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English 830: Teaching Composition — The Power of Writing

Time to Get Writing!

You can’t learn to write without writing. A textbook won’t teach you how to write. A teacher won’t teach you how to write. You learn to write by sitting at the computer or with a piece of paper and putting down the words, one after another. Writing makes you a better writer. And the more you write, the better you get.

There, you’ve just learned the most important idea for ENGL 830. Have your students do lots of writing, and they will become better writers.

So today, we are going to work on doing a lot of writing. I hope you will enjoy this writing activity and that it will help you think about the importance of having composition students actively write.

Required Materials and Tasks

  • A nice journal
  • We will be doing a lot of journal writing this session
  • While you could type your journal entries on your laptop, I have envisioned this activity as a very embodied writing experience which is likely to be enhanced physically by writing long hand
  • You’ll want to bring your journal with you to class every day

Class Activities

Act 1: Opening (1 hour)

Part 1. The Dissertation Journey (2 minutes)

  • The dissertation is a journey, so you don’t know where it will take you
    • Enjoy the journey, not just crossing the graduation stage
    • Every journey is transformative

Part 2. On the Journey (20 minutes)

Part 3. The Pedagogical Journey (10 minutes)

  • Experience is as important for learning to write as reading about writing
    • In most graduate classes, reading will be privileged
    • In this class, writing will be privileged
    • Your experiences, and your stories, define what you think about writing as much as anything you read, in fact, I would argue they shape your views and your pedagogy MORE than what you read
    • It’s important to unpack those beliefs so you can understand them yourself
  • We will also work on giving you language to talk about your pedagogy
  • While you don’t need to have one focused pedagogy, being able to talk about a focused pedagogy makes you more effective in job interviews
    • Just talked with an alum who was asked in an interview about her favorite assignment
    • She said it was a hard question to answer
    • I said there is a correct answer for the job interview

Part 4. A Breathing Exercise (5 minutes)

  • Embodied pedagogy can help deal with the stress and anxiety we talked about on day one
    • Dr. Pagnucci will lead the class through a breathing exercise

Part 5. Journal Writing A: The Dissertation Journey (25 minutes)

For this activity, you will be writing in your journal 4 times for 25 minutes at a time. There’s no need to rush. In fact, I want you to slowwww down and enjoy this writing. Don’t worry about the time. We have plenty of time to write today.

This is meant to be an interesting and fun activity. I hope you enjoy it.

  • For today, I would like to use our first journal writing to reflect on your dissertation journey
    • Why are you taking this journey?
    • What mountain do you hope to reach?
    • What are the obstacles you fear will be on the journey?
    • How can you get past those obstacles?
    • How have your past travels prepared you for this journey?

Part 6. Small Group Discussion (15 minutes)

  • Talk about what you wrote
  • You don’t have to share everything
  • See what common ground emerges
  • Talk about what the process of writing was like

Part 7. Full Class Discussion (15 minutes)

  • A Speaker from each group will share some thoughts from the group

Intermission 1 (10 minutes)

Break (10 minutes)

  • We’ll take a short break

Part 8: A Little Music for Starting Your Journal (5 minutes)

  • This a song about keeping a kind of diary
    • In this case, the “diary” the singer is talking about is actually her!
    • She is being a “diary” for her lover, telling him he can safely share his secrets with her
    • It’s an expanded idea of keeping a diary, but it’s a good song and works pretty well for our purposes
  • A diary and a journal are not exactly the same thing, but they are close enough for the moment
  • And, because the song raises the issue of safety and secrecy when writing, this is a good moment for me to stress that while we will be sharing thoughts from the journal writing you do this session, you will get to choose what to share and when to share
    • Dr. Pagnucci will not be reading your journal
    • Your classmates will not be reading your journal unless you choose to share something with them
    • It is always ok to say, “I’ll just do a general summary of what I worte,” or to even say, “I would prefer not to share this journal entry”
  • With that said, I hope you enjoy this song from Alicia Keys’ album, The Diary of Alicia Keys

Part 9. Journal Writing B: The Good (25 minutes)

  • Again, I want you to write for 10-15 minutes for this part
  • Think of something positive
  • I want you to focus on something that is really good in your life
  • Something that makes you happy and brings you joy
  • Write this positive thing down
  • Spend a little time describing this positive item and why it is a good part of your life
  • What other good things flow from this positive part of your life?
  • How does this give you strength and encouragement?
  • When you are done, mark this positive thing in your journal
  • You might want to put some stars or circle a heading for this part; do whatever you need to so you can find this item in your journal later
  • Any time you feel stressed or lost, I want you to return to this page in your journal and read it to give yourself some positive energy

Part 10. Take a Pause (5 minutes)

  • I want you to enjoy this writing experience
  • So pause
  • Stand up
  • Stretch
  • Take a few deep breaths
  • Look around and drink in your environment
  • Sit back down and close your eyes for a few minutes
  • Take some more deep breaths and listen to the space you are in
  • I’m asking you to pause to keep you from feeling rushed
  • You have plenty of time, so pause long enough to refresh yourself
  • Then, when your ready, go back to writing

Part 11. The Pomodoro Technique (5 minutes)

  • Write in short bursts
  • Set a time to write for 25 minutes
  • Stay on task during the 25 minutes to get into a writing flow
  • Take a 5 minute break at the end to renergize
  • Good for dissertation writing
  • Developed by an Italian law student using a cooking timer for tomatoes
  • Try to do 4 pomodori in a row for longer projects

Part 12. Small Group Discussion (15 minutes)

  • Talk about what you wrote
  • You don’t have to share everything
  • See what common ground emerges
  • Talk about what the process of writing was like

Part 13. Full Class Discussion (15 minutes)

  • A Speaker from each group will share some thoughts from the group

Intermission 2 (10 minutes)

Break (10 minutes)

  • We’ll take a short break

Act 3 (1 hour)

Part 14. Journal Writing C: The Bad (15 minutes)

  • This time I want you to write for 15 minutes
  • Obviously not all our thoughts and writing are positive
  • We all have worries and concerns to deal with, so let’s spend a little time on them
  • I don’t want these to overwhelm you, though
  • That’s why I had you write about something really positive already
  • That is meant to give you strength as you face the tough stuff
  • So here we go…
  • Write about any worries, concerns, or fears you have
  • Doctoral students also sometimes suffer from imposter phenomenon (formerly called imposter syndrome); this is the fear that you aren’t good enough to be in the position you are in or, in this case, a doctoral student in the CAL Program
    • If you are feeling this concern, please write about it
    • A lot of people have this worry
    • Dr. Pagnucci had it when he went to graduate school, too, and in his first job, and sometimes, even now
    • You are not alone
    • I’ve included an optional reading at the end of this page that offers more information on imposter syndrome (it’s interesting, but I would read that later; for now, keep working on the journal writing activities)
  • One way to help students resist imposter phenomenon is to reinforce and support them with positive messages
    • So, I want to say to you, very clearly, that you deserve to be here!
    • The CAL Program is very selective and we only admit students we believe will be successful in completing the Ph.D.’s
    • Let me emphasize, then, that you belong here, we want you here, and you are going to do well here
    • You are here for a reason
    • Feel free to write that in your journal!
  • Getting all these stresses down on paper can give you some valuable perspective on them
  • True, writing about your worries won’t solve them all, but maybe it will ease your mind for a few minutes
  • Your worries are down on paper, now, so let them go, at least for a little while
  • Give yourself a break

Part 15. Shake It Off! (5 minutes)

  • Ok, let’s get rid of some of that negative energy that is tied to our worries
  • Stand up
  • Shake your arms and breathe away that bad stuff
  • If you don’t want anyone to see you shake your arms, then do something like press your hands together
  • Or walk away from your table and just breathe a little
  • That will help
  • Get rid of the bad thoughts
  • Yes, they aren’t gone, but you can push them away for a little bit; I give you permission
  • Get a drink of water or something if you can
  • When you are ready, and you feel your head is a little bit clear again, sit back down for the last writing activity

Part 16. Mini-Research: A Favorite Quote (10 minutes)

  • Before you do your last journal writing for today, I want to have you find something good to help further offset that negative stuff
  • So, I want you to record in your journal one quote that is important to you
  • This can be a quote you love, from a book or a movie
  • It can be something inspirational or spiritual
  • It could be something about writing or teaching
  • Whatever you want
  • If you know the quote you want to record, just write it in your journal
    • Also record the name of the person who said the quote and the page/date if you can get that information
  • I might as well share one of my favorite quotes since we’re on the subject
    • In case you don’t know already, I love superheroes, and here’s a great quote to show you way:
      • Peter Parker: “Whatever comes our way, whatever battle we have raging inside us, we always have a choice. My friend Harry taught me that. He chose to be the best of himself. It’s the choices that make us who we are, and we can always choose to do what’s right.” (from Spider-Man 3)
  • If you don’t have a favorite quote or can’t remember it, spend a little time researching online to find a good quote
    • While it can be quite enjoyable reading inspirational quotes, I don’t want you to spend forever doing this, so limit yourself to about 15 minutes if you are searching for a good quote
  • Once you find the quote you want, record it in your journal
  • You should mark this quote in your journal
    • Put a box around it or stars or highlight it with a special color
    • Do something so the quote is easy to see and find
  • Once you have your quote recorded, you can move to the last writing task

Part 17. Journal Writing B: The Power of Writing (15 minutes)

  • Read your quote one more time
  • Then start writing about whatever that quote brings to your mind
  • Again, just freewrite (stream of consciousness writing)
  • Use your writing to think about why this quote is so meaningful for you
  • Spend about 15 minutes writing this last part
  • When you feel you have reached a good stopping point, put down your pen and close your journal
  • Smile (yes, smile, it’s good for your body!)
  • You’ve done nice work
  • Pat yourself on the back (for real, if you would like!)
  • Tomorrow I will have you re-read your writing and reflect upon the experience, but for now, let’s just have you finish your day with one more song

Act 4: Closing (10 minutes)

Part 18. The Power of Journaling

Journals can…

  • Capture and clarify our thoughts
  • Crystalize our thinking
  • Create a record of our history
  • Help us record ideas we want to remember
  • Help us release our fears
  • Help us reflect
  • Help us share our thoughts
  • Energize us
  • Let us see how we’ve grown over time
  • Reference: Fulwiler, T. (Ed.). (1987). The journal book. Boynton/Cook.

Part 19. Class Wrap-up (5 minutes)

  • Dr. Pagnucci will take time to go over course assignments and answer any questions

Part 20: A Little Music to Close the Day’s Journal Writing (5 minutes)

  • Here’s a great song to wrap up this activity
  • After you play this song, you are done
  • Video: “Write About Love” by Belle and Sebastian
    • I didn’t ask you to write about love, but Belle and Sebastian say it’s the answer to all our woes
    • And it’s a fun song even if you aren’t in love
  • I’ll see you tomorrow!

Assignments

Due July 14 Tuesday: Required Readings–The Writing Process

You don’t have to start these readings today. They are not due until next week. But if you want to get rolling on the readings after doing your writing, here’s where to start!

Optional Materials

These materials are recommended but not required. These two readings below may be interesting to you if you wish to learn more about the concept of “imposter syndrome:”

While many people discuss feeling like they are professional imposters or are just “faking it til they make it,” imposter syndrome is a medical issue for some people. If you want to learn more about the medical nature of this phenomenon, you may wish to read this optional article:

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