Entry #6 Responding to Students Writing

After class, I was thinking about all of the different discussions we had in reference to Nancy Sommers article, Responding to Student Writing.  Initially I never really looked into this issue in its entirety.  I now realize there is much more invested in a topic such as this rather than what you only choose to see on the surface.

I personally am the type of student that never wants my paper read by ANYONE until it’s time to be handed in.  I can’t think of a specific example that in turn makes me feel this way, however I do believe that I must’ve come across some negative writing experiences to want to be so closed off from different writing experiences.

I feel as though I have grown tremendously in my writing in general as well as within the writing process throughout my time as a graduate student.  In certain classes we have used RAGS which made me more comfortable with sharing my writing because of the anonymity with this process.  I also feel as though I have been given more tools throughout the writing process to be able to grow as an individual writer and not feel so “judged”.

In Sommers article she states that written comments need to be a means for helping students to become more effective writers.  I feel as though it could only serve as beneficial to read through a student’s paper one full time before writing any comments down.  As teachers we need to make sure we are seeing the writing piece as a whole and not just word by word, sentence by sentence, or one error after the next.  If we take the time to see the writers view with a thorough read through to begin with, it will help us as teachers to know what type of information can be useful for the writer, and what they need to get to the next level.  By doing this I feel as though it will help me to not write down every little thought that may confuse the writer even more.  I have also come to the conclusion that writing is a creative process and I may write comments on a student’s paper and they may edit it and when I read it again I may still be confused.

Sommers, N. (1982). Responding to student writing. College Composition and

Communication, 33(2), 148-156.