The article “Ten Ways to Think About Writing: Metaphoric Musings for College Writing Students” by E. Shelley Reid goes into detail about the rules and principles of writing. Reid discusses the importance of the key principles she remembers and focuses on when writing, and the challenges that are often faced along with how to solve them. She understands that this is not an easy task, but that thinking about and understanding these concepts can help further your writing.
Reid provides many examples and different ways to examine situations in writing, but not all make perfect sense. One of the first aspects that Reid reviews is the principle of showing, not just telling. Within this concept, she gives two scenarios, one being that you cannot read minds, and therefore would not be able to agree with or fully grasp the meaning of the statement “some people need to learn to mind their own business sometimes.” However, I believe that Reid overlooks the generality of the statement. When someone says the above sentence, they are most likely looking for someone to empathize and agree with them. They want to feel as though what they are saying is relatable to those around them. Quite often I will be having a conversation with someone and they will make a general statement such as the previous one in order to feel understood. When going into detail, the reader, or listener, will understand the context of what the writer, or speaker, was trying to imply previously, but there is a higher chance that they will not be able to relate as much. If someone were to ask me if I agreed with the previous statement, I would say yes. However, after going into detail about why the statement was made, I would not be able to relate as much and there would be a disconnect in the conversation.
Another aspect that Reid discusses is writing while you read. This is something that I have found particularly helpful throughout college. Whether I am reading an article, or listening to a lecture in class, I have to take notes. I have found that if I am not taking notes, I am not retaining any information being presented. I tend to zone out and let my mind wander, so taking notes helps me to stay focused. This also helps to get more out of what you are reading or listening too. You create more information that is not visibly present in the original piece, and are therefore learning more.
One concept that Reid touches on is the higher and lower brain. She explains that even if you are well prepared, if your lower brain starts to take over, you won’t be able to answer a question. However, this is simply not true. Studies have shown that someone with test anxiety will perform the same as someone without test anxiety if they were both well prepared. The only time that the anxious test taker would perform worse than the regular test taker would be if they were both underprepared. While the techniques to better answer the exam question are important and can most certainly help, it is important to remember that if someone is well prepared, their lower brain will not be able to overtake their higher brain and cause them to fail to provide an answer to the given question.
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