By Steven S. Kapica
Now that we’re officially going to begin the Fall 2020 semester, I want to share some thoughts about writing and digital learning. Success in a hybrid learning model requires good time management skills. Serial procrastinators will struggle. I know this from personal experience. So, as you begin classes, be sure to look at your courses schedules and devise a work plan for getting your work done. Then stick to it. The “bad” thing about hybrid learning is that you have much more control over how things proceed than in a traditional classroom setting where your instructors and professors retain most of the control (and rule the calendar with an iron fist!). When learning shifts into a hybrid or fully online mode, you are responsible for keeping track of everything and figuring out when to do your work. The (really) “good” thing about hybrid learning is that you are (wait for it) more in control of your work schedule, which means that you can work weird hours—you can make the calendar work for you (instead of having to be held to someone else’s idea of a “work week”). Make the clock work for you. If you’re a night owl, then settle in at night and work away. If you’re a morning person, then jump right in every morning, get your work done and out of the way, then go about your day. Regardless, just make sure you are keeping up with all of your work and keep a constant eye on deadlines. Don’t let things stack up. And when in doubt, email your instructors and professors. The “what” and the “how” You’ve watched my welcome video, right? No? Well, here’s a link to it again… From my video, you should know that the first-year writing sequence (either ENG 100/100L + ENG 112, or ENG 110 + ENG 112) is required for all KC degree seeking students. It is “required” because KC believes its graduates should be good writers and researchers. Actually, if you were to do a little research (ha ha), you’d discover that most (like 95% of) colleges and universities in the U.S. have similar requirements. In fact, there are a very, very few institutions of higher education that have no composition requirement at all—and even those schools still expect their students to be good writers. So you might say these courses are a necessary evil. There’s no way around them. And, frankly, as a scholar of composition and rhetoric (Ph.D.)—and as a long time teacher of writing (over twenty years)—I can assure you that these courses are worth the time and energy you put into them. (The reverse is true as well: If you don’t put much time and energy into this course, then the rest of your time in college will be an uphill battle…) I stand by these words: Becoming a really good (even great) writer will improve all of your course (and life) work. The critical/creative work of writing is the critical/creative work of thinking; the more you do it (write), the better you get at it (thinking). Writing. Research. Information literacy. These are the things you will focus on in your writing courses. And, well, it should come as no surprise that “reading” is also a major concern. You can’t have the first three without the hidden fourth. So you will read a lot, write a lot, and spend a considerable amount of time looking for things (and looking INTO things). At first, the reading and writing will be foundational—you’ll read things your instructors pick for you to read, and you will discuss/write about them. At some point, depending on your course(s) and instructor(s), however, the reading will shift from assigned reading to your pursuit of your own readings. You will do your own research and read the things you find. And then you will not only report back what you find; you will use what you find to say new and important things in your writing and presentations. Time Good writing requires an often unknown amount of time. Sometimes, it comes quickly. Sometimes you can knock out a good paper in no time. There are other times where you stare a blank computer screen for hours. Writing takes time. Good writing also tends to come from places other than the formal confines of an “academic essay,” which is to say that many writers do a lot of informal writing (like, say, posting on a blogs and discussion boards) before they start working on “formal” pieces. There is a lot of build up, a lot of writing through ideas, starts and stops, that can (and should) lead to the polished pieces that are your final, publishable essays. This is why I often use what I call “progressive assignment sequences” in my writing classes. We start with a little informal writing for idea generation. Then we take some of those ideas and explore them further (research). Then we take that research and write some more. Round and around we go until we have something worth formalizing in “academic” essays. This is what you will likely experience in your writing courses. Think. Write. Read. Write. Repeat. About that “Academic writing” thing… What are your perceptions about “academic” writing? In his chapter “What Is ‘Academic’ Writing?,” from Writing Spaces: Readings on Writing, Volume 1, Lennie Irvin writes, “Your success with academic writing depends upon how well you understand what you are doing as you write and then how you approach the writing task.” That’s an interesting statement, right? Irvin’s point is a relatively simple one: You have to know what you’re doing (or what you’re supposed to be doing) in order to write well. That might seem obvious, but as he goes on to say, “Most people as they start college have wildly strange ideas about what they are doing when they write an essay, or worse—they have no clear idea at all.” I’ve been teaching writing long enough to know this is true. Most college writers (at the beginning) have heads filled with “dos” and “don’ts” about writing. An essay should be this… Don’t do this… Something about MLA format and plagiarism… All of that “stuff” in your head, oddly enough, tends to block out the most important thing: purpose. I have two mantras that I repeat to my students in a typical semester: 1.Have a point. 2.Know your audience. Most, if not all, (good) writing starts and ends with these two things. All that other “stuff” is distraction from the simple purpose of writing—to say something to someone(s). That’s it. I could say more, but I think I’ll stop here. If you have questions what I’ve said above, or if you have concerns about your writing class(es), please don’t hesitate to comment below (things worth discussing openly), or email me at [email protected] (things you’d feel more comfortable asking in private). Good luck and stay safe! Steve
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