Blog #4: A Student Process

As a graduate student, I rarely think about my writing process because it is such an automated function in my mind. A professor assigns a reading and I annotate. A professor assigns an essay, and I procrastinate. But in my procrastination, ideas about how to write an essay are peculating in the background. I watch tv, I walk my dog, or I text my friends, and the ideas for how to perform the assignment and how to organize it are gestating in the background. But I rarely think about how my process works or why it exists in this form. The fact that we are taking our time with this literacy autobiography, boggles my mind. I am not used to going this slow, or concentrating on an assignment for multiple periods of time for several weeks on end. I think in a strange way, I am able to understand my students more because I am in their shoes. I don't find the process meaningless, but I do find it frustrating when I so used to fast-forwarding through these steps. I think by the time that students enter college, they too, are used to the fast-forward function. Students rarely think about their process, and when asked to do it, they always respond as if their feet are slogging through mud. Like them, I used to pre-write and I used write uniformly--introduction, body paragraph 1, body paragraph 2, body paragraph 3, and conclusion. "Used to" is a key phrase because nowadays I write to quotes. I write from the inside out. I come up with the evidence first and write those paragraphs first. I choose evidence that has a common thread, or unifying theme. I write my introduction and conclusion last because I reflect on what evidence I have chosen and what points I have made first and then fashion my introduction to fit these paragraphs. Unlike Weathers, who touts about the Muse and his process, I don't think any process is alike. I think that there are strategies that everyone is exposed to, but not everyone uses. I think Lindemann makes valid points in saying that while students can't articulate what they are doing when they write (24), all writers go through these stages: prewriting, writing and rewriting. I think in my own process, I do all the things I said before, but I also work with the tv on. Lately, I find it more productive if I can run episodes of "Running Man" (a Korean variety) in the background because I don't understand the language and therefore, I don't get caught up in actually watching the entire episode. I work in bed because my desk and chair are full with piles of books and other things. My back hurts, so I put pillows to cushion my back. I keep my nightstand light on even though my overhead room light is on to get a clearer picture of my screen. I have multiple tabs open. When I get bored, I browse the net and read cheap celebrity gossip. I spend a lot of time away from my assignment. When I do write, it is in short bursts and I often rewrite as I type. When I can't get the right phrasing or word, I tilt my body (I think subconsciously I believe the different angle helps me see it from a new perspective). But as the clock winds down, I work better. I work under pressure. I'm not always successful, but typically my brain and subsequently my typing become faster at making connections and putting down words on paper. I don't write carelessly because I do care about my writing and who is going to read it, but I need the pressure. But the question becomes how do we make students aware of their process? Is it merely a sheet writing down everything they do, or is it breaking down an assignment into incremental steps? Will they care to become aware? I care because I am taking this class, and I want to know how this teaching of composition works. But will students care about their own process?