Transitions: High school and college writing by Katherine Gossett

Transitions: High school and college writing by Katherine Gossett https://padlet.com/kegossett/ys86qyrleq5ove0y You've read the Padlet from past UWP 7 students, Warner's article about the high school to college writing transition, and a chart produced by a university in Canada juxtaposing some approaches to writing in high school and college in North America. Now it is your turn to add to the conversation. Write ~150 word entry in this padlet that: 1) describes the perspectives about the transition from high school to college presented in two of these texts, 2) comments on how their perspectives about high school and college writing relate to your own experiences of academic writing. en-us 2020-10-01 23:25:35 UTC 2020-11-25 07:07:20 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet-uploads.storage.googleapis.com/763678928/9f58833c1af9f02e86724614d6369f0a/uc_davis_aggies_5_logo_png_transparent.png Transitions: High school and college writing (Aalia) azraza https://padlet.com/kegossett/ys86qyrleq5ove0y/wish/798957012 Most of the perspectives I’ve read from past students mentioned a feeling of nervousness and a bit of intimidation before attending their college writing class. Anxious emotions lingered as I enrolled into my first college courses and UWP was no exception considering the fact that I am not the strongest of writers. By reading past students' advice, I am slowly learning it's essential to keep track of all my assignments and their due dates but to also ask questions when needed. As nervous as I was, I was fortunate enough to have used canvas in highschool so I’m familiar with it and I’m willing to help my peers who aren't as familiar with the program. During senior year, I attended a Dual Credit english class through my community college and did well because I asked questions when I needed help, so I feel like if I continue that throughout this year I will be able to progress as a writer. I’d say my weakest writing skill is linking my thoughts altogether in the end, so I hope to improve my proficiency in this class. After reading the article, it was refreshing to see that college professors understand why our transition from highschool to college is so drastic when it pertains to writing. Our writing skills have been mismatched and switched every year depending on what the teacher asked for. In addition to that, we've always been taught with a set list of rules about our writing that truly limit our ideas and thoughts. It's draining to know that all we know as incoming freshman about writing is inefficient, but its exciting to see that we will finally learn the most effective way to write now. I'm ready to see what this quarter has in store my my writing and I.]]> 2020-10-02 19:39:42 UTC https://padlet.com/kegossett/ys86qyrleq5ove0y/wish/798957012 Transitions - Cole Murdoch cmmurdoch https://padlet.com/kegossett/ys86qyrleq5ove0y/wish/798994771 After reading the padlets of former students, and the article about high school to college writing, there is a significant difference of styles of writing. I feel that high school has drilled a style of writing into your brain for standardized tests. I think writing is hard to master because each professor or instructor expects something different. Writing has been something I have struggled with significantly, because of the changing expectations from instructors. College level writing is something I am excited to learn and master, because this style of writing is how I will continue to write in higher education. These smaller writing classes allow for a more hands on learning experience. When most classes are significantly larger, this allows for a slower pace. After reading and annotating the article, it was relieving to hear that professors understand, that high school style writing is something that is too strict. It is good to have a format, but students should have the ability to branch out, with more comfortable styles. ]]> 2020-10-02 19:56:26 UTC https://padlet.com/kegossett/ys86qyrleq5ove0y/wish/798994771 Transitions: High School and college writing-Nathan njriegodedios https://padlet.com/kegossett/ys86qyrleq5ove0y/wish/799038692 After reading the perspectives from the former UC Davis students, it really brought to my attention how much of a difference the transition with high school writing to college writing. From what I understood the transitions with writing is more of getting confidence with writing. Also during high school I was always embarrassed to show my writing to my teachers for help because none of the other students did. After seeing what former college students stated I realized in college is that the professors want you to succeed and are willing to help. During my high school years, writing was not my favorite because when we did write it had nothing to do with anything that interest me. In my opinion I think at a young age the english school system instilled negative thoughts in the kids. Also they never really thought how to write, honestly I felt like it was always here is a prompt and write whatever. I feel more confident with knowing that the others felt nervous entering the UWP class at first but saying that it gets better because the professor is willing to help and other students as well. I'm not the best writer but I'm excited that I will improve because of this class.]]> 2020-10-02 20:17:01 UTC https://padlet.com/kegossett/ys86qyrleq5ove0y/wish/799038692 transitions (Qinyin Huang) qiyhuang https://padlet.com/kegossett/ys86qyrleq5ove0y/wish/799058645 I agree with the points that Warner wrote in his article. I do believe that middle and high school teachers have a certain standard of writing that differs from college professors. His article made me realize that I have to adjust my mindset to be successful in college writing. I learned that there are no strict rules or boundaries in college writing, as long as they serve the purpose and intention. From the advice that former students wrote, I could relate to them in some ways. Like them, I was also nervous and intimidated because I have never written a college-level paper before. I had a lot of doubt in myself and wondered if I would ever be a good writer. I used to compare my writing to my peers' work and would feel disappointed by myself. I thought that I didn't meet the expectations my teachers had, and my essays didn't make me sound smart enough. However, after reading the article and the advice from students, I think I'll be able to persevere and learn to be a better writer. ]]> 2020-10-02 20:25:57 UTC https://padlet.com/kegossett/ys86qyrleq5ove0y/wish/799058645 Transitions -Annika Zamora atzamora1 https://padlet.com/kegossett/ys86qyrleq5ove0y/wish/799082331 The perspectives about the transition from high school to college were eye-opening. The article “The High School/College Writing Classroom Disconnect” talked about the enforcement of strict writing rules and structure in the classroom early on and how that can actually be detrimental to learning. The author talked about how in college there isn’t the same kind of structure because it sometimes limits the level of writing that can be achieved. I had never thought about questioning the structure before and always just assumed that we would build off of that in college to eventually create more advanced writing. The student comments that talked a lot about not starting the assignments at the last second were ones I felt I related to. This quarter I have told myself that I’m going to start all the assignments early as opposed to waiting until the last second in order to avoid feeling stressed out and overwhelmed.]]> 2020-10-02 20:38:02 UTC https://padlet.com/kegossett/ys86qyrleq5ove0y/wish/799082331 Transitions - Carlos Dominguez crdominguez1 https://padlet.com/kegossett/ys86qyrleq5ove0y/wish/799117372 Based on the text "The High School/College Writing Classroom Disconnect" by John Warner the perspectives of students and how they should write were given by the school and the rules they had. The transition from high school to college is very different because you have to start over with the way you write. Colleges and Universities are not communicating well with high schools and middle schools on what the goal was for students and their writing. Colleges want you to have a choice when you write, so you choose when to use certain words. You decide how many paragraphs your essay should have, and how long those paragraphs are. In high school, there was a format on how to write essays. I can relate to this because I am used to an essay being 5-6 paragraphs. I was taught that an essay should be structured with there being three main points that start with a topic sentence, a conclusion, and an introduction. They did let us choose how to write. We also didn’t have a list of words we shouldn't use.

]]> 2020-10-02 20:59:02 UTC https://padlet.com/kegossett/ys86qyrleq5ove0y/wish/799117372 Transitions - Earl Apiado erapiado https://padlet.com/kegossett/ys86qyrleq5ove0y/wish/799126470 After reading the advice and experiences of the previous UWP 007 students, It made me feel as if I wasn't the only one that was experiencing all these emotions. Anxiety and intimidation are a few of what I felt while transitioning to college writing from high school writing. I learned that college writing is all about delivering your message properly while considering the proper guidelines and goals. Compared to high school, rules and the structure of writing was extremely strict. Warren brought up the fact that “writing well is a kind of con or confidence game, where the goal is to make the audience believe that the writer is smart…, as opposed to clearly communicating an idea that meets the audience’s needs”, I found this very relatable throughout my high school years because I noticed that my work was all based on the sole idea of trying to impress my teacher with new vocabulary. I learned this the hard way during my sophomore year, I focused on using stronger words instead of getting my point across properly. I learned from my mistakes and tried to incorporate both ideas, using stronger vocabulary to fully deliver the message I’m trying to portray. The advice from the previous students gave some amazing pointers on how to grow as an amazing writer.]]> 2020-10-02 21:04:54 UTC https://padlet.com/kegossett/ys86qyrleq5ove0y/wish/799126470 crdominguez1 https://padlet.com/kegossett/ys86qyrleq5ove0y/wish/799136243 2020-10-02 21:11:21 UTC https://padlet.com/kegossett/ys86qyrleq5ove0y/wish/799136243 Transitions- Caitlin Hernandez https://padlet.com/kegossett/ys86qyrleq5ove0y/wish/799328161 The perspectives of the article and chart given both described how high school students are drilled to regurgitate these picture perfect, formatted essays in order to receive a good grade which does not prepare students for the real world. Colleges want students to write more cohesive papers with further analysis than just three main points and five total paragraphs. This is exactly how I write though because it is how I have been taught since I learned to start writing paragraphs in third grade. John Warner's article showed me there was a reason I always felt constricted trying to write "formal essays" in school. I have always felt the pressure to make sure my writing fit within these guidelines, thinking that's how writing was meant to be. Now I feel that I can write freely without the pressure of stepping outside the margins. I get that when teaching students how to write paragraphs and essays teachers have to give a type of format as a jumping off point, but that's what it should stay, not be strict guidelines of how every student should write.

]]> 2020-10-03 00:19:19 UTC https://padlet.com/kegossett/ys86qyrleq5ove0y/wish/799328161 Transitions(Daniela Castillo) dcastillo54 https://padlet.com/kegossett/ys86qyrleq5ove0y/wish/799342483 John Warner’s primary perspective about the transition from high school to college acknowledges how writing in HS confines students to structure and rules. Throughout my entire high school career, my teachers emphasized the importance of following the 5-body paragraph template and how it would help me excel in college. Personally, I felt as though I couldn’t really grow from my ideas because we were told to refrain from using our own beliefs and experiences. When I read about college level writing being more lenient and “experimental” with writing, I was surprised. We’re prepped to be scared of going outside the box and to stick to the facts. It’s just very mind-blowing to think that we will be able to write without feeling pressured to impress someone! It also helped calm my nerves because I came in with the expectation that I was going to have to write 10 pagers with extensive vocab. Now I am ready to explore my skills as a writer beyond the 5-body paragraphs/paper template. As UWP 7 alum have mentioned, I will ask questions even if they feel small! During high school I was super scared of asking a question because everything was covered beforehand. I am also motivated to talk to my classmates and use resources around me to help me become a better writer!]]> 2020-10-03 00:37:48 UTC https://padlet.com/kegossett/ys86qyrleq5ove0y/wish/799342483 Transitions (Kayla Kim) Kaylakimm https://padlet.com/kegossett/ys86qyrleq5ove0y/wish/799348094 I really found Warner’s article wholesome and I couldn’t have agreed to it more. It portrayed almost exactly how I felt coming from a high school level writing to now a college level class. While reading the article I was really surprised to see that Warner tended to “blame” the colleges and universities (higher end) instead of the secondary schools, saying that they need to communicate more efficiently to the masses. A lot of the comparisons between the “high school rules” and “university expectations” were liberating to me. I got the idea that the “high school rules” were trying to give young students a guide/backbone to be a better writer, but at the same time, they also crippled their writing. The “university expectations” was much more liberating and the main idea that they were trying to give was that students should use all of these techniques in order to smoothly get their point across to the audience. Students should not rely on these set “rules”. Another part that I really agreed to, and I’m sure other students also agreed, was when Warner expressed that students tend to use difficult words in order to “sound smart”. This can be seen as a personal issue of confidence. After reading the Padlet from past UWP 7 students, most of them said that they first felt unsure, nervous, or even intimidated about this class. When people feel like this, especially in their english classes, they tend to use fancy words in order to cover themselves up or make the reader feel intimidated. Students start using words that they don't even know or use and that causes their writing to run away from the tracks. I, myself, use this method a lot. I try my best to sound smart or sound like I know what I am talking about so that I can please the teacher. However, from now on, instead of trying to sound smart, I want to focus on transferring my ideas and arguments to the audience as smoothly as possible.

]]> 2020-10-03 00:45:46 UTC https://padlet.com/kegossett/ys86qyrleq5ove0y/wish/799348094 Transitions (Katy Kim) sgkim1 https://padlet.com/kegossett/ys86qyrleq5ove0y/wish/799350458 Both John Warner's article on the disconnect between High School and College Writing and the university chart talks about the differences in how we learn to write during high school and college. Personally, I agree with both these claims because throughout my high school career, the whole mla structure with a 5 paragraph essay was so commonly used that these writing styles are practically embed into me. However, I do admit that these writing styles did help me in freshman year create a solid foundation in my writing. I think the problem comes in when these structures and formats becomes the "correct" way when turning in assignments. I do agree that this way of teaching is very limiting and doesn't reflect the type of writing we will have to do in real life situations. I think that in my own experience, I liked the high school way of writing during my high school years because it felt very formulaic and it was easier to write essays if there was a specific structure I could use. However, going into college, I realized that I needed to get out of this mindset and that I should learn how to adapt and write differently based on the situation that I'm writing for. ]]> 2020-10-03 00:48:51 UTC https://padlet.com/kegossett/ys86qyrleq5ove0y/wish/799350458 Transitions_Sabrina Jiang sabjiang https://padlet.com/kegossett/ys86qyrleq5ove0y/wish/799392148 After reading the article "The High School/College Writing Classroom
Disconnect" by author Warner, I can see there is a huge difference between the writing preferences in high school and college. The article illustrated the college expectations of writing that are similar to what I thought of a college level writing class. Warner states in the article, "...I tell them that there are no rules anymore because they never existed in the first place, but there are guidelines and goals..." This indicates that college professors do not restrict the students to use the five-body paragrah writing template and the writing rules that they were asking to use in high school-level writing class, Instead, they want the student to focus on the content or the thoughts behind and whether it was engaging to the reader. However, I personally think the writing template is an easier way to organize the essays and it does help me with the writings, but I would like to try my best to fit to the college-level writing expectations. As an incoming freshman, I am worried and feel anxious about the dramatic transitions from high school to college especially this year is different than the past. I am not familiar with the study tools I am going to use in this class, like Eli Review, Padlet, Kami and Canvas. I am figuring it out and ready to learn new techniques.]]> 2020-10-03 01:46:19 UTC https://padlet.com/kegossett/ys86qyrleq5ove0y/wish/799392148 Transitions - Kaitlyn Eng kbeng https://padlet.com/kegossett/ys86qyrleq5ove0y/wish/799434854 My life has been a lie. For as long as I've known, I’ve always avoided the “I,” “you,” “we,”and “why” as well as write five paragraph essays. So after reading the article “The High School/College Writing Classroom Disconnect” by John Warner, I felt as if what I’ve learned over the course of my 13 years of education was false. I was constantly told not to write in my perspective and that an essay must be five paragraphs long. But at the same time as I read the article, I vehemently agreed with the author. What Warner mentioned in the article about colleges being vague to the deprograming that occurs in the beginning of classes was always something in my mind. Not only did I agree with Warner but I felt as if the prior UWP students and I shared the same emotion about starting a college course, especially this course. I honestly feel that if most teachers and professors who taught english had the same mindset as Warner, I would be more confident in my writing and I wouldn't find it difficult.]]> 2020-10-03 02:57:26 UTC https://padlet.com/kegossett/ys86qyrleq5ove0y/wish/799434854 Transitions - Matthew Racelis maracelis https://padlet.com/kegossett/ys86qyrleq5ove0y/wish/799438759 I very much enjoyed reading John Warner's article on the disconnect between high school writing and college writing. It honestly has opened my eyes and I do believe I feel like I have been lied to. I was always told to expand my vocabulary and to always convey three points in an essay in a five paragraph format. I was also told to try and avoid words such as "I", "you", and "said" and to branch out and expand your vocabulary. The perspectives given honestly blew my mind because I was always told that you should follow these formulas and formats because they will be used in universities and college; however, this blog tells me otherwise. That we shouldn't be using these structures and it taught us to be more free with our work and our choices in structuring our OWN essays. We also were told to use other words not only by teachers, but even my mom. I couldn't agree more with how he conveyed his opinion that you don't always need big words to present your ideas to your audience. I really respect his opinion of using simplistic ways can sometimes be the best way to write an essay. Although I may still use some old formulas or rules, it all just depends on what you're writing and what you're trying to present to your intended audience. I think this newfound freedom with writing will honestly relieve some of the stress that comes with writing essays and I believe I'll be a bit more experimental with my writing and see what works and what doesn't according to my writing style.]]> 2020-10-03 03:04:44 UTC https://padlet.com/kegossett/ys86qyrleq5ove0y/wish/799438759 Transitions - Nilu Gurung ngurung https://padlet.com/kegossett/ys86qyrleq5ove0y/wish/799499022 The article entitled, “The High School/ College Writing Classroom Disconnect” by John Warne was an informative read. I agreed with a lot of the statements mentioned throughout the article. The “rules” the author mentions about how you are not allowed to use “I”, “you”, or we. I agree with this statement. In highschool everyone had to make sure to avoid these words. Oftentimes when writing an essay I try to follow the “rules” and never really think of the “why” and “what” effect it has on my paper.

Another thing the author brought up about how having good diction shows that you are “smart” I do personally think that having a vast vocabulary and diction does indicate to me that they are “smart”. It is because of that mindset I always try to expand my vocabulary in hopes to be more confident about what I am writing.

I always believe that everyone has their own writing style however looking back and reflecting HS’ requirements made me further realize how limited, structured and standardized it was. Whereas, the article provided a really helpful comparison showcasing how tedious and ridiculous the “rules” are and what is considered a “good” paper. However to a certain extent the "templates" for essays we were taught in HS were helpful, I will not argue that. I am glad to know in university level it leaves more room for personalized and self writing techniques that speak “you”.

]]> 2020-10-03 05:03:58 UTC https://padlet.com/kegossett/ys86qyrleq5ove0y/wish/799499022 Transitions - Yajing Liu yjliu1 https://padlet.com/kegossett/ys86qyrleq5ove0y/wish/799508193 For most of my high school writings, I follow a certain “rule”. Such as context, quote, commentary (the most used CQC). And I remember that our teacher said that our commentary has to be twice as long as our quote. I guess it was a useful “rule” since our peer edit worksheet clearly writes “CQC” on it, and the teachers grade based on this pattern. The other “rule” that was described in the article (“we” “I” “us”, etc. not allowed) was also commonly heard in my English classes in high school. After reading the article and the advice from former students, I could see that college writing classes allow us to break that “rule”. We are now "allowed" to write with our own style and use our own language to express our ideas, instead of using big words that may not even get through what we are trying to say. ]]> 2020-10-03 05:26:22 UTC https://padlet.com/kegossett/ys86qyrleq5ove0y/wish/799508193 Transitions - Madeline Shin https://padlet.com/kegossett/ys86qyrleq5ove0y/wish/799527150 Since elementary school to now, my teachers have always trained me to write in a certain pattern and all the teachers taught me the same pattern. Since most of my teachers have been repeatedly notifying me about the same rules, I automatically just did what I was instructed for years, in order to avoid my points being deducted. However, as I kept growing older and older, I started to question those rules. I never understood why I had to write using certain terms and phrases because I noticed that famous authors applied the exact words I used in my essays and regardless won numerous awards. During assessments, I used to get easy points deducted because my vocabulary consisted of words, such as, “said,” “I,” “you,” and etc. However, the main reason I was so frustrated was because some teachers would approve of my vocabulary but others would despise it. I never really understood what the issue was with my work. Teachers would inform me with opposite advice. But after reading the High School to College Readings, I learned that my teachers have deducted so many points that I should have earned. Honestly, I always questioned the rules that teachers provided us to make our writing more “professional” because I read countless novels and essays that hardly ever used the “professional” rules.]]> 2020-10-03 06:17:39 UTC https://padlet.com/kegossett/ys86qyrleq5ove0y/wish/799527150