Collaboration Journal 2 (Elizabeth, John, Kristina, Robert)

Kristina Goodman, John Michel, Elizabeth Siegel, Robert Castle

2.25.15

ENC1145

Collaborative Journal 2

            I think to make this list of what the key concepts of this course are really took the whole group. This is a list that takes some thinking from different minds because it would be hard to think of five different concepts by your-self. This was shown to us by the fact that at first the only one we could come up with, as a group, was that writing is important. After some deliberation we added these concepts to the list: writing is everyday, everyday writing can contain emotion, people have different definitions of everyday writing, and writing gives an understanding of the environment it happens in.

            The first concept, writing is important, was a no-brainer. Writing is imperative to life. It is what we use to record our brief time before we shuffle off our mortal coil. Without writing there would be no learning because there would be no way to convey ideas across time without the possibility of miscommunication that plagues mouth-to-mouth communication. Communication is another reason why writing is important. Writing does not only record ideas, it also allows us to speak to each other. To travel the distance between two people just to say “Hi” would seem an enormous waste of time, but at the same time it is those simple little words and sentences that help to keep a relationship of two people together. Writing also gives us a connection to our past. The writings from the past are a tool that we use to improve the present, mourn things lost, celebrate feats accomplished, and help us remember when our internal memories elude us. We believe that this is the quintessential reason for writing courses, not only this class but all English courses.

            Another concept of this course is that writing is not something that has to happen on a university campus, within government walls, on doctor’s clipboards, lawyer’s case files, or flow from the pen of a well-known author. Writing is something we all can, and do take part of. It is everyday! You may not use a pen and paper every day to write a letter, you may not even add an item to your grocery list that you just noticed you were out of when you looked for it in the pantry. But that’s not what everyday writing is about. Everyday writing is the idea that we all are gears in the machine that is pen and paper. Writing doesn’t have to be either mass produced, or structured. It happens in the home, on a park bench, in restaurants, and between people. It contains vital information such as:

·      milk

·      bread

·      shampoo

·      roach motels

·      eggs

·      toilet paper

Big Mac

           No lettuce

           Lg Fry

           Med Sprite

Sub total:  5.99

Tax:            .42

Total:        6.41

Hey mom, I’m having fun at college, thanks for helping me move in, can’t wait to see you again, love you

Everyday writing is the most human form of writing. It is such a part of the human experience.

            One concept that we all have learned from this course is that everyday writing can contain emotion. The papers that this course is concerned with may not be novels with plot twists and characters that we get attached to. They may not be formal presentations, or chiseled pieces of work that have been formulated by a person with a Phd. They contain normal, boring things. They are about situations that we are all desensitized to because they are such commonplace activities, so they are uninteresting to most of us. Everyday writing is mostly mundane and unexciting. Yet, because of its representation of who a person is when they are behind closed doors, it has emotion sewn in throughout. Peoples writing uses phases like “I miss you” or “I never want to see you again”, “I love you” or “I hate you”, and “thank you”. Even simple lists tell you something about a person. Details like their interests, how they feel about themselves, who are the people they know, where they work, this is all information that one can learn from reading the notepads people have on the counters in their home and at their desks.

            A major concept that has come out in this course is that there are many different definitions of everyday writing. Some think it involves legal documents and essays, others think it is only writing that comes out of the house, and then others think it includes graffiti on a city sidewalk. Even people who have made work out of writing, such as Lillis and Lyons, cannot come to a single solution. But we think that this non-universal and forever changing definition of everyday writing is necessary for this type of writing to remain special. No one can define it, which means no one can confine it. It will forever remain unstructured and free flowing text. You will never be able to pick up a piece of everyday writing and have a predisposition about what it should be. It will always be different and personal. The information may sometimes be similar or close in meaning, but will it be in the same spot on a piece of paper, written in the same pen or same font, or have the same wording? This broad spectrum of the definition is essential to the existence of everyday writing.

            The fifth and final concept is that writing gives an understanding of the environment it is being created in. We can look at words and realize their birthplace. Is it coming from a hospital, a news article, a child’s diary, a letter to a lover, or directions to something. Whatever the words may be, we can put them all together to know what the reason was for the words. This understanding allows us to feel connected to the words. We can place sentiment on the words because we are emotional creatures that want to collect and remember. We may also feel disconnected. We may not understand what we are reading. This may cause us to feel small and become frustrated, but it may also bring about an interest in the subject of the writing. This disconnection may cause us to strive to understand and consequently grow as a person. Whatever the information is that lay on the surface we see it from, we can use it to discover the cause and reason for the text.