Identity is certainly an important topic of discussion, especially in a college class. I can agree with Raimes that many of us are trying to “find ourselves.” She makes a good point in saying that we do not find our identities in isolation, and it is true also that we do not find them instantaneously. Self-discovery takes time and the influence of many things, including good writing.
Reading further, into her instructions for critical reading I still can’t say I disagree necessarily with what Raimes is saying, however, I felt almost as if I were wasting my time. We, as students, have been told to reread and jot down notes as we go for years. Looking words up in the dictionary that one doesn’t know should be common sense. Questioning the meaning of a piece of writing and reading it carefully should be like second nature for those of us in the age of blogs and online news, as well as suggestive advertisements and so on.
As for the writing process, we have been instructed an uncountable number of times to brainstorm, research, outline, revise and proofread our papers. The writing process should practically be encoded in our DNA by the time we reach this college course. I don’t think that Raimes needs to take the time to explain this to most college writing students because most, if not all of them, should know how to read critically and to write and revise already. Whether the students follow those steps that have been branded into us in every English class since grade school is their choice.
Reading further, into her instructions for critical reading I still can’t say I disagree necessarily with what Raimes is saying, however, I felt almost as if I were wasting my time. We, as students, have been told to reread and jot down notes as we go for years. Looking words up in the dictionary that one doesn’t know should be common sense. Questioning the meaning of a piece of writing and reading it carefully should be like second nature for those of us in the age of blogs and online news, as well as suggestive advertisements and so on.
As for the writing process, we have been instructed an uncountable number of times to brainstorm, research, outline, revise and proofread our papers. The writing process should practically be encoded in our DNA by the time we reach this college course. I don’t think that Raimes needs to take the time to explain this to most college writing students because most, if not all of them, should know how to read critically and to write and revise already. Whether the students follow those steps that have been branded into us in every English class since grade school is their choice.
Yes, as we discussed in class, "the" writing process is a decidedly individual practice - no two are exactly alike.
ReplyDeleteALSO: other readings will not be so repetitive : )