’s form of writing in this chapter. The first sentence grabs the reader in with a strong hook. It brings up a topic (Movies) that appeals to readers as relatable content/entertainment. She then relates this topic to how to approach a writing assignment. I feel when people (whether they are a writer or not) view assignments given to them regarding writing, they get that immediate writer’s block. They freeze, and are unsure of where to start. This lead’s back to Wardle’s ideas of writing generally, and is that even a thing? Can a student submit a general writing assignment, or can they try to “engage in new kinds of writing in new situations?” (Wardle, https://eng2020.chrisfriend.us/wp-admin/post.php?post=2038&action=edit) All or no ideas come to mind, and students can’t think of how to they want to approach this. I feel that the way Savini expressed her method of how to approach writing assignments is a good way to approach any issue we face. Identifying the problem, asking questions that could emerge from the problem, and asking yourself what is at stake can genuinely help someone like an over thinker or over analyzer. I think the message Savini is trying to portray here can be used really anywhere.
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