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In this short little section of a book review on "Overcoming Writing Blocks" that was published in 1979, Paster highlights 2 techniques of the 75 mentioned in the book. One is called the "spoke outline," which today we call mind mapping. The other is called "letter to a friend" in which the writer sets up a sort of letter that drifts the discussion toward what the writing assignment is and what the topic should be about--detailing how far work has gotten and any ideas that have come up in relation to the assignment. This 'letter' is completely disposable and it just meant to be used as a prompt for discussion in order to get ideas flowing in such a way that a writer can use to describe the assignment and work to another person. Many people these days just simply talk to other people about their assignment and spur ideas from discussing their topic, rather than writing an imaginary discussion in a letter that is never meant to be sent. Will look for the "Overcoming Writing Blocks" book to gather more of its 75 techniques.

In this excerpt of Oliver's book, Oliver discusses much of what Rose discussed on "how writer's block comes to be" in our text--therefore, I will not go over those points. My main agenda is to see what sort of techniques Oliver uses in his work to suggest how to move past writer's block. On pages 165-168 Oliver discusses the first approaches to writer's block and then three ways that can resolve writer's block. To approach writer's block, Oliver puts the responsibility on the teachers to figure out if their students with writer's block use too rigid rules when composing, and if so, encourage students repeatedly that "Writing is rewriting" and that editing should be done after writing is complete. These notions Oliver states are very close to "better said than done" tasks, since teachers can repeat such things over and over until they are blue in the face but that doesn't mean the students will take those words to heart and change their composing habits. Oliver then moves on to his three "resolutions" to writers block, strongly putting responsibility on the teacher initially. Oliver offers that teachers should have a 10-15minute discussion with their students, using probing questions to prompt ideas for writing. In turn, the students should jot down notes of the ideas that come to their minds. The point of this is to tap into relevant knowledge for their paper assignments. This sort of prompt questioning can then be used by students on their own time, alone or with friends--the teachers just lay the foundation of understanding for their students on how probe questioning can be useful when composing (shift in responsibility of overcoming writer's block from teacher to student after the excercise is learned and understood). Next, Oliver offers the excercise of freewriting to help open the flow of ideas. He recommends that teachers should give their students 10-15 minutes of non-stop freewriting on their writing topics. Students should refrain from pausing or editi

After reading our Homework assignment I was truly interested in the true "America Style" of writing. According to this article some styles of the American writing include directness, audience,clear examples, and the uses of sources. I've witnessed many non-native speakers of English struggle in their writing due to their cultural writing expectations. In this article it shows that for those students they offer tutoring one on one, workshops, help sheets and multilingual readers. This made me wonder as to what techniques are the most beneficial for American students struggling in writing and what techniques help native speakers the most. There are different modes of writing as well and each will change depending on the class subject.

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Here is the correct links http://www.jstor.org.mantis.csuchico.edu/stable/356190 I found this article to be something that's useful for me and hopefully everyone as we starts searching for something to write about. This article illustrates some ways in which two broad topics can be narrowed down so that it's not too narrow. It points out some of the advantages an disadvantages of narrowing down topics. What I capture in this article is that once we started to narrow things down, it limits the kinds of resources that could be used, therefore making us more focus in finding the iformation we needed.

In May I took the CBEST without studying because everyone told me it was super easy, and that all you needed to do to study for a test like that is breathe. I did not pass one section, which left me heartbroken. I was so hung up on the idea that I hadn't passed such an easy test that I didn't stop to think about why. Of course I didn't study, but I shouldn't have to, I thought. According to this article and the book being discussed, "the brain will avoid thinking and instead try to rely on memory." Maybe I just tried to rely too much on my memories of the material in all those classes years ago, and my brain avoided actually thinking and synthesizing the material. Or maybe I needed to really study. Either way, an interesting read. (Oh, and I just finished retaking the CBEST this morning)

Nature writing This particular article deals with a post-composition era that still resides in the university. Writing is depicted as a means of a disconnection between different experiences that students often times find themselves bewildered. This goes along with the argument against writing from the stimulation of reading: writing, for example, a response to a piece of reading in an anthology might be interesting, but it does not provide the original experience for the writer. By the time something is put into words, it makes a specific connection, or a specific rhetorical stance towards that thing. Reading, then, becomes a re-interpretation of a text, not the original experience wherewith the text is from. What this paper argues, then, is to take students through the original experience of actually confronting the scene of nature itself: what is there, what is constituted, and what can be written. Traditional texts in nature writing include the following: Aldo Leopold's A Sand County Almanac, Loren Eiseley's The Immense Journey, Joseph Krutch's The Desert Year. The course would include times dedicated to the reading of what is emphasised on style of writing, technique of writing and different elements of style. By then, not only would the students learn the value made by the originality of experience, they also learn the value that writers put into writing. It is not an exaggerating thing to say that such is the writing experienced by a writer. Peer critique is one of the crucial aspects of the course where students will give feedbacks on "perception, emotion, evaluation that includes both efferent and aesthetic considerations". At the end of the course, the value(s) in perception will be a lifelong skill, which in time develops into a tradition.

This article by Caleb Corkery analyzes the use of literacy narratives as a technique to help transition students who aren't from our culture. Corkery argues, and I agree, that storytelling gives students a chance to change their identities. He cites an example given by Betsy Rymes, "Rymes claims that former high school dropouts can re-script themselves through narratives that eliminate their past identities" (51.) Also through literacy narratives, students can gain insight into their own cultural identities and through this awareness understand how one is "culturally scripted" or how their culture affects how they see writing and the writing community which they are attempting to join. One of the hindrances that Corkery mentions in his article is the difficult transition for writers who come from an oral tradition. A different consciousness accompanies oral thought. Citing two researchers who study the Athabaskan culture in Alaska, Corkery writes, "Because learning to read and write in the essayist manner is in fact learning new patterns of discourse, literacy for an Athabaskan is experienced as a change in ethnicity as well as a change in reality set" (61). While we might not have the opportunity to teach writing to an Athabaskan, we do have students that come from a oral culture. The African American community has a very deep oral tradition. While it may not be as extensive as the native tribe in Alaska, it still deals with a certain amount of ethnicity change.

Jerry Herman explains the class curriculum that he created for a critical thinking class. He describes the three essays that the students are to write with the third one being a group project. The three essays are interesting and creative. The first one being the oddest assignment I have come across--the students are to examine a piece of fruit for at least an hour and then write an essay about it. This essay, although a strange technique, is actually quite remarkable for getting students to think critically. The assignment is described in detail in this article. This article was so interesting to me that when I reached the end of it I couldn't believe I'd read all 10 pages! This essay has also turned out to the the catalyst for my inquiry assignment. I'm incredibly interested in figuring out how to get students to think more critically and not just "follow the leader." I've learned from the students in my 30 class that they think a research paper is just a regurgitation of what other people have written. They don't put themselves into the paper and argue using their sources for support of that argument. Not only do I want to teach students how to think more critically, I want to be able to do it in a creative manner. I love the last few lines of this article, "I remember one student who, for the first few weeks, slouched in his desk looking bored. One day he abruptly raised his hand. When I recognized him, he said somewhat indignantly, as though the light bulb had just flashed on, 'I get it. You're not trying to teach us things. You're trying to change the way we think.' Amen."