Wendy Worthy

Tanya Smith

Erick Richman

Jessica Geister

From Writing Anxiety to Writing Process

What is Writing Anxiety?

A feeling of indifference or pessimism towards writing that results in putting off the assignment

What Causes Writing Anxiety?

• Difficult or hard to understand assignments and prompts

• External stress factors • Other classes, work, etc.

• Negative previous writing experiences• Bad relationships with professors• The requirement to follow strict formulas like the

five-paragraph essay

Coping with Anxiety 101

• Relax, take a deep breath and count to ten

• Decide which part of the assignment is giving you trouble

• Discuss your difficulties with a writing consultant, classmate, and/or the professor

• Make yourself comfortable while writing • Listen to your favorite band while writing or drink

your favorite beverage

Tips and Tricks To Avoid Writing Anxiety

• Start the assignment early

• Find a writing partner and brainstorm some ideas or head to the Writing Center for brainstorming help

More Tricks/Tips

• Write your ideas and opinions in a notebook or writing journal that you can refer to later.

• Mapping: draw a diagram with your central idea in the center and stem all supporting info from there.

• Free-writing: writing your ideas and thoughts for your paper down. Grammar and mechanics do not matter. Just write what first pops into your head and go from there.

• Blogging is a fun form of expressive writing that may alleviate your anxiety.

• You can also research your ideas and write the results down to help with major projects.

• Don’t forget sources for citations!

Example of Mapping

Example of Free-writing

Topic: Coffee

cofee toffee falafale The first thing that comes to mind is caffeine and one giant buzz. How much caffeine is in a cup of coffee? IDK Coffee isnt the only thing that has caffeine tea energy drinks like Red bull and Rockstars® have caffeine and other ingredients that also contain caffeine I know that guararrna has caffeine coffee coffee caffeine is awesome blah

Tips/Tricks (cont.)

• Organize your notes by glossing.• Highlight the main idea of each paragraph in the

margins of your essay.• Review how the main ideas fit together.• Place paragraphs with logical connections next to each

other.• Eliminate repetitive points.

Example of Glossing

Drafting

Once organized, write a rough draft and print it out. Put it away for a few days or tack it up where you can see it. Come back to it later and review it with “new eyes.” Add or change any part of your essay if necessary.

Drafting, cont.

• Keep some scratch paper nearby for ideas that come to you after you write your rough draft and tack it next to your essay to add later.

• Ideas can come to you while . . .• Driving• Blow-drying your hair• Cleaning your bathroom

Stuck?

• Why not head to the Writing Center in Woodall Hall for some help? The Consultants there will be happy to help you out!

The Writing Center

Location: Woodall Hall

Hours:

Monday- Thursday

10:00AM- 6:00 PM

Friday

10:00AM- 2:00 PM

Appointments Recommended! Walk-Ins Accepted!

When you are ready to continue:

• Finish your paper by writing a final draft and include any new ideas you came up with.

• Read it aloud for comprehension.

• If you still feel your content could be improved, don’t hesitate to visit the Writing Center again for help.

• Once you are happy with all your changes and content, turn it in on or before the due date.

Done with your paper?

• Give yourself a pat on the back! You have just finished your paper .

• Reward yourself with a movie or anything else you feel you deserve.

Works Cited

Del Carmen, Rolando. Criminal Procedure: Law and Practice. 7th ed. Belmont: Thomson Wadsworth, 2007. 155.