Throughout my writing career, I've always had the guidance of a teacher. However, Peter Elbow introduces the idea of letting a student write without the guidance of a teacher. He begins by introducing students to a technique known as free-writing. Free-writing is when a student writes whatever thoughts or emotions he or she may have without regard to what academia expects. Academia expects a student to have well-developed ideas, organization, and above all, the rules of grammar laid out in the paper.
Elbow believes that students should be allowed to express themselves in papers, whether it be for school or for enjoyment. Honestly, this idea first scared me because I've always been taught the cookie-cutter model for writing. Set down a thesis, write the body, and finish with a conclusion. Is it possible to write in any other way?
Now that this semester is coming to the end, I have realized that I don't need my teacher as much. I still need the guidance of my teacher now and again, when it comes to developing ideas and what not. However, when it comes to penning the ideas, I find that I have developed my own unique strategies for writing.
Posted by bvaldez1988 on December 8, 2008
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