Entry #2

This week's post reflects the ideas and topics mentioned in chapters 1-2 of Crafting Digital Writing by Troy Hicks along with chapter 4 of Teaching Writing Balancing Process and Product by Gail E. Tompkins. During these readings, I learned about author's craft and how students use specific techniques and tools in order to make their writing stand out. Hicks incorporates the idea of technology and how this is essential in today's society.

As I reflect on the readings, and I think of myself as a writer, I believe that I recognize elements of craft in both traditional and digital texts when I read. When I think of craft in traditional writing, I think of how the author organized his/her ideas onto the paper, and I think of the author's voice and what words the author decided to include or the manner he/she used in order to capture the audience. These same ideas come to mind when I think of digital writing, but I also think about the presentation of digital writing. Did the author decide to make a website? A blog? Or did the author believe that a video was the best way to portray his/her thoughts and ideas? When I think about craft in digital texts, I tend to focus more on the presentation than the other elements of craft, so I'd like to be more aware of the other elements of craft as I continue to learn about digital text. I think that craft can be found in both traditional and digital texts, and I believe that it's important for teachers and students to be able to recognize these elements in order to not only read them, but to produce writing as well.

When writing a paper either traditionally or digitally, I have never considered the various elements of craft that I have used in order to produce the specific piece of work. Usually, when I write a piece for either a class assignment or just in general, I usually think about what I want to say and simply begin to write once I have a clear grasp around what I'm going to write about. However, there are a couple of elements that I consider more than others depending on the type of writing I'm completing. For example, writing conventions is something that comes to mind when I write for either an assignment or a piece of writing that requires an audience. As I write, I make sure that I'm spelling words correctly, incorporating the correct punctuation, and using correct grammar. Organization is another element that I think about when writing longer pieces such as research papers. I want to make sure that the audience can easily follow along with what I have to say, so I consider how I'm going to begin my piece, how the body will flow easily, and how I will conclude my thoughts.

After reading each chapter and reflecting on the elements of author's craft, I find that the most challenging aspect of author's craft when reading is determining the ideas that the author is trying to convey. This could be in a narrative text or an informational text, but oftentimes when the material is difficult to read, it's hard to determine what main points the author is trying to tell his/her audience. Sometimes I find myself rereading a piece of writing in order to gain more clarity on the topic. This might also suggest that word choice is another element I find difficult when reading a text. Occasionally I will come across a word that I'm not familiar with, so I must take the time to look it up  or, again, reread the material.

The most challenging aspect of author's craft when writing is voice, word choice, and sentence fluency. I have challenges when trying to think of how I want my voice to sound, what words will flow nicely into my piece, and how I should place sentences together in order for my piece to sound smooth.

After reading each chapter, my idea of author's craft has changed significantly, and I now have a better understanding of the elements that go into writing. Before I only recognized a couple of elements such as organization and conventions because I understood that these are important aspects of writing. However, I'm glad that I've had the chance to see how each element is crucial when writing either traditionally or digitally. I loved how Tompkins including ways that teachers could teach each of the traits, and I would like to practice each of these strategies in my future classroom in order to help my students understand the importance of each element in author's craft.

References

Hicks, T. (2013).  Crafting digital writing.  Portsmouth, NH:  Heinemann.

Tompkins, G. E.  (2019).  Teaching writing:  Balancing process and product (7^th ed.).  UpperSaddle River, NJ:  Merrill.