Writing Journal

Please reflect, in writing, on the following two-part prompt. Make sure that your finished reflection is at least 300 words long to ensure that you receive full credit:

What is the purpose, in your opinion, of personal writing? Why would a Remembered Event  or personal narrative essay be assigned as part of a college writing course? These are questions I was asked by students the very first college course I ever taught. I was teaching a set curriculum (I was required to teach a personal essay), and the students were all pre-engineering majors, and they were trying to stage a mutiny. They argued that they would never have to do this kind of writing in their majors or in their professional lives. (The engineers in my family later told me they were wrong on both counts.) Some people view personal writing as less rigorous than other kinds of writing. Do you agree? Why or why not? Why do you think personal writing is so often assigned in college writing classes?

Part 2. Please read the excerpts fromThe Best We Could Do in Canvas Readings Folder 1. Although the memoir is presented in graphic format, what tools has the author used that might translate to conventional essay writing? (Next week, we are even going to be doing an activity on essay-writing that will invite you to storyboard your essay like a film or graphic novel!)

Please note: The Best We Could Do is this year’s One Book One College selection. That means that a lot of teachers at Chaffey assign their students to buy and read this book. Since I am committed to keeping this class a 0-cost-textbook class, I only reproduce parts of the text (in the amounts allowed by law). I think these excerpts are powerful and helpful ways to understand our own writing. Be aware that each year there is a college book essay contestLinks to an external site.. Last year, one of my students won first place, and in nearly every year, I have at least one student who wins a prize–so being at least a bit familiar with the book has an added advantage!