Forum administrator--forgive me if I am posting this in the wrong place. i have been out of college for awhile. i did not know whether to post this question in creative writing. But since it concerns the type of writing college students have to do, I thought i might generate the most useful responses in the college section.

I hope to expound upon this question later. But I'm wondering how many of you have problems when you sit down to write. I am 43 years old. When i was in high school, i can remember being able to write the in-class essays within the alloted time period--and I made decent grades. The same was true when i was an 18 yr old college student.

Now I write everything offline. I also need to do prewriting and outlining quite a bit.

Despite the fact that I made it through college on the 10yr+ plan, I still find myself consulting reference works to be sure that the sentences hang together correctly, etc.

I believe part of this has to do with what has for so long been the dominant view of teaching composition--that one should always be able to sit down and compose a totally organized group of paragraphs within a 30 to 40 minute time frame--just like in composition classes.

In one book I have used, the author assumes that everybody can construct paragraphs that way--specifically, that everybody ought to be able to sit down, write the topic sentence, and then be able to write the supporting sentences one after another without having to do any "brainstorming" or prewriting.

I cannot write like that-and it seems the harder i try, the more self-conscious and self-critical i become. Does this sound like an ADD symptom or manifestation?

Any insight or ideas are appreciated.

It doesn't sound diagnostic by itself to me... do you mind saying more about your thoughts concerning this?

My apologies for not being more clear. I have been diagnosed with ADD. I was wondering if anybody who might have the same struggle with "pure deductive" writing might have some useful tips on prewriting, brainstorming, or other methods that help one get the essential information on the page before organizing it into logical paragraph sequence.

Hope this clarification helps.

thank you.

I have no trouble at all writing... if I have control over what I am writing.

If I have to write within a rigid and established outside structure, for example a formal essay, it's a hopeless cause. Don't just bet against me... bet everything you OWN against me... the bets don't COME any surer than that one...

I'm running into this problem too now that I'm in grad school. It's been YEARS since I've had to write from a critical thinking viewpoint. I have learned a few things about what works for me:

1. GOTTA take notes as I read. The whole page is just too much for me, and it's difficult to shift back and forth between the book page and my paper--that nanosecond is just enough time for me to get distracted.

Therefore, I read and hi-lite first, trying really hard not to turn the entire book page yellow! ;)

Then, from my first read-through, I transfer the info into my own words as much as possible into some sort of outline/verticle/list form. I use symbols to represent each main point and subpoints. I use double arrows (=>) and single arrows (->) to represent/draw attention to relationships between the concepts about which I'm reading. I use different colors of ink for notes on each separate topic. If there are several "sections" under a "main section," I write each section's notes on a separate page in a different color than the other sections' pages.

And YES, this does take time, but it helps me.

2. Then, from my notes, I take a look at the writing assignment/discussion question, and break it down into it's exact phrases/key words to determine exactly what I'm supposed to answer--underlining, hi-liting, or even rewriting the question in my own words if necessary.

3. Then, on another page, I write in a sort of "stream of consciousness" sentences, phrases, bullet lists, or whatever that come to mind as I consider how I want to answer the assignment/question.

4. From that brainstorming, I am usually able to define a general direction in which I want to take my response, and it becomes just a matter of turning my brainstorming page into sentences.

5. MOST IMPORTANTLY, I have to take breaks during this process (go empty the dishwasher, clean the litterboxes, wash my face, grab a snack, go sit outside for a bit,....) so that I have "processing time" away from the actual materials. I have to "chunk it, or I'll just chuck it!"

Hope that helps in some way. :) Please let me know if you need clarification on anything I just wrote. :D

smoo