Pre-Writing

The prewriting techniques that we’ve been using in developing our literacy autobiographies are helpful in generating ideas. I originally had my mind made up about what I was going to write about in my literacy autobio but now I have so many directions that I can take that it’s difficult to narrow it down. Everything seems important. Although I can tie everything in, I run the risk of being too detailed because it keeps going on and on which makes me think I should just go back to writing it the way that I initially planned.

As I complete the invention exercises, I am continuously led in different directions and recollect more and more experiences that are significant to my growth as a reader and writer. Although my early experiences gave me the foundation that I needed, my later experiences provided me with essential tools to become a better reader as well as an effective writer. Each phase of my literacy development has led to more progressed literacy skills with no single event or experience deserving credit for who I have become today. This is where composing my literacy biography becomes difficult. By including all of these events, I feel that I am providing too much information. However, by omitting portions, I feel that I am not being true to myself by discounting my development.

I think prewriting is a great starting point because it helps students plan an map out their rhetorical goals before getting caught up in producing a piece of discourse. Invention exercises are very helpful, but it definitely varies. In a classroom with students who have difficulty coming up with ideas, these invention exercises are a great tool. However, for students who have a fairly easy time developing their thoughts and mapping out their writing, too many invention exercises may seem a waste of time or even overwhelming.