Wong 1

Audris Wong
English 120 Section 23
Andrew Laudel, Instructor
Class Reflection
The big takeaway that I have from this course would be learning a new approach
to the writing process. It was extremely important that we were made to understand that
the writing process is exactly what it is- a process. Ideas are transferred into writing, and
grow and change from one draft to the next. Writing has different stages, all of which are
necessary, and all come together to serve the purpose of creating well-thought-out ideas.
This was all new to me and it was the goal of giving our ideas the opportunity to cook
(Elbow 18), which stuck out to me the most. This was the focus that we had for our
narratives in Unit 1 and the thing that remained central throughout the rest of the course.
A few of the readings that especially resonated with me were The Process of
Writing and Growing by Peter Elbow, and Shitty First Drafts and Perfectionism by
Anne Lamott. These pieces by Elbow and Lamott taught me that the first draft doesnt
have to be so stressful. Sometimes the first draft just means having a place to put down
all preliminary thoughts, ideas, or concepts, and its okay that theres no clear guiding
thesis or structural organization just yet (Elbow 23). In fact, its actually all right that the
first draft is pretty terrible (Shitty First Drafts 21). It is supposed to be a free space to
explore and discover possible directions.
I really appreciated that this class introduced us to new views on writing that
rejected a lot of how I, and a lot of other people, were taught to write for most of their
lives. As far as I could remember from middle and high school, writing well meant
Wong 2
having to think everything through before putting anything down on paper. Anything
other than that was considered bad writing. However, what I learned from this class was
that trying to be perfect on the first try is actually inhibitory to the growth of the process
and inhibitory to ones self-trust (Perfectionism 31).
Up until now I had never felt comfortable with others reading my work. For a
while, I actually disliked receiving feedback on my essays and avoided them even if they
were written right on the paper. I thought that the result of the first shot at a piece of
writing was supposed to be a reflection of my abilities as a writer. What I liked was that
this class was a safe space where we all shared with one another both positive as well as
negative feedback. We were able to do this through discussions during class, through
written peer review responses, and through one-on-one conferences. Everybody was also
given the opportunity in class to share parts in our writing that we were struggling with. I
learned how to ask for help and to be less afraid of someone else reading or watching my
work, in the case of the film project.
This course will definitely be sticking with me for the rest of my academic career.
Even during this semester, Ive already seen some overlap. For the final project of my
Introduction to Theatre class, my group and I decided to write an interpretation of one of
the plays we had read. Drafting and redrafting allowed our ideas stew and helped us
determine the vision we wanted. With each revised draft we got closer and closer to the
clarity that we wanted out of the writing and the performance. Its only through the
experience of the drafting process that we gained insight on the exact points we wanted to
make, and were able to create a well-realized piece of work.
Wong 3
Works Cited

Elbow, Peter. The Process of Writing and Growing. Writing Without Teachers. (1973)
2d ed. New York: Oxford U P, 1998. [excerpt] 12-25. Print.

Lamott, Anne. Shitty First Drafts. Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life.
New York: Anchor, 2005. 21-27. Print.

_____. Perfectionism. Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life. New York:
Anchor, 2005. 28-32. Print.