Emily Heredia

Professor Doutherd
November 4, 2017

Good Writing vs Literacy Identity

An outsider is someone who has no idea what is going on, someone who wants to
understand what one is talking about, someone who is not taking this specific course in this case.
The outsider from this English 5M course will learn many different things, some of those being
very beneficial. In particular, the outsider will learn about two of the most important units in this
course the units on Good Writing and Literacy Identity. According to Dana Ferris, a professor
from Sacramento States English department, a multilinguals writing style is different than the
American style. In the article, What is a Multilingual Writer? Ferris states that multilingual
writers need to somehow adapt to that style; however, it doesnt necessarily mean that the
specific style is the best way to go about writing a paper. That specific statement ties into the
units on Good Writing and Literacy Identity, and why they are essential to this specific course;
however, the unit on Good Writing can benefit one more from understanding than the unit on
Literacy Identity.
Good writing is writing that has a logical flow of ideas and that is united in some sort of
way. The unit on Good Writing is substantial to not only this course, but many others. It has been
seen that having the ability to have a well written first draft is quite impossible. As a matter of
fact, an article stated that even the most famous authors of todays time have more than one
draft. One may be asking themselves why this matters; well the author of Shitty First Drafts by
Anne Lamott (1994) stated, the first draft is the childs draft, where you let it all pour out and
then let it romp all over the place, knowing that no one is going to see it and that you can shape it
later (528). Understanding this idea will help writers acknowledge that once all of their ideas
are out onto the very first draft, the second, third, or maybe even fourth draft will result in the
best paper of all. This all ties into why this specific unit is important.
When looking at the Literacy Identity unit, it may be essential to this course; however, it
doesnt have high importance like the Good Writing unit. The Good Writing unit included the
importance of how it is okay to have an ugly first draft, that learning to adapt to new writing
styles can take some time, and so on. In reference to Literacy, the author of Argument as
Conversation: The Role of Inquiry in Writing a Researched Argument by Stuart Greene, Greene
mentions something about attracting the audience. Some may argue that this is where they can
somewhat connect the Good Writing unit to the Literacy Identity unit. They may say that in
order to have good writing, they must be able to understand literacy identity; however, literacy
identity will eventually come with good writing.
Furthermore, the most important idea from understanding good writing would be that it is
okay to be honest with the person whose paper one is peer reviewing. Richard Straub repeatedly
points out that giving one feedback is the correct thing to do; to not be passive. Understanding
this will not only benefit the reader, but the writer the most. It will help the writer become aware
of what they need and/or what they are much more capable of writing. In the article,
Responding-Really Responding-to Other Students Writing by Richard Straub, Straub states,
Look to help this friend, this roommate writer-okay, this person in your class to get a better
piece of writing (17). In other words, the author is telling the readers to not sugar coat what one
thinks. He is telling the readers to let out whatever it is they think. Doing so will have the writer
knowing that they are ready to expect more. This benefits the unit on Good Writing because it is
teaching one some key skills to bettering their own.
Aside from giving good feedback, adapting to the American Style of writing is
beneficial. Going back to what was mentioned before, in the article What is a Multilingual
Writer by Dana Ferris, Ferris gives examples on what is important for people to consider when
writing, as well as what the instructor is expecting. Ferris mentions that in college it is expected
for the student to address the topic, clearly communicate the purpose, instructors expect that the
ideas and information in the paper relate to the main purpose of the paper, and that they support
their own opinions with data. If one were to refer back to this, it will result in better writing skills
and a better grade.
One may ask why and how an outsider will benefit from these two specific units, the
Good Writing unit in particular. The Good Writing unit will help any student communicate more
effectively. If one writes well, they communicate well in not only a classroom, but a workplace
as well. A multilingual writer and even an outsider should follow Dana Ferris considerations
when writing a paper, so their paper is at a college level.
Overall, its been made clear that the unit on Good Writing is more beneficial to
understand rather than the unit on Literacy Identity. Authors such as, Dana Ferris, Anne
Lammot, Richard Straub and ongoing have given reasons as to why Good Writing is an
important unit to understand in order to succeed. Any outsider from this course will benefit from
understanding two of the most important units in this course, Literacy Identity and the most
important being, Good Writing.
 Works Cited

Ferris, Dana. Multilingual Students and College Writing. Student Writing Handbook, 1st ed.,
Sacramento State University, 2009, pp. 2327.

Lamott, Anne. Shitty First Drafts. Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life. New
York: Anchor, 1994. 21-27. Print.

Straub, Richard. Responding-Really Responding-to other Students Writing. The Subject Is

Writing. Ed. Wendy Bishop. Portsmouth, NH: Boynton/Cook, 136-46. Print.