How to Make Writing Authentic

Today, we talked about how we can improve our writing and make it authentic. We first compared how we write to that of other writers. The difference we determined was that we procrastinate while writers do not. We also found numerous similarities between them, such as preparing, proofreading, and using stress to positively to motivate us. Free writing and pre-writing were also a similarity, which is writing with and without a plan respectively.

Next, we talked about different Bobs. What I mean Bob are some different writing techniques discussed in “What Writers Really Do When They Write” by George Saunders. The first Bob was, “Bob was an asshole”. This statement is a claim, and presents Bob as rude and not kind. The second Bob was, “Bob snapped impatiently at the barista.” This statement is evidence and supports why Bob is an asshole. The third Bob was, “Bob snapped immediately at the young barista, who reminded him of his dead wife.” This claim provides even more evidence, which changes how the reader views him and creates sympathy. The fourth and final Bob was, “Bob snapped immediately at the young barista, who reminded him of his dead wife, who he missed so much, especially now, at Christmas.” This has so much detail, and it further creates sympathy for him. Using these sentences, we reflected back at our own writings and determined if it was lame or not, and how we could fix it.

We looked at a passage by George Saunder, who imagined a meter on the forehead, “P”, or perfect, on one side and “N”, lame, on the other side. The goal is to edit our writing as to move the needle into the “P” zone. You need to keep adjusting and making drafts in order to get your writing into the “P” zone. To the class's surprise, Mr. River's told the class to unsubmit the intertextuality essays and reread the essay to self-evaluate. We have the opportunity to edit our essays, being sure to use good voice and style, making sure to have appropriate tone for the audience, varied sentence structure, effective cinematic vocabulary, clarity, and specificity. The revised essay will be due on Monday at 11:59, and post it on turnitin.com.