Friday, September 01, 2006
Freewrite about a time when you wrote something that you thought was pretty good, but somebody corrected it to death. How did that make you feel? What problems did they have with the writing? As you look back, how did that affect the next piece of writing you produced?
It has truly been a while since I've turned something I've written in for a grade, and I didn't do well on it. Sure, I did some writing the past year and a half for my Ph.D, but none of that was corrected to death, and I did well on all of it, although I do remember a time when Nancy Michael ripped the very, very first draft of my thesis to shreds.
I had written 20 or so pages of fluff about existentialism and John Updike. I didn't know what I was writing. It was BS, and she called me on it. In fact, she suggested I find a different advisor. This was a shock to me, and felt like a complete failure on my part.
At first, I felt defensive, and I went to her office and tried to argue that what I was writing was worthwhile, but it was a defense of the indefensible. It was crap, and I realize that now, and, in fact, I think I realized it at the time too. At any rate, it didn't take me long to realize that if I wanted to graduate, I'd have to swallow my pride, trust her, and do as I was told.
The situation affected my next writing situation greatly. In fact, this whole situation taught me a lesson about writing I will never forget. This was the first time I had been called out for something I had written. Prior to this, almost everything I had written was a joke, my writing was a game I played with all my professors. I used big words, I tried to sound smart, and I used what I knew about writing to impress, rather than communicate.
Nancy Michael didn't buy it. She taught me that I have to have a purpose in mind when I write. She taught me more about rhetoric in this single instance than I had learned about rhetoric in all my previous experiences combined. She has affected every single writing situation I've been placed in since, including this one. This situation, while difficult at the time, was one of the best gifts I've ever received and one that I will never forget.
It has truly been a while since I've turned something I've written in for a grade, and I didn't do well on it. Sure, I did some writing the past year and a half for my Ph.D, but none of that was corrected to death, and I did well on all of it, although I do remember a time when Nancy Michael ripped the very, very first draft of my thesis to shreds.
I had written 20 or so pages of fluff about existentialism and John Updike. I didn't know what I was writing. It was BS, and she called me on it. In fact, she suggested I find a different advisor. This was a shock to me, and felt like a complete failure on my part.
At first, I felt defensive, and I went to her office and tried to argue that what I was writing was worthwhile, but it was a defense of the indefensible. It was crap, and I realize that now, and, in fact, I think I realized it at the time too. At any rate, it didn't take me long to realize that if I wanted to graduate, I'd have to swallow my pride, trust her, and do as I was told.
The situation affected my next writing situation greatly. In fact, this whole situation taught me a lesson about writing I will never forget. This was the first time I had been called out for something I had written. Prior to this, almost everything I had written was a joke, my writing was a game I played with all my professors. I used big words, I tried to sound smart, and I used what I knew about writing to impress, rather than communicate.
Nancy Michael didn't buy it. She taught me that I have to have a purpose in mind when I write. She taught me more about rhetoric in this single instance than I had learned about rhetoric in all my previous experiences combined. She has affected every single writing situation I've been placed in since, including this one. This situation, while difficult at the time, was one of the best gifts I've ever received and one that I will never forget.
