Paper #3
Is This Writing?
There are all kinds of writers: fiction, non-fiction, memoir, technical, creative - the list goes on. But what about the people who keep journals, or write comic sections in the newspapers? Aren’t they considered writers, too? I would say that they are, but I also know that there are those who would argue against that opinion because those are not “formal” types of writing.
In an academic setting, formal writing is associated with good writing. But the question becomes, what is good and bad writing, and who decides? Is it only based on formality, or are there other aspects involved? I think these are questions that many people, particularly students, try to find an answer to. I think professors have a lot of power in this area, since they are the ones who assign and then grade our papers. I feel like they have conventions that they are looking for, which usually differs from teacher to teacher. I have learned that one of the ways to be the most successful in writing is by adapting to a teacher’s individual preferences. For instance, I have had professors who do not like the use of adverbs, contractions, first person, etc. And there are others who prefer some of these mechanics, because they individualize and define a person’s writing.
Altering my writing techniques somewhat to conform to a teacher’s specific style has become imperative in order to receive a high grade. Professors have their own ideas about what they believe is right and wrong in writing. In high school, for example, we were taught about academic writing - how to write research papers, how to think critically about writing, how to respond to another piece of writing, etc. In English 101, it was the same thing. It wasn’t until I got to Writing Process that I was taught about something other than “academic writing.” There is such a thing as a voice other than the teacher’s, and it’s okay to experiment with different writing styles.
Freewriting has also been encouraged in this class, as a way to get initial ideas down on paper. In his book Writing Without Teachers, Peter Elbow discusses the process of freewriting. It was a term that I had heard of, but never actually had experience with it until this semester. The rules are simple: write for a certain amount of time, without stopping, to get your ideas down on paper. I feel like that process is more common sense than others, because it allows for the flow of ideas as they come, not starting with the “finished product.” And yet, I had never experimented with it before this class. So many times in high school, for instance, we were given a paper topic and then told to write out some sort of sentence outline in a certain amount of time, and then it was graded to make sure we were on the right track. Most of the time, I got a zero on those assignments, because I never had anything written down. I have some sort of processing learning disability, and it takes me a long time to articulate my thoughts - spoken or written. It was for this reason that I was so relieved when I learned that freewriting was acceptable. I am able to get out ideas that I didn’t even know existed, and if they don’t make a lot of sense at first, that’s okay. You have to start somewhere, right?
Freewriting has also been helpful to keep my true voice in my writing. Unfortunately, I think that it is ingrained into us from a young age what “good” writing is, and freewriting is a newer method that is not widely accepted. I don’t really blame my teachers, because they were taught the same thing. But conforming to their writing styles is expected, which also contributes to the lack of voice in most of my writing. Since my papers were always edited by my professors, it was their voices that wound up coming out of the paper, not mine. Freewriting has shown me that letting my own voice come through in my writing is acceptable and a way to make a piece my own. This is easier in a more personal piece, of course, because you are able to use your own examples, but it is still possible in academic papers, too.
In his article “A Problem with Writing (about) ‘Alternative’ Discourse,” Sidney Dobrin discusses the idea of a hybrid discourse, which is an academic discourse combined with a new or alternative discourse. However, while he argues that all discourse is hybrid, he also argues that it is academic at the same time. I don’t completely agree with this statement, but understand where he is coming from. From the time we are young, we’re taught about writing, but are constrained by the “academic” aspect of it. For instance, one could argue that writing a paper for an English course in Black Vernacular English instead of “standard” English is an example of a hybrid discourse, because it is combining a speech style that is characteristic to a group of people with the academic aspect of it being a college paper. But unfortunately, that is probably an unacceptable way to write in many academic setting, because it is not considered “formal.”
For reasons like that, I have always struggled with the idea of alternative writing styles. I’m not very creative in the first place to come up with one, but I think that I would be too scared to try anything extreme in the first place. Because what happens when a teacher doesn’t see it as trying something new, and instead thinks of it as not completing the assignment correctly? I don’t think it is something that is very widely accepted. I have never really been able to experiment with different writing styles other than the standard “academic” for fear of receiving a bad grade.
This “bad grade fear” extends past the traditional classroom. For example, in Prince William County, where I attended high school, we were required to write a research paper in eleventh grade. It is a really big deal, because if you don’t pass, then you are not eligible to graduate; and you have to keep revising the paper until you pass. The papers are sent out somewhere to be scored by “professionals” of some sort who evaluate the paper based on your thesis and supporting research, style, mechanics, and the classic format of an intro, three supporting paragraphs, and a conclusion. We never even saw our papers after they were sent out; we just received our scores. But who are these people? I know that they have been trained in what to look for, but are they writers themselves? Teachers? Graduate students? If these scorers are fellow writers, I think they should understand the fact that everyone who turns writes this paper is conforming to an unnatural writing style, and is restricted in so many ways. And this of course affects the final product because the writer is not present in the paper as a person with a voice, just a generic writer.
This might sound like a stretch, but I think of writing with my voice as a sort of alternative writing style. Throughout high school and college, I have never had experience with the concept of voice; I have always been required to integrate so many quotes that my papers sound like someone else wrote them or have had to edit my papers specifically to a professor’s suggestions. Either way, my voice has always been lost along the way to the final paper. Elbow’s concept of freewriting has shown me that I have my own ideas and a voice to go with them, and it is acceptable for both to come through in my writing. And this doesn’t mean that “good” writing is not presented; rather, it makes the final product personal, and the writer is heard in his writing.