Writing as a Process

Reading Chapter 12 and 13 on how to write a synthesis essay and a classical argument, I feel it’s very important to help students break down the writing process into small steps so that academic writing does not seem too formidable. To do that, I’ll need to design my syllabus in such a way that the students are given enough time to tackle each step for every major writing assignment. Hopefully it will not only demystify academic writing but also help them form good writing habits (that is, writing with moderation and constancy—Boice).

But everything may not work out as well as I hope. With myself as an example, after writing academic essays for years, I still do not enjoy doing it. Even though there’re moments of excitement and even fulfillment when I see things suddenly connect, academic writing has always posed as a task rather than an adventure for me. That is one of the main reasons that I do not feel confident teaching college composition. With that said, I also understand the concept that you learn as you teach. Teaching itself is a learning process. Maybe as I try to make academic writing less dreadful to my students, I’ll also learn to think of it less dreadful myself.

But it’s really not about me. As a composition-instructor-to-be, I should probably put my personal interest or disinterest aside and do whatever I feel is best to make the students learn. Learning to write an argument essay is quite essential if they want to continue their higher education, so I don’t think I can avoid teaching them that. The Allyn & Bacon Guide provides pretty clear formulas and effective examples. My task then is to present such formulas to the students in even simpler and easier-to-understand terms. Even though my personal attitude towards formulas is ambivalent, I recognize that beginning writers would need to know them to start with.