Ways to Use Writing

Ways to Use Writing: An Introduction Writing can be considered the greatest time-old form of art. Writing is also a necessity in every day life - work, school, and getting around. Here are a few ways in which we can use writing for our benefit.

1. Writing to Clear Away Distractions Distractions often keep us from focusing on our work, thinking straight, or writing clearly (Elbow)

1. Writing to Clear Away Distractions Free writing is a writing technique to help clear away these distractions It's a quick outlet to express thoughts and feelings through writing It's a way to release your mind of distractions, by putting them down on paper or onto your computer screen

1a. Why use Free Writing to Clear Distractions If you can't concentrate or focus If you have writers block If your thoughts are jumbled To brainstorm new ideas To clear your mind

1b. A Guide to Free Writing Type or use a pen and paper, to just write Write nonstop for a given amount of time Do NOT make corrections Continue writing even if you have nothing to say Write whatever comes to your mind Do not censor your writing (Free Writing) Do not worry about grammar or punctuation Let your ideas flow

2. Writing to Clarify Meaning During the writing process, you can use this as a time to focus on clarifying your meaning Find the root of what you are trying to say or clarify Search for the words to describe what you really mean Be as specific as possible Clarify cloudy or vague areas Be honest Have someone inform you were they are confused in your writing Re-read, revise, and edit

3. Writing to Discover Writing always involves an amount of both construction and discovery Discover occurs simultaneously while constructing a paper and conducting research; we tend to discover and learn new things as we write Writers can only fully understand their subject after writing about it. (Perl 1979, p.331) 

             3. Writing to Discover Once we write our thoughts down on paper, we can go back, re-read and discover the meaning behind our thoughts and make sense of them

             3. Writing to Discover We're not supposed to know exactly what our writing is going to look like during the primary drafts; it is through a process of further writing, exploring and discovering that we get a clearer picture of our work(Lamott) Some discovery techniques: free writing, clustering, listing, open-ending writing, and loop writing

4. Writing to Think Deeply Almost every time we write, we engage ourselves in critical thinking—or deep thinking. Writing has been claimed to be "the most disciplined form of thinking” (Romano) As we write, we make connections between what we know and what were trying to learn (Romano)    

4. Writing to Think Deeply Using writing to think deeply is considered one of the most effective ways of learning (Newkirk)

4. Writing to Think Deeply Asking questions may be the simplest form of deep or critical thinking.  Some examples of questions to ask include: Questions that don't have right or wrong answers Questions that begin with "describe", "explain", "compare", etc. Follow-up questions Questions that have multiple possible answers open-ended questions  

4. Writing to Think Deeply Deep Thinking Skills: Meta-cognition (Thinking about one's own thinking process) Evaluation Deduction Induction (to draw out, or derive) Taking Multiple Perspectives

5. Writing to Make Sense of What We Read •It’s not always easy to comprehend what we read •Writing is a good way to jump start this lack of comprehension –Write down any questions you might have regarding what you’ve read •Questions will help you to look at the facts from a different angle or perspective

5. Writing to Make Sense of What We Read •There is sometimes a lot of information included in a text and writing helps the reader by allowing them to stop for a moment and digest the information –Write down key points or feelings you may have taken from the reading

6. Writing as You Deem Best •There is no specific way every person should write •One writing style may work for one person but may be completely wrong for another -Writing style may even change from day to day for the same person

6. Writing as You Deem Best •The key is to write the way that you feel best fits you, or even your current mood –Use a variety of strategies that you’ve learned through experience as a writer

In Conclusion... As you can see, writing we can use writing for many purposes. Writing is an introspective process and it can help us to clear away distractions, to clarify meaning, to discover, to think deeply, to understand what we read, and finally, to find how you best write. The possibilities are endless!

Works Cited  Budd, Luann. "Ways to Use Writing." Journal Keeping. 29 Sept. 2007. <http://www.journalkeeping.org/what_teachers_and_researchers_sa.htm>. "Deep Thinking Skills." (2006) <http://www.nvcc.edu/home/lshulman/learning/deepthinking.htm> "Free Writing." (1998) <http://web.mst.edu/~gdoty//classes/concepts-practices/free-writing.html>