Academic writing has always been a struggle for
me. Even writing this blog is a slow and
painful process. That’s what I think of
writing in school; as a drawn out and long process. I don’t think of it as a chance to freely
express myself, I think of it has a chance to mess up and sound like an
idiot. I guess the reason for my
struggle is because of the differences between the language required in school and the language I use everday with
my friends and family.
The
goal of any language is to help you
effectively get your point across to another person. At home I don’t have this problem. When you’re talking with a person in an
informal setting, I feel that in addition to the words you say, you can also
use other means to get your point across.
You can change the tone of your voice, use body language, use sarcasm, and you can even curse. All of these help me to get my point across
and are part of the language I use at home.
I’m not restricted by the syntax of my spoken sentences, or merely the
words I use.
I
view academic writing as restricted. It’s
restricted to the words on the paper, and the required formality. I have to maintain a serious and academic
tone, I can’t use humor to prove a point because I’m afraid that it would sound
demeaning. I feel that all the tools
that are part of language at home are
missing in an academic setting. You
also have to pay attention to the audience you’re writing to. And that can be the hardest thing to do
because you can’t physically see the audience.
I mean there’s no instant feedback to know if you’re conveying the
message correctly.
Now I
don’t mean to sound so negative when it comes to writing at school, because I’m
still able to complete the assignments.
The way I deal with my struggles with formality is to first think about
the question or prompt. After
brainstorming and getting a good idea of the structure, I begin the paper. I always worry about my spelling and grammar,
and that can limit the flow of ideas, so
I turn off the spell and grammar check on the computer. I could also just write on paper but I’m so
used to typing out my ideas. And that’s
how I’m able to deal with the struggles of writing an academic paper.
I agree Dimitri. Writing for school is definitely long and drawn out, but I look at it through a slightly different lense. I imagine the blank page as an uncarved stone block. An academic paper is like a work of art. Sometimes the art just flows but sometimes it takes a while.
ReplyDeleteI can definitely agree with your argument. At home and in other informal settings we are more comfortable with writing and communicating because we can ultimately write and talk however we want. But at school and in other formal settings we have to write and speak formally to avoid getting judged or getting poor grades on writing assignments. It does place a restriction on us because our freedom is taken away by "the rules of formal communication," which is why I would prefer communicating in an informal setting over a formal setting any day.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you 100% It is harder for me to express myself in words on paper than it would be talking to someone face to face. I think that you hit the nail on the head in the big challenge is the fact that you are not getting instant feedback like you would be face to face.
ReplyDeleteI am starting to come to the realization that for most people it is easier to communicate effectively through face to face interaction rather than through writing. It's becoming more apparent that one of the causes of this is a struggle to perfect syntax and grammar. This can be tied back to a root problem with our education system and the failure of our English teachers to develop our writing skills from a young age. GREAT READ!
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