Final Exam Frame #2

Final Exam Frame #2

-----Creating literature is a very personal and varying process for most every individual. While some people struggle to get there thoughts out on paper others are able to accomplish this with ease. Although some student writers like me find writing in solitude to be easier, Peter Elbow gives his own view on the writing process stating “the writing process can be greatly improved if students have a group of peers with whom they can share their writing”. This author also states that a simple solution to “being stifled in various stages” of writing is just to talk to one or more people. Being a student and having to constantly produce writing, I would have to disagree with Peter Elbow and Optimism one. Personally for me, writing in solitude is much easier because I find that interaction with other students can be a hindrance, and also because I find that I can develop my own ideas more effectively and with more creativity when I write in solitude.

-----I find working with other people can be distracting and can often cause a negative effect when engaged in the writing process. Peter Elbow states that “if you are stuck writing…there is nothing better than finding one person, or more to talk to.” I disagree with Elbow on this statement because when I write, and get stuck on something, I feel that it is more effective if I have get out of the rut by myself. This forces me to think and look for a solution, and when I find the solution, I understand how to avoid this predicament in the future and end up learning more from it. For example, I found that I learned much less working with two other people on the third essay, than completing the second essay alone. Another reason why I find working alone more effective is because there is no disagreements or from anyone else regarding your own ideas. I found it difficult to coming to agreements when working in a group, and this prolonged the time it took to complete the essay itself.

-----Personally, for me it is easier to develop my own ideas with more creativity
when I am alone, because there is no one to disregard them. Optimism One states that, “Group work not only privileges student-centered, democratic practices, but it highlights the interactive nature of creativity.” This is another statement that I disagree with because when working with other students this quarter, I found that they actually stifled my creativity because they sometimes disregarded my ideas. Because of the person I am, I tend to have radical ideas. When working with people who have somewhat conservative mindsets, I often get shot down and unfortunately resort more simple or boring solutions or “playing it safe”. When I write in solitude, there is no one to tell me that I am insane, and unsurprisingly, I feel liberated to engage the writing process in the way that I feel is most effective. Although it may be true for some students, in my case, group work does not “highlight my interactive nature of creativity.”

-----My Individual approach to the writing process is undoubtedly different then most students. For this reason, I find that writing in solitude seems to flow much easier for me for two reasons. One; because interaction with other students can actually interfere with my own writing process, and two; because I find that I can pursue original ideas more freely with no opposing or contrary views. Although Peter Elbow’s view of the writing process does not match my own experience, this does not mean that it cannot be true for other people. I am just a student writing from his own sense understanding…