1. Writing ACTIVITY Writing is easy – you just stare at a blank piece of paper till your eyeballs bleed!

2. Writing ACTIVITY Some thoughts about writing Writing activity Reflecting on the activity Applying what you’ve learned to the Assignment Useful resources

3. Student responses to writing: I’ve been humiliated in ways I’d never have put up with outside that institution

4. Student responses to writing: I am still not sure if my work is considered academic, I still don’t know what makes one of my essays better than another.

5. And: Academic language, the kind of language that doesn’t readily flow off my tongue: the type of language I rarely use when speaking to my peers. The type of language that I don’t readily understand and the type of language that means spending hours at a computer turning something quite simple into something that sounds moderately impressive with elitist results.

6. Perhaps it is not that we cannot write, but We need: Time to ‘write to learn’ Time to practice writing To write little and often To discover that writing gets easier with practice. So …

7. Writing Activity Free writing Each person should have in front of them: Two sheets of paper: One, blank, to write upon, One, the ‘commentary’ sheet, to note reasons for not writing Pens or pencils

8. The Activity When asked, turn to your blank paper and write for ten minutes without pause on the question below. If you stop writing for any reason, write that reason, no matter how trivial or insignificant on the ‘commentary’ sheet.

9. The Question INSERT Q

10. (1) Assignment Activity Did you enjoy that writing? Review it – what does it tell you about: What you already know? What you need to find out? What you will be looking for in lectures? What you will be looking for when reading?

11. (2) Why did you STOP writing? Some reasons for stopping: Thinking Searching for a word, spelling, tense Uncomfortable Distracted Couldn’t see the point What are you going to do about this?

12. (3) Some solutions … Get into a good physical & mental space: Be comfortable – your way Accept the task – or fake it! Brainstorm & plan before you write Once you start – go with the flow Don’t stop! Do not search for the right word – re-draft and improve later.

13. NEXT STEPS… How will your free write help you with the final part of your assessment? How will thinking about writing help with your writing?

14. Writing … Organise your DESK and your READING: http://learning.londonmet.ac.uk/TLTC/learnhigher/desk/desk.html Check out these writing resources: http://learning.londonmet.ac.uk/TLTC/connorj/WritingGroups/ Essay writing animation – Portsmouth: http://ondemand.port.ac.uk/central/One_way_to_write_an_essay.wmv Essay/report quiz: http://learning.londonmet.ac.uk/LMBS/study/reports_essays/ http://learning.londonmet.ac.uk/LMBS/study/reports_essays/ EXCELLENT site for linking phrases and for WRITING: http://www.phrasebank.manchester.ac.uk/ http://www.phrasebank.manchester.ac.uk/ Our Preventing Plagiarism course – in WebLearn: http://learning.londonmet.ac.uk/TLTC/learnhigher/Plagiarism/