The Drafting Process

Drafting:
When writing a paper, there are many helpful steps to accomplish. One is selecting a topic; another is putting your thoughts down on paper. Each time you think of something to put in the paper, you are drafting the paper. One of the many definitions of “drafting” is “writing a first version to be filled out and polished later”. That is exactly what you have to do. When you draft a paper, you are expanding on your thoughts, outlining what you want to say with the paper. You are trying to fill all the requirements for the paper, while trying to tell a story. If you are drafting a paper, you are writing several versions of a paper, each draft being better than the first.

You would not, for example, just turn in a major paper with only your first thoughts as the completed paper. You make the paper better by finishing what you began to say, by filling in details. When you write an essay in class, like the response essays, you are writing without having all the details about what you could write. You are writing it without drafting because you have only one chance to write your thoughts. You don’t have the option of coming back to finish what you say. A paper is going to be left hanging or unfinished if it is written without the writer having the chance to complete the drafting process. This is why completed papers have the potential of greatness; the drafting process allows you to say something, and have it be exactly what needs to be said.
--Simmons

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Writing should be done as a process. It takes time and working through mistakes really have a "finished product." I really like writing in drafts and being able to revise them. Having input from others helps to make you a better writer and realize what your strengths and weaknesses are. It also helps you to grow as a writer and realize what strategies you should use to approach writing a paper, and which ones you should try to stay away from. I feel that writing in drafts is much more effective than having to write just a "cold" essay. I know that I personally feel pressured and mess up my writing much more when I know there is a time limit or that it is my only shot at writing the essay. I don't feel that writing done in time limits or at one sit down is a good reflection of what that writer really might be capable of. I prefer writing in drafts and getting to critique my own work as well as having others give me their input about my work. This is really benificial in the long run and helps me to grow as a writer much more efficiently than sitting down and writing multiple papers and essays and only having one shot at them. -- Kave

Reading Around The Table: Peer Review

I believe that peer review, whether formal or informal, is an important factor in the process of editing and revising work. Although a peer does not actually grade the work, they have an outside viewpoint that does not have a connection to the work they are reviewing, whether emotional or otherwise. Peers also, on the other hand, have an insight to the work they are reviewing, as they are most likely doing the same work themselves and they are able to accurately tell what in a work is correct or not. Peer review is habitually helpful and should always be used before officially completing a work.
-Boone

We Don't Really Have To Respond To This...Right?

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Participation in Class Participation is important for a class of a smaller size. In order for the class to function properly the students must get involved with the discussion. The thing about it is many students don’t like to participate in class. I personally think there are many reasons for this. Many students don’t feel comfortable talking in front of people they don’t know that well. I can say from past classes that normally as the class goes on in the semester people get more comfortable talking in front of fellow classmates. Also many kids are not morning people and are just not functioning at 9:30. This is defiantly a factor when talking about participation because most students are just not in the talking mood at that time. Another thing to look at is the students themselves. Most of the time it always the same students participating either because they are more interested in the topic, or know more about the subject, or are just more comfortable talking in front of others. Normally it doe s get to the point where a good portion of the class is working together and the class is not forced to talk by the teacher. --Cowan

Multiple Literacies? Or Humanities B.S.?

I think that there are multiple definitions of literacy. I do not
think that it applies to just the reading and writing aspect. I think
that it can be applied to other subjects like chemistry and math,
computers and there are an abundance of other things that it can
pertain to. One of my friends who is a journalism major exemplifies
this exactly. My friend is a journalism major because she is an
excellent writer. She also can understand things in literature that
most people do not. If she had to take any sort of chemistry or upper
level math class she would probably die. She has told me several
times before that she would fail miserably if she was any type of
class like that. She does not understand numbers and symbols used in
math or know the difference between reactants and products in
chemistry. Her brain sees figurative language and underlying meanings
in literature. This is why I feel that literacy can pertain to many
different things.
-Cordonier

So What About Those Banking Educators??

My reaction to the Freire article was that it was very truthful.
It brought up alot of topics that have been looked at as unimportant.
Knowledge is a very important tool in which everyone should be able to
use. No one should be held back from learning. Each and every person
has their own voice and should be able to use that voice.
As we talked about in class alot of college professors use the
Banking model of teaching. I have had a few classes that have used this
model. I am a person who learns better with more interactive learning
such as discussions, labs, and activities. I am not saying that I cannot take good notes but if I am not understanding what they are saying then the notes are not going to help me. I do not think that it is all the Professors fault. I think that some of it is because we the students are afraid to use our voice.
Why do we have this fear to use our voice in situations like
these? I think this fear has been slowly put into us by the information
we recieve. Just as we are told to obey laws and rules we are also told
to obey anyone of authority, but what if we know that the person who
has authority is wrong?
It is my philosophy that we are all Americans and we have the
Freedom of Speech. We should always use our voice. It is what sets us
apart from everyone else. It is what make each and everyone of us an
individual.

-- Stoller

I really felt Freire’s article was right in the way many teachers and
students interact. The banking system is obvious to see when you look
for it. I don’t think anyone can really say they have never been
treated like a container. We are all led to retain information for
just long enough to regurgitate it onto a test or quiz at some point
in time. I find these in my classes. Lectures have to be the worst
of this. You are forced to silently listen to what is said, take notes,
with no interaction at all. In many cause I think the professors
wouldn’t even care if you slept as long as they are not interrupted.
The only solution for these problems would be communication. This
would be communication on both ends. A place where ideas and thoughts
are shared would be necessary. If the students could experience what
they are taught and teachers would even allow themselves to be taught
from time to time.

-- Gorrell

Welcome!

Welcome to Generation Back Talk: that's you!

When I was little, the older folks always said that if you disagreed with those in authority or always had something "smart" to say that you were "back talking." Well, I think there isn't enough back talk these days. One of the goals of a college education is to help you find your "voice" in the world and to develop your critical thinking skills. But too often it seems that students don't take charge of their own learning, or that they sit and wait to be spoon fed what they think are the right answers. I wonder if that's because you haven't yet found a comfortable medium for your voices? Or maybe you're just concerned that you don' t have the "right" thing to say? What will you say, I wonder?

This is your space to discuss the topics we are covering in class. While I'll always give you a prompt to blog on, feel free to jump off of conversations we've had in class, something interesting that caught your eye in a reading, or past experiences that seem relevent. The goal of this blog is simple. We are trying to create a community of writers and thinkers by providing you with an alternative way to discuss the "life of the mind". While the writing we will do here is very informal, I encourage you to still take it seriously.

It is your voice, after all. And no one can really silence you but yourselves.

-- JG