Writing Reasons From Kelly Gallagher, author of Teaching
Adolescent Writers
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Reason #1: Writing is Hard, but Hard is Rewarding
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Reason #1: Writing is hard, but hard is rewarding Its hard
because language is incredibly complex
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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
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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?
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Reason #1: Writing is Hard, but Hard is Rewarding
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Reason #2: Writing Helps You Sort Things Out
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Work out emotion turmoil like grief, anxiety, frustration
Seeing your emotions on paper helps examine your thoughts
logically
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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).
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Reason #2: Writing Helps You Sort Things Out Writing can help
sort out practical problems Brainstorming Lists Free
association
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Reason #3: Writing Helps to Persuade Others
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Gives time to choose the best words
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Reason #3: Writing Helps to Persuade Others Gives time to
choose the best words When writing, you step back from
confrontation
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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
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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
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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
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Reason #4: Writing Helps to Fight Oppression
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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
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Reason #5: Writing Makes You a Better Reader
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The two skills are intertwined Knowing a skill lets you
appreciate the final result Writing Reading Kicking a soccer ball
scoring a goal
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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
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Reason #6: Writing Makes you Smarter
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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
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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.
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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:
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(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.
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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.
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Reason #7: Writing Helps You Get Into and Through College
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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
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Reason #8: Writing Prepares You for the World of Work
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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
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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