Background

Writing is one of the activities you need to do as part of your education, and, in many cases, your profession. You have to write in school; you may have to write when you apply for a job; you will probably have to write letters, email, reports, or briefs as part of your work. Customs and manners require writing, too: you may write notes or letters to express your gratitude, sympathy, or congratulations, or to give advice. And, as a part of your everyday life, you probably text, tweet, make lists, etc.

This assignment addresses the ways you respond to writing tasks that you must do or want to do.

Topic

Describe what happens when you know you have to write. How do you feel? What do you think? What do you do? And, in detail, how do you work?

Objectives

To have you think about your individual writing process by examining your behavior and feelings as a writer, for past writing tasks and for this assignment.

To have you observe the process you use to gather and refine ideas, and to see how well you organize and express the results of what you discover.

Exploring this Topic

The following questions and suggestions provide a useful checklist for this assignment. You don’t have to respond to all of them in your paper, but do take time to consider each one as you explore your writing process.

When do you usually begin writing? Do you begin your work as soon as you know you have to write, or do you procrastinate? What do you do to delay the task?

What time of day do you usually write? Where? Describe the place, scene, or setting in detail. What kind of light do you prefer?

As you write, do you sit, stand, recline, squirm, pace, take breaks, exercise, meditate?

What pens, pencils, or types of technology and books do you use? Do you have a favorite kind of paper?

Do you eat or drink while writing? Listen to music?

How are your spirits when you write? How does your body feel? Are you tense, relaxed, nervous, hungry? Why do you feel the way you do as you write?

When you write, do you do more than one draft? How many? Do you edit and proofread? What kinds of changes do you make? Be specific.

Do you share your work with anyone? Who?

Structure

Your essay should have an interesting introduction that makes your readers eager to read on. “Interesting” does not, however, mean you need to use a “hook” or a question about your readers’ writing process.

Your introduction should end with a thesis statement about your writing process. This statement should reflect what you have learned about your process now that you have looked at it and thought about it.

Your body paragraphs should each be well organized and developed. Be sure to check for focus.

Your conclusion is the So What? part of your essay. Now that you’ve taken a good look at your writing process, is there anything you’d like to change or work on?

In your essay, use at least three quotations from Donald Murray’s chapter. Include the page number of the quotation.

Remember to take time to revise, and to proofread. Avoid using overly casual language and phrasing that belongs in texting, not in a college essay.

Length

3-4 pages, double spaced. Because you are double spacing the text of your essay, you should not double space between paragraphs.