November 7th, 2017

LIT Reflection #6

“We need technology in every classroom and in every student and teacher’s hand, because it is the pen and paper of our time, and it is the lens through which we experience much of our world.” - David Warlick

This week for LIT 102 we continued on our writing journey. To begin with, we explored how technology can be integrated into writing. We learnt that if technology is used effectively can encourage a collaborative, interactive, environment that supports the writing process and the social perspective on learning. Additionally, we were exposed to some suitable technologies that we as prospective teachers can introduce to our students. For example the Microsoft word can be used to create and help students edit documents. Wikis and blogs (which we are currently using to write our reflections) can be used to encourage students’ collaboration and writing. in addition, digital storytelling provides students with the opportunity to write using a variety of multimedia practice. We liked that writing has evolved from when we were in primary school. We were only given the opportunity to write our essay in our exercise book, now students have the chance to interact with technology, add picture and other multimedias, and use editing and other features to enhance their work.

Moreover, we looked at persuasive writing. Persuasive writing is where the writer is trying to persuade the reader to agree with him or her on what he or she is writing about (their opinion or stance). This genre appeals to the reader’s emotions, the writer uses words to convince the reader that his or her opinion is correct. Therefore the writer would incorporate rhetorical devices such as repetition, rhetorical question, endorsement, generalization and hyperbole. All with the intention of swaying the reader into siding with his or her belief.

During this session, it was made clear to us that unlike expository writing which is based on factual information, persuasive writing is about opinion. We are now able to write from a first person's perspective. Importantly, in order to sway others to accept your opinion, we believe one should be able to use language effectively. Words should be carefully selected and the write's voice should be able to appeal to the reader's emotion especially when dealing with topic about their well-being and what they consider to be ethical or right, since these matter to most human beings. 

Furthermore, we learnt that this genre of writing must contain a thesis statement and the points that will be discussed, including reasons, evidence and examples. The writer must hold the audience of the piece in mind as this will influence the writer’s choice of words and the way in which it is presented. Additionally, we learnt that transitional word choice is important as this adds to the effectiveness and smooth flow of the piece. We liked the phrase that stated "...wrap up the essay with a 'punch', restating the thesis and stance". This shows that the writer has to defend what he or she is saying and ensure to emphasis on the points for sound writing. 

Additionally, we liked the writing strategy that was provided in this session. We can introduce our students to this so that they can plan out what points they are going to use in their persuasive piece. This strategy is simple and easy to understand and also students can relate to it since many of them would be familiar with the biscuit oreo.

As prospective teachers this session on persuasive writing was informative, since at some point in our career we would have to teach this topic. Certainly, we would have to expose students to different actual forms of persuasion such as: advertisement and verbal and oral; clippings from political speeches. Additionally, we would allow them to say what they think the elements of a persuasive piece are and then teach them the correct elements. We would provide students with ample opportunities to create their own persuasive pieces and give them the chance to share them with others. Indeed, the stages of the writing process will be used to help students revise and edit their work before submission.

            For the next session, we would appreciate examples of persuasive pieces both good and bad ones. This would help us when we have to write our pieces to know what to write and what not to write. Additionally, we would like impromptu persuasive pieces to write on that we would read in class and critique each other work.