SHERRIE'S DISCUSSION

I found Sherrie's discussion about the spectrum of informal to formal writing because it's consistent with the way that I teach writing in my English courses. Rather than asking students to complete an essay outright, we follow an 11 step writing process that begins with understanding the assignment and selecting a topic, and conceptualizing through a brainstorming exercise and free writing. This leads to numerous drafts (rough and revised) and ends with the formality of the final draft. I impress on them that writing is indeed a process and beginning with an informal approach, as Sherrie mentioned, not only allows the hesitant students to ready themselves to write, but gives them a platform to work from.