Daring Dissent Student Complain Writing Tip

Daring Dissent

Many students complain to me that their other teachers indeed are such bigots that they reward students who reflect their views and banish those who are different to some academic gulag.

As an English teacher one of the complaints I hear most often is "I don't know what to write about." Especially in a college setting, the freedom that most teachers allow in choosing topics can make the process even more daunting for the student. Here are some of my idea gathering exercises for students. Some of these you may have heard, others might be new but hopefully they'll all be helpful.

When I was in college, I always started by trying to incorporate my own interests into my essays (especially in general education classes). For example: I had an astronomy class and was assigned to write an essay that had anything to do with the subject. Although I found astronomy interesting, I didn't have enough background knowledge to pick a random topic from such a huge field. Having an interest in religion it eventually occurred to me to write an essay on the religious implications and responses to early astronomers and their works. Being a scientist, my teacher thought it was a little odd but I did well and he appreciated something other than a paper on black-holes. It made the essay a much more interesting project for me and I'm sure that my interest worked to improve my grade.

Brainstorming: This technique is pretty common. Sit down and write a list of possible ideas. Even if you don't think they'll be interesting. Just keep listing. Once you get past the obvious stuff you might be surprised and what your brain's associate function comes up with from one idea to the next. This also works once you have a broad topic in mind and want to narrow it down.

Webbing or Mapping: This is similar to brainstorming but you start in the middle and "web out" with your ideas. One connects to another which connects to another, etc. This works well for people who think visually since the format of the "web" sometimes prompts new ideas.

Free writing: Just write. Really, keep writing. Give yourself a set amount of time. Start with at least 10 or 15 minutes because you need time to get past the generic stuff that will come out for the first couple of minutes. For 15 minutes just write and don't stop. Don't worry about complete sentences, grammar, spelling, or word choice. If you have to, write "I'm thinking now, trying to come up with ideas for this essay . . .” but keep going no matter what. Again, you might be surprised at what you end up with.

Dark Free writing: Sometimes students who are detail oriented have trouble with free writing because they're brains won't let them write in such an unstructured manner. The students typically write a sentence, review it, change some words, review it again, decide it isn't very good, and then try to write it again. This attention to detail at an idea generating stage can cause major delays in the process. To counter this tries the following: Sit at your computer and open your writing program. Turn off your computer screen and type. Give yourself at least 10 or 15 minutes before you turn on the screen. This exercise can trick your brain into not being obsessed with tiny corrections at this stage in the process.

Keep a journal: Okay, this is more a long term commitment but if you are uncomfortable with writing this kind of daily practice can really unblock the kind of anxiety that some students have about writing. It is a low stress way of practicing writing on a regular basis and really does help when it comes to generating ideas for more "official" assignments.

Alright, hopefully a few of these exercises will help. If not, talk to your professor about it and he/she can usually help you come up with ideas. If talking to your professor sounds crazy (it did for me for the first several years I was in college) then pretend to talk to your professor (Whoa, you're probably thinking. Now who sounds crazy here?). Really though, have a fake, one sided conversation (yes, out loud) with your professor about your interests, and why you are having trouble generating ideas that would interest you enough to write an essay. This actually helps. Try it - I dare you!!

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