Background Information
Suppose that in your very first school class that involved writing, your
teacher had told you to go away and think about some particular issue, think
it through from various angles, talk it over with family and friends, and,
when you have thought it over just as well as you can manage, and have come
to what, as far as you can tell, based on logic and the evidence available
to you, is as close to the correct answer as you can get, then, and only
then, sit down and write a paper explaining what you think, and why you
think it, as clearly, correctly, and completely as possible. Suppose that
when you've done this for the first time, and turned in your paper, your
teacher reviews it, and gives it back to you with hints and suggestions on
how to think more logically, on how to better find, understand, and
interpret evidence, and how to write and organize your paper so that the
average expected reader will be more likely to be able to understand your
thoughts and your reasons. Now imagine that every class that involved
writing worked this way so that over your school career, you got better and
better and better at thinking things through, and at describing your ideas
and reasons. I call this "cognitive writing" (If I was in
charge of education, this is how it would always be.)
The "RTW" Cycle
In my view, pretty much every paper should be the pure result of a Read
- THINK - Write cycle. You read the most relevant
information, enough of it to support a substantial paper, think
it through from all angles as deeply as you can (the thinking is the
most important part), and only then, you write down the
most important results of your thinking process as clearly and completely
as you can. When your developed thoughts are as clearly and completely
expressed as possible, you stop. Your paper is finished.
To this end, some things are NOT allowed in my
class. Specifically things that do not represent part of the
results of your thinking process are banned. "Introductions"
that waste the reader's time with irrelevancies are not allowed.
"Conclusions" that merely repeat things you've already said are not
allowed. Dictionary definitions are not allowed. Rhetorical questions are
not allowed. Uninterpreted quotes from other writers are not
allowed. Snide comments are not allowed. Cop-outs are not allowed. Stuff
that is added merely to fill up space ("padding") is especially
not allowed.
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© 2023 by Martin C. Young
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