Dear Dr. Kyburz
I appreciate the opportunity that you gave me to read the first chapter of The Allyn and Bacon Guide to Writing. I can see that it will be a useful tool in helping me understand the different options that are available to me as I fulfil my professor’s requirements in their writing assignments. Before reading this chapter I was under the impression that all essays assigned by University professors were required to be closed-form, five paragraph formal essays. It is a great relief for me to know that I will now have choices when given the opportunity to write. The last essay I have written was for my music professor, on a performance that we were required to analyze and keep to a page in length. At first I had planned on writing a five-paragraph essay including a well thought out thesis sentence, but had trouble trying to keep it within the page long requirement, I had to reassess and adjust my technique which led to a more open-formed style of writing. It was hard at first to try and find words to describe the music that I had heard but as I focused on the questions “how did this performance display a variety of timbre, tone and dynamics? And how did it make me, the listener, feel as a result?” it allowed me to balance gracefully in the middle of the closed to open form continuum. Since my teacher specified that he was the audience, it made it easy to aim these questions in a way that would be appealing for him to read and also relieved me of the added stress of explaining each musical term, which an average person might not know the meaning of.
To be honest, at the time, I had no idea that I was allowed to hand in a paper that was not the typical closed -form prose. I later accredited my good grade on the paper to the fact that my professor taught music and not writing and therefore did not know the difference. After reading this chapter I now blush in the admittance of my ignorance and embrace the fact that I am no longer restricted by my own inhibitions. As long as I understand what genre is acceptable to a particular assignment, remember to start writing with a good question in mind and focus on who my audience will be, I will be able to succeed in any request.
Sincerely,
Ali Spaulding
I'm happy to hear that you are excited about writing.
ReplyDeleteNice for being happy for writing.
ReplyDeleteI used to think that it was required to write in close form too! It's not the way I usually write, so it's nice to know that I can choose that. Being excited to write will help you write a better product in the end. If you care about something, you'll put more effort into it.
ReplyDeletehooray for choices!! i'm glad that resonates with you. of course, you need to be strategic (smart) about your choices, and that is where writing *skill* comes into play (anyone can write a draft!). enjoy!!
ReplyDeleteTo be honest I felt the same way I thought that you just needed to write the same closed-form paper. Also it sounds dumb but I always had a hard time figuring out who my intended audience was how I could relate to them. Sounds like you know exactly who you are writing to or for.
ReplyDeleteI am also relieved I do like choices. :)
It really is a relief to know that you can put more of a "you" spin on your papers and still meet the requirements! Good example with the music paper.
ReplyDelete