Writing for self

“Self Directed Writing, Giving Voice to Student Writers” by Kim Brian Lovejoy illuminates issues teachers have with pushing curriculums and their own love for what they are teaching, “We can reclaim the passion for reading and writing that often gets buried in times when curricular and legislative mandates become the focus of attention in a testing environment”. Lovejoy’s idea for self-directed writing promotes students to communicate effectively while sharing their knowledge. Selfdirecting writing gives students the opportunity to write about something that interests them, gives them a reason to write on a regular basis, encourages both the natural voice of the student as well as encourages students to write with different voices for different purposes, builds community, gives students an idea of the writing process (brainstorming, drafting, editing, revising and publishing. Writing for one’s self appears to be the best way to grapple with issues surrounding writing. The self analysis of one’s own writing as well as placing one’s own writing into a cultural context are the major benefits of allowing students to write for self rather than an assignment. Of course the progress must be monitored by a teacher but if students could see writing as a form of expression and not just a tedious assignment they will become more interested and become better writers.