Up until class last Monday, I never really considered drafts to be "healthy" or "unhealthy". I despise writing drafts. Throughout my entire high school career, I don't think I ever wrote one, and I prided myself on being one of "those" students who would write the outline after I finished the paper. The disucussion we had about all of this last Monday seemed almost like a therapy session for me. For the first time, I heard other dreaded AP English stories, and I didn't feel so alone. I had the same AP English experience that a lot of people in class did--I was told only one formula was correct, and if a thesis statement did not come at the very end of an introduction, the paper wasn't worth anything at all. The formula spelled out exactly how to do things, and until I came to college, it worked well for me. I soon learned, however, that I was far from an excellent writer. I still haven't figured out how to correctly write a conclusion...we were always told to summarize what had previously been said. Little did I know, it is acceptable to add in new thoughts at the end. My conclusions always bring my grades down on papers, and I still struggle to get over the block I have built for myself around being able to figure out the simple process of wrappng up a paper. I am hoping I will learn how to write one before I graduate...that's the goal, anyway. I think that's why I totally left any form of conculsion off of my draft. I always make it the very last thing I do because I dread doing it so much. I cannot wait for the day I figure out how to write a conlcusion without following the formula I was given back in high school... I'll probably throw a party with ice cream and cake and everything in celebration.
On another note...I'd like to bring to light the fact that Iowa Hawkeye Football begins this weekend! I thought I'd share this clip to get all of you excited...Go Hawks! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLBstbt8xJ4&feature=related :-)
A good reason to throw a party! Sometimes I would start my papers with my conclusion, write the paper and then go back and re-write the conclusion based upon the paper and what I learned in the process. It helped in sticky situations. I liked the exercise on drafts last week too- the the thought of the writing being "healthy". And GO HAWKS!
ReplyDeleteI remember being taught the same thing about conclusions. I had a few helpful teachers later in my high school career who encouraged us to think differently about conclusions, but it wasn't until my first semester at Iowa that it really clicked. My American Short Stories professor explained conclusions, or really the last page of a short paper as the chance to twist your paper, bringing together all the ideas you mentioned earlier, but letting them take on new meaning in combination. I don't know that I always do that, but it helped me some. Get ready to crush some Cyclones this weekend.
ReplyDeleteI hated drafting in general, although I liked writing conclusions because I thought it was one of the few chances I had to be creative in a non-fiction paper.
ReplyDeletePerhaps think of it that way (that's what I plan to tell my students). I don't buy the old- restate your ideas claim- but I believe you can sum up in an interesting fashion and leave your reader excited and wanting more.
-Alex Rummelhart
1) love the post, GO HAWKS!
ReplyDelete2) The best insight I was ever given about conclusions was this: is there something you meant to say but never got around to it, that is what a conclusion is meant to be-the final idea that isn't perfectly said until everything else has been laid out.
First and foremost, I couldn't agree more with your comment about Iowa football! Secondly, I have always struggled with some issues when it comes to conclusions. I always try to summarize the overall idea from a paper without repeating myself but my conclusions never seem to turn out that strong, so I have been in the same boat. I also was never a draft person either. Over the years I have learned that you do not always have to sit down and write out a whole draft, but just sitting down and typing out and/or writing ideas is a nice way to start a paper. When I do this, I usually come back to the paper after a few hours and am able to formulate sentences from those phrases and notes. You should try it, and in a way, you can still avoid a full on draft if you want to.
ReplyDeleteThis class is like therapy for me too. Except not for the same reasons. My high school didn't have AP anything, and I honestly didn't learn to write very well at all. When I came to Iowa as an undergrad, I had a very powerful awakening about how much I had to learn. The upside is I didn't have to unlearn anything. It is nice that we can have one big group therapy session every week...expensive therapy though...
ReplyDeleteThis class is definitely like therapy, and I see a lot of other people agree! Who knew drafts didn't have to be perfect? My problem was always when I was asked to turn in both a few drafts and the final copy - I'd write the final paper, editing as I went, and it would be fine to turn in, so I'd then write the draft. I'd cut out bits, and rearrange things to make it sound less smart, and voila! A perfect draft!
ReplyDelete