Before we begin writing original essays, we need to rethink writing.

One of the tips that instructors at the Writing Centre give is to start by emptying out your thoughts on a piece of paper. This action prompts ideas that you may not have had otherwise.

Rethinking writing requires us to also consider factors like the writing process, genre, audience, and revision. Listen to the audio that explains what this means.

Writing process

Writing things down on paper, helps writers think.

This way, according to Oatley & Djikic (2008), “the writer can be the reader, can replay an externalized thought in language form back to himself or herself, and take part in the iterated movement by which thoughts can be improved” (p. 13).

What they mean is that firstly, you can look at what you have written from the reader’s perspective. Secondly, since your thoughts are now written down, you can review whether what you have written, makes sense, leading to their third point that says that this back and this movement will help in improving our thoughts. This process helps you evaluate your initial thoughts and develop better ideas.

Johnson-Eilola & Selber (2007) urge us to look at writing as “problem-solving (or at least problem-exploration) instead of only chasing originality” (p. 400).

Revision

Students often feel that revision is a sign of weakness and that experienced writers create flawless first drafts that are ready for submission. However, Giovanelli (2017) points out that “Revision is not the thing writers do when they’re done writing. Revision is the writing” (p. 104). By revision, she refers to the act of improving the “purpose, evidence, and organization” (p. 104) of the piece.

“Revision is not a sign of weakness or inexperience or poor writing. It is the writing” (Giovanelli, 2017, p. 105). There is no shame in revising your work to make it as perfect as you want. However, too much focus on revision can become problematic.

Genre and audience

Furthermore, Pattanayak (2017) points out that “the rule for writing shift with the people and the community involved as well as the purpose and type of writing” (p. 82).

For example, organizational writing is different from creative writing. An email to your boss or a report on climate change will be drastically different from a novel or poem and serve a different audience. Each of these genres will have a set of rules that writers need to follow to produce successful pieces of work. Hence, writers need to approach different kinds of writing in different ways.

Therefore, to become an expert writer, we need to answer the question—what is the purpose of this piece of writing? —and create a set of detailed goals that will eventually form the answers. This plan needs to also consider the impact of our writing on the intended audience.

For us to become better writers, Rodriguez (2017) tells us to ask the following questions when writing:

Shifting the attitude from original writing to problem-solving writing with the audience in mind, will not only help students engage in meaningful and effective conversations with research material and assemble them to create something unique but also have a fulfilling writing experience.