Dear future students,

Welcome to my theory of writing! I believe writing relies most on one’s personal experiences and knowledge more than formal construction of composition. This means focusing more globally on the content and structure of papers than solely performing a deep dissection of grammatical mistakes. What I am far more interested in is finding overall patterns of error and working to correct those each round of every assignment. My theory of writing shaped itself through my own artistic expression, time as an undergraduate, and subsequent career paths I have experienced in the job market.

Personally, this theory of writing comes from writing (and reading) always being a source of survival for me as a student, and I know it will be for some of you as well. Writing can be an art form that is easily accessible for individual and shared creativity. If a pen (or pencil) and paper can be found, self-expression and communication can be created. Oftentimes, having only the resources for writing as an artistic outlet, in any given situation, helped me grow as a person. This was because I could not only speak my truth to myself, but also writing gave me a way to organize my thoughts and feelings to convey to those around me, like friends, family members, other students, and coworkers. From this practice, I have deduced that approaching writing in this holistic manner rather than a restrictive one focused on formalities can help a person grow, not only as a human being, but as an academic and/or artist as well.

What made me want to continue to pursue writing – particularly creative writing – more actively were specific teachers I had along my academic career; their fervor for the craft and dedication to my writing has been the biggest contribution to my theory of the craft. These teachers did this by creating writing assignments that my classmates and I could identify and connect with rather than something large and vague, like a general research paper. Particularly, I remember my freshmen composition adjunct, Paul X. Rutz, coming up with assignments to drive these points home, such as having us create products we would use in our present-day lives. Doing so helped build that learning connection for further exploration into composition. Therefore, I will be working to incorporate your personal interests to drive the very vehicle that can help instill that composition craft knowledge that can then be used in other academic circles and in your post-college jobs.

As a person who has held many office positions and has numerous family members in engineering, mechanics, and the sciences, content and clarity takes precedent over grammar or other formalities of composition. Though, I should say, it does not erase the need for traditional grammar standards. For various career people, personal experience and expression typically surpasses the formal rules when it comes to daily writing, such as internal emails, memos, text messages, and meeting notes. Formal conventions can be learned and memorized in a relatively short period of time, typically through repetition. Conveying yourself clearly takes more time and can bond you more with the skill of writing itself and therefore self-expression.

Most of this theory is what pushed me in my first years of college to produce writing and want to learn more on the subject. And you should know, this theory is rather flexible; it can be applied to any writing situation. It’s essential to exorcising the truest expression within a person and crafting the language and grammar from there. I look forward to revisiting the kind of writing that I did as an undergrad, and I am excited to go on this learning journey with all of you as well! If you have any more questions about my theory, please reach out to me through email or during office hours.

All the best,

KRISTINE ESSER SLENTZ