One of the very necessary components of graduate school is the writing of the papers! Though they all have various titles & topics, they require the following:
First, the writer (me) must READ.
Then, the writer (also me) must THINK.
Next, the writer (me again) must PLAN.
After, the writer (a little tired now, but still me) must WRITE.
Also, the writer (yes, me) must REVISE.
Finally, the writer must EDIT.
HOWEVER, eventually all of the above steps get jumbled, rearranged, and if I expected to just follow the checklist and be done, I'd be very disappointed.
Writing isn't a procedure. It isn't like the directions on the cake mix box. Sometimes the writing mix calls for more thinking, less planning, and a bigger spoonful of revision.
Why can I speak with some assurance about baking a cake? I can do so because I have baked a cake before! How would I know about writing? It's because I have written before!
No matter how much I read about HOW to bake a cake, or listen to someone TELL me how to bake a cake, I won't KNOW how to bake a cake unless I BAKE myself.
It's the same thing with writing. The act of writing itself (by me, the teacher) helps me write better and better each time and helps me understand my students' needs as writers. What does your story need? A little more flavor! (Details) How can we make sure the sentence is just right? Work with it some more because it's not done! (Needs to bake some more.)
Another interesting note: when I follow the cake mix directions, I--for the most part---- get a cake that looks the same every time.
(But when I follow my own unique writing process, I never know what I'll get!)
I actually used this very analogy at the beginning of the year when discussing the writing process with my 4th/5th graders. I brought in all the "supplies" for a cake, and at the end of the lesson, we all had (store bought) snack cakes :)
ReplyDeleteMaria@novalibrarymom.com