Marsh, John

Writing Self-Assessment
by John Marsh

Grade 9
Prompt Code: S9A
IST: Sarah Evans
Evaluator: Heather
(read the Evaluator's Comment and Connections)

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             As I begin the writing process, I always start by deciding upon the subject and the main ideas about that subject that I want to relate to the reader. I generally organize my ideas in order of importance. If, for example, I am writing a report on an adventure novel, I may first want to explore what qualities define an adventure novel and how those qualities are expressed in the particular novel I am writing about. I personally believe the characters in a piece are also of primary importance, so I would next describe the characters that drive the adventure novel I am writing about. After describing the characters, I then explore setting, themes, and the author’s writing style.
            If I am writing something that is different from a report, but is more of an essay or free writing assignment, I use a process I learned in school called “brainstorming”. Using this method, I draw a large circle on a blank piece of paper, and, at the top of the page, I write the subject I have decided to write about. Then, for about one and a half minutes, I write whatever words or ideas come to mind when I think on the subject. This technique helps me to quickly pick out what main ideas I want to put into the paper I am writing and often what words I want to use to express my ideas.
            Another technique I like to employ when writing a book report, essay, or other types of literature is something I learned while watching a class about writing methods on PBS. It is called “stream of consciousness writing” and it entails setting an alarm for five minutes and then taking a pen to paper and writing everything that comes to my mind about the subject, while focusing on the main ideas and words I already picked out from my “brainstorming” circle. This technique helps by giving me an easy way to get my ideas on paper quickly without needing to get all of the wording and punctuation perfect immediately.
            After I write in stream of conscious style for those five minutes, I go over what I have written (the initial draft) and start picking out the best ideas, words, and concepts from the paper, and what parts of the paper best convey the points I want to make on the particular subject. I then arrange these elements into individual paragraphs in a way that makes the most logical sense. At this point, the basic structure of the paper is pretty well laid out, and I can begin adding more words, advanced language and punctuation, and supporting ideas and paragraphs to the document as I review each paragraph. I add sentences and, if possible, evidence from the text I am working from (if there is a text) that support my main ideas or opinions on the subject I am writing about.
            After this, I read the paper (which is now a “rough draft”) all the way through without stopping. I then correct any obviously misspelled words, grammatical errors, or sentences that don’t make sense. At that point, I get out my thesaurus and see if I can improve on existing word choices, add better words that more fully convey my ideas or opinions, or even find additional words that prevent the paper from sounding repetitive. For example, one time I was doing a report on “Wuthering Heights” by Emily Bronte, and, using my thesaurus, I was able to find a better way to describe the main character’s (Heathcliff’s) behavior and personality. I had already used the words “crazy” and “obsessive” several times to describe him, but when I used the thesaurus I was able to find and use the word “manic” in a few instances and therefore avoid sounding repetitive.
            After I have done a thorough spelling and grammar check of the paper, I finally do a last “run-through” to see if I can revise or clarify any of my points.
            Revising a document is important and can greatly improve the reading experience for whoever reads the paper. For example, I recently wrote a persuasive essay that was about me trying to convince a cousin of mine named Harry not to make a hasty and potentially dangerous decision to permanently move from America to the Amazon jungle. The first version of the finished work was good and had all of my main ideas and language already in it; however, after the paper was read by an evaluator, I took the recommendations to give the untitled work an appropriate title and to expand on some of the already present ideas (i.e. the danger of the Amazon and Harry’s lack of experience in the region) to greatly improve upon the essay.
            I ended up giving the essay the intriguing title “Does the Amazon Await?” which conveyed the essay’s questioning of Harry’s plans and my fears about his potential journey, and therefore improved the quality of the essay. I also added information about how Harry had not even been outside the United States, how different in every way the Amazon was, and ideas about how Harry might try living in America’s native forests first or perhaps take a college class about the Amazon region before visiting, to further illustrate my point about Harry’s lack of experience and preparedness and how dangerous the Amazon is.
            All of this worked together to make the essay better. Every stage of the revision process (especially the final revision, where words are added or taken out and ideas are made sharper and clearer) makes a paper better and as effective and complete as it can be.
            I feel that one of my strengths as a writer is that I can compile main ideas and words for an essay or report quickly through the use of the “brainstorming” and “stream of consciousness” techniques. This is a good quality to have because I don’t have to waste a lot of time trying to come up with ideas or to overcome writer’s block. I also come up with the subjects I want to write about rather quickly because I have a clear idea of what interests me and what I would like to learn about.
            In regard to my weaknesses as a writer, I find that I often enjoy subjects I am writing about so much that I want to write more than is required. This can result in writing much more than is required on any given subject, which is unnecessary and wastes time. What I have done to improve on this (when necessary) is I have put a word count on some of my writing so I only write within a certain number of words. I have also done revisions of my papers with the purpose of eliminating unnecessary words, paragraphs, or details that make the paper too long. I have also recently started reading works by authors like Ernest Hemingway, who is famous for his concise and measured approach to writing, to help me employ those techniques in my own writing.
            The writing process is one of the most rewarding things you can do because you can start with just a few ideas and thoughts and end with a polished piece of literature that can be enjoyed by all its readers for years. You can never stop learning in writing. I enjoy it not only because it is fun, but also because I know that every time I write, I grow more and more.

Writing Program Evaluator Heather comments:

John’s self-assessment essay is clearly written and full of relevant details, making it an exemplary model of this mode of writing. His thorough discussion of his writing process includes such techniques as brainstorming and structuring the paper into paragraphs, and his discussion of his revision process includes specific examples of documents that he has revised and how the revisions enhanced the paper. These specifics move the paper from generalities to particulars and make his point more clear. John also includes information about his perceived strengths and weaknesses as a writer, and in his paragraph about his weaknesses, he describes actions he has begun to take to improve. Finally, he concludes with a generalized paragraph that invites the reader to reflect on the writing process.

Connections:

*To explore the writing self-assessment mode further, see the other February '07 Essays of the Month by Amanda Toro, Jaimie Toro, and Carlie Westerman.

*After reading all four writing self-assessments, what do you see in common about the way these four writers address this prompt? What do you see that they do differently in their self-assessments?

*John writes about "stream of consciousness writing" as a means of generating an initial draft. Have you ever tried this? If not, give it a try.