1.
I appreciated Anne Lamott's advice about writing. The advice she wrote that I appreciated the most was to write only a little at a time, or as she said, bird by bird. Often times when I sit down to write, I immediately feel overwhelmed and frustrated. I have so many ideas of what I would like to say that I am unable to properly organize and write them. Lamott made it clear that good writers do not create an entire piece in one sitting, which is often what I expect myself to be able to do. I think that by keeping this in mind I will feel less anxiety when I have to write.

Lamott also made the point that no writer ever has a perfect rough draft either. Along with feeling that any writing must be completed in one sitting, I often feel that a rough draft should basically be the perfect paper, with just a few minor problems. When Lamott said the rough draft is the child's draft that can romp all over the place, I had an understanding that the rough draft is just the place to put down all those ideas that are floating around.

The last point I appreciated was not something Lamott said, but rather how she said everything. Usually anything that is used to instruct people on proper writing is boring and incredibly confusing. However, Lamott made her instructions easy to understand and enjoyable to read.




3.
I really appreciate Kate Ronald's confession as an instructor that personal style is very important in a student's writing. Personal writing style is certainly just as important as proper grammar and composition because style is what makes a piece interesting and enjoyable. I believe that studends can become so preoccupied with making a piece of writing technically correct that very easily the reason that the topic is important gets lost. Writing can become mechanical sounding, rather than sounding like one person telling something to another.

I agree with Ronald also in the idea that students are usually expected to be absent from their writing, and just present facts with no personal influence included. In nearly every course I have taken, this is what I have tried to accomplish. However, Ronald makes it clear that this lack of personality is not always necessary. In reality, the presence of a personal voice makes the writing more understandable for the reader on a very personal level. For example, Ronald's example about the girl writing about her grandmother affected me deeply because I was reminded of my own grandmother. I am sure I would not have had the same reaction if the information was presented in the form of data gathered from text books.

Blog Response 1

1. Good writing is that which people can easily understand and enjoy. Good writing must clearly inform a reader of what the point being established is and provide several examples that back up the point. The writing must sound simple enough that the reader does not feel overwhelmed, but not so simple that the reader feels spoken down to. Good and correct grammar, punctuation, and spelling is also necessary for writing to be good.

2. The way to become a good writer is to practice often. If a person writes often about many different subjects, then his or her writing will evolve and become better. The writer will develop a personal writing style and will also feel more comfortable and confident with everything he or she writes.

3. When writing, I often have questions about citing work and knowing when to use supprotive evidence. I also question the correct use of punctuation in what I write. After I finish writing, I never know whether what I have written will be interesting enough or clear enough for a reader to follow.

4. The easiest part of writing for me is developing ideas and deciding upon a main claim. However, one of the hardest parts of writing for me is clearly presenting my main claim and supporting it with evidence. I also have difficulty citing materials in what I write.