Page 297 - Foundations of Learning, 4th Edition (Revised)

Abby on the Writing Process:

I have to admit that I have a difficult time seeing competing perspectives. That was one
of the points that the peer assessment really helped me to appreciate. The quote by
Dubus talks about empathy and how a writer has to have that knowledge of the other.
In seeing that my essay was less strong that it could have been at least partly because
I neglected to consider alternative viewpoints, I’d have to say that I MIGHT agree
with him, but this is also something I want to keep thinking about. I know I tend to
have strong opinions and that might be something that I can work on THROUGH
my writing. If I do decide to go to law school and become a lawyer, I know I’ll have
to be able to imagine all the possible alternative views, even while I try to prove MY
case. I guess that my own case and viewpoints just have to be stronger; they don’t
have to be the only point of view. (I think I might have just had a breakthrough there!)

As for the place of writing in college or in learning, I learned SO MUCH in doing the
research needed to write my essay. I don’t think there would have been any other
way that I could have learned as much and done so much thinking about what I was
learning. In writing my essay, I not only had to learn things, but I had to figure out
how all those things related to each other. The peer assessment added even more
to what I learned; I hadn’t been aware of some of the weaknesses in my “case” and
after my classmates pointed some of them out, I was able to fill in the gaps...some
of those gaps weren’t just in the paper, but were in what I knew. I guess I’d have to
say that you can learn without writing, but learning through writing is about the
best way to REALLY learn something.

LIFE VISION PORTFOLIO

A Creative Vision

Now that you’ve done some formal academic writing, here’s a chance to do something truly creative.

Choose one of the following:

• Write an article for your local paper, dated five years from today. The article is about something
you have accomplished.

• Write a pilot for a reality TV show based on your life. What will the show be about? How can you
“win” on this show?

• Write a letter to yourself, dated anytime you like in the future. Remind yourself where you are today
and tell yourself what you will have accomplished by that point. Give the letter to someone who
will send you this letter in the future.

• How would you like to write your life vision? You choose the form!

Chapter 11 — Writing in College 291