Andersen Blog #2

Continuous Pre-Writing

Both Lindemann and Hodges discuss sequencing of pre-writing techniques to make the task seem less daunting to our students. If the assignments given stack one upon the other, students will have created something they can use to write their first draft with.  By stacking the pre-writing assignments and pre-writing during the course of the writing process, the final product is a more thoroughly interrogated essay. What teachers should do is discuss the purpose of the mini-assignments or pre-writes so that the students will appreciate the benefit of the work and link the assignments together rather than simply throwing the assignment together to fulfill a requirement and get the ‘C’. We must convince them that what we teach and the ways in which we teach them have value and their failure to fully participate has consequences. I have found that in my own writing, sequenced, or stacked assignments, have been extremely beneficial and the final product reflected the additional work of the multiple pre-writes.