Prompt: Compare strategies in chapters 2&3 to your own strategies. Write 400-500 words (what strategies could you add? Under which situations have they been helpful? Which specific writing challenges do they address? What sticks out in these chapters? )

There were many helpful strategies in these chapters. My own strategies for editing/writing tend to rely heavily on re-reading and having others read my works. These strategies work well for me, mostly because I find that I’m very critical when in comes to my own writing, therefore I try to self-correct whenever I can. I really only have another person read my works/essays if they have prior knowledge of the subject that I’m writing about. This has been helpful for me in more STEM-related fields than anything, but in terms of creative writing, it doesn’t help as much. Lately, I’ve been trying new methods of writing/editing because I feel like I haven’t been improving in my own writing through these methods. One of the methods they discuss a lot in the chapters is to not edit while you write. I mentioned above that I tend to self-edit, but this definitely limits not only the variety of errors that are found. By self-editing and editing while I write, I’m not exactly improving myself or my skills. This chapter was incredibly helpful for me, as I do need to find new strategies for myself and to help others. One strategy I really like is the idea of reading aloud. I understand how this might be off-putting to a lot of people, but if you let them know that you aren’t actively listening for errors, I think it’s one of the strategies. As it says in the chapter, reading aloud can help a tutor ask questions of the writer that will help improve their writing, and it can help the writer self-identify errors. Since I’m currently doing a lot of creative writing, I’ve started to read some of my sentences out loud to myself and to others. I haven’t been doing this for long, but I’ve already seen improvement in my own writing. Reading aloud can, especially in a tutoring session, help minimize the later-order concerns (like grammar, word choice, etc.) so the tutor can help focus on higher-order concerns. Another strategy that I like using, especially for essays, is outlining. A lot of people I know struggle with outlines, but I’ve always found them to be a great way to organize my thoughts and evidence that I need to use to back up my claims. It does tend to be a go-to strategy for teachers and tutors, so I would like to look more into using visual representations to help students who might struggle with getting words down on paper. I’ve never personally used a visual method, but I can see how word bubbles or charts can help students find connections between their thoughts or claims for an essay. I think the biggest thing that stuck out in this chapter was the idea of not taking control away from the writer. Sometimes, I’ve found that I can be controlling when it comes to writing, especially when it comes to essays, but I liked how the book focused on asking the writers questions about their work. Instead of “rewording” a sentence that the writer has written, asking questions can help a writer identify their main point, and can then find a way to better express it within their writing.