Writing Reasons From Kelly Gallagher, author of Teaching Adolescent Writers.

Writing Reasons From Kelly Gallagher, author of Teaching Adolescent Writers

Reason #1: Writing is Hard, but Hard is Rewarding

Reason #1: Writing is hard, but hard is rewarding Its hard because language is incredibly complex

Reason #1: Writing is hard, but hard is rewarding Its hard because language is incredibly complex Working hard is its own reward, and not just in writing

Reason #1: Writing is hard, but hard is rewarding Its hard because language is incredibly complex Working hard is its own reward, and not just in writing Example: knitting. Its hard to knit a sweater, and sometime overwhelming, but the final product is worth it. Example: team competitions. Thousands of hours of practice, training, and drills in order to win Example: what about you?

Reason #1: Writing is Hard, but Hard is Rewarding

Reason #2: Writing Helps You Sort Things Out

Work out emotion turmoil like grief, anxiety, frustration Seeing your emotions on paper helps examine your thoughts logically

Dear Ann: I'm a 26-year-old woman and feel like a fool asking you this question, butshould I marry the guy or not? Jerry is 30, but sometimes he acts like 14. Jerry is a salesman and makes good money but has lost his wallet three times since I've known him and I've had to help him meet the payments on his car. The thing that bothers me most, I think, is that I have the feeling he doesn't trust me. After every date he telephones. He says it's to "say an extra goodnight," but I'm sure he is checking to see if I had a late date with someone else. One night I was in the shower and didn't hear the phone. He came over and sat on the porch all night. I found him asleep on the swing when I went to get the paper the next morning at 6:30 a.m. I had a hard time convincing him I had been in the house the whole time. Now on the plus side: Jerry is very good-looking and appeals to me physically. Wellthat does it. I have been sitting here with this pen in my hand for 15 minutes trying the think of something else good to say about him and nothing comes to mind. Don't bother to answer this. You have helped more than you will ever know. Eyes Opened. (The Miami Herald, July 22, 1978; reprinted in Linderman, 1982).

Reason #2: Writing Helps You Sort Things Out Writing can help sort out practical problems Brainstorming Lists Free association

Reason #3: Writing Helps to Persuade Others

Gives time to choose the best words

Reason #3: Writing Helps to Persuade Others Gives time to choose the best words When writing, you step back from confrontation

Reason #3: Writing Helps to Persuade Others Gives time to choose the best words When writing, you step back from confrontation Can reach a large audience

Reason #3: Writing Helps to Persuade Others Gives time to choose the best words When writing, you step back from confrontation Can reach a large audience Speeches, newspaper editorials, blog posts

Reason #3: Writing Helps to Persuade Others Gives time to choose the best words When writing, you step back from confrontation Can reach a large audience Speeches, newspaper editorials, blog posts In everyday life

Reason #4: Writing Helps to Fight Oppression

Writing educates your intended audience Writing inspires and gives hope Writing give you access to the world https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_te9wClv3M

Reason #5: Writing Makes You a Better Reader

The two skills are intertwined Knowing a skill lets you appreciate the final result Writing Reading Kicking a soccer ball scoring a goal

your hands are so smooth she whispers to me I smile and whisper, yours too But I havent written on a green slate board for years Suffixes have not faded into my skin There is no fine white dust ground into my palms I think of the things her hands have seen and I wonder at their softness -Excerpt of Grammys Hands Reason #5: Writing Makes You a Better Reader

Reason #6: Writing Makes you Smarter

Writing requires you to think. The more you think, the better you are it By writing in a variety of modes, you learn to think in a variety of ways

How Writing Makes You Smarter Than You Usually Are July 25, 2012 by Nick Arvin Theory: Writing is a device for making a person appear smarter than he or she usually is. Substantiation: We know from experience that smartness is not a constant quality. Sometimes we are smarter than we usually are, as when a sudden insight arrives, or a burst of creativity, or a moment of sustained focus. These smarter than usual moments can occur at any time. On the other hand, even the smartest person is sometimes less smart than usual.

So, smartness varies over time. If we graph smartness vs. time, it might look like this. Ideally, we would like to use only the peaks of the graph, when we are smarter than usual Fortunately, writing allows us to do that. It does so through two processes:

(1) if we can immediately recognize that a thought is less smart than usual, we discard the thought and dont write it down, and (2) if we do write down something thats less smart than usual, the processes of revision, rewriting, and editing allow us to trim away the stuff thats less smart than usual and replace it with stuff thats more smart.

So, writing (including the crucial revision process) is a handy device that you can use for creating a version of yourself who is smarter than you usually are. Please use it for good, not evil.

Reason #7: Writing Helps You Get Into and Through College

Youll be writing a lot in college Not just in Freshman composition Lab reports, scholarship applications, business and law classes, emails to faculty and advisors, any type of theory class, the list goes on and on! NOW is the time to sharpen your saw and GET PREPARED for college My very first assignment was writing about one topic from three different perspectives

Reason #8: Writing Prepares You for the World of Work

Writing is considered a threshold skill for employment 2/3 of salaried jobs require writing With stiff competition for jobs, more and more employers are analyzing writing skills of companies take writing into account for promotions But dont just take my word for it

Reason #8: Writing Prepares You for the World of Work Software developer Tech department Insurances Company - sales Project engineer at a quarry comp. Pharmaceutical development

Writing Reasons From Kelly Gallagher, author of Teaching Adolescent Writers.

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