ENTRY #4: Writing To Think

 In my days of being in school a-lot of the writing that I had done explored my thinking process in different ways. When I think of writing to think, I think of open ended questions, brainstorm sessions and journaling. However there are many more ways that writing can be used to think. In Tompkins (2012) chapter 2, he presents several cognitive strategies that can be used to help students write to think. When I was reading about the different strategies, I felt that most commonly I have used and been asked to the strategies regarding organizing and questioning. 

When writing any kind of paper or creating a research project on a topic, the first thing that I was always asked to do before starting to write was to think about what information is so important to my topic that it's going to have to be included, what information do I think isn't going to make it, or have little relevance. I would decide this by creating a graphic organizer or outline and thinking about where to place the pieces of my writing. The majority of this process was filled with eraser marks and scribbles, it took time to place everything to make a cohesive outline for my paper in order to be prepared to write. The process of using organization writing to think is used at different stages of writing as well. Tompkins (2012) states that although organizing is usually a prewriting strategy "... students also use the strategy during the drafting and revising stages: If their organizational plan isn't working during drafting..." (p. 40). I think that sometimes we forget that although theres a writing process, the strategies can be interchanged with different stages. I know that sometimes my prewriting hasn't always fit the prompt that I was writing about, or my thinking hadn't been completed to help the reader. I have gone back to the drawing board and used writing again to think about how I can rearrange my ideas to make sense to my reader. It's rare you hit the bullseye the first time, you really want to be able to show by the end that you've gone through a tremendous process of altering and thinking to get a writing that you're truly happy with.  

In my opening sentences of this blog I had mentioned that one of my initial thoughts when it comes to writing to think was open ended questions. Tompkins had altered my perspective of questioning as I read chapter 2. I didn't realize when I had mentioned open ended questions that is coming more from a readers perspective of answering an open ended question to think about the writing. Whereas Tompkins discusses questioning as throughout the writing process you're questioning the physical writing you've created, "students ask self-questions to guide their thinking during writing. They construct questions such as 'Am I ready to begin drafting?' and 'Should I move this part?'"(p.41). I really think that the mini-lesson on p.42 has helped me understand how it can be used in the classroom. It's important that the students know what and how questioning is used during writing, providing examples. As a teacher I think before my students use this strategy I would want as a class to create an anchor chart that held possible questions we should be asking ourselves while we're writing. I believe that some of the questioning does come naturally for some kids, or at least some questions. I was the kid that would have a full on conversation with myself while rereading my writing to verbally talk through it and try to see if what I'm saying is going to make sense to my reader, that would include questions. I really am excited to be able to explore more the use/strategies of other ways that we can use writing to think.