"Writing is Hard" and Other Truths:
Easing Students' Writing Anxiety 

Hi everyone, 

As I begin to plan my first FYC course, I have been thinking more and more about the cognitive and metacognitive side of writing, and how this might play a part in student’s anxieties surrounding the subject. 

Theory

Linda Adler-Kassner and Elizabeth Wardle introduce the cognitive process of writing in their book, Naming What We Know: Threshold Concepts in Writing Studies, as the fifth threshold concept, “Writing is (Also Always) a Cognitive Activity.” I really like how Charles Bazerman and Howard Tinberg describe writing as a cognitive process. They describe writing as a “full act of the mind, drawing on the full resources of our nervous system, formulating communicative impulses into thoughts and words, and transcribing through the word of the fingers,” (Adler-Kassner and Wardle 74). This description of writing being “a full act of the mind” really resonated with me. When I write, I often have to sit in a quiet room with little to no distractions as my mind tries to translate my thoughts into words, and then arrange those words into perfect little sentences, and those sentences into paragraphs. 

Writing can be intensive, but I think many people underestimate how hard writing can be. I have seen many students who come into the Writing Center because they are struggling with an assignment, and often they will judge themselves for not being able to complete the assignment quickly or easily. Students will often judge themselves for not knowing what to include in an introductory or conclusion paragraph, how they should support their ideas, or how they should organize their paragraphs. Sometimes, students will even judge their knowledge of a subject, believing that if they are struggling writing about it, they must not know about the topic as much as they thought they did. 

So far, I typically respond to these students by telling them that they are not alone and that many people (myself included) struggle writing essays, lab reports, and discussion posts. However, I believe this stress could be more easily mitigated by teaching students that writing is naturally hard and it is okay if they are struggling to complete their first, second, or third draft. If students understand that writing is a naturally challenging cognitive activity, more students will reflect on their own writing process and ask for help when they need it. 

Practice 

I believe there are many ways instructors can help students better understand the challenging nature of writing and help ease writing anxiety. I have already discussed this in my previous blog post but my mentor professor has repeatedly stressed the way writing is a process by implementing peer-review and revision in and outside the classroom. I believe this has helped students understand that the assignment that they are working on is likely challenging, and that it is completely normal to search for help from their instructor, peers, and tutors. In fact, students are encouraged to visit the Writing Center and are given extra credit if they implement feedback from a tutoring session. My mentor also stresses reaching out to her if they are struggling with class material. 

When I teach my own FYC course in the fall, I want to create an environment where students feel comfortable enough to tell me if they are struggling with course material. Although I love writing and began college as an English major, I understand not all students have the same feelings toward the subject. Ultimately, I want students to leave my class feeling more comfortable with their writing abilities, and I believe the only way this is possible is for students to be honest about their relationship with writing at the beginning of the semester. I will also be implementing many low-stakes writing assignments as studies have shown that such activities can ease writing anxiety (Adler-Kassner and Wardle 72). 

Finally, toward the beginning of the semester, I want to stress that writing is a cognitive practice, and while there may be days in which words fly out onto the page, there may be days when students stare at blank documents for what feels like hours. Many successful writers have published articles and given interviews about writer’s block and first drafts that I think could be great resources to help students to understand that even the "Greats" struggle. Overall, I think easing students’ anxiety surrounding writing is extremely important in helping students to succeed in their academic and professional careers, and I think some of this anxiety could be eased if students better understood that writing is a complex, cognitive activity that many people struggle with. By understanding that writing is a complex, cognitive activity, students are more likely to reach out for help, reflect on their own writing process, and ease writing anxiety (Balta). 

Works Cited

Adler-Kassner, Linda and Elizabeth Wardle. Naming What We Know: Threshold Concepts of Writing Studies, Utah State University Press, 2015, pp. 71-81. 

Balta, Elif Emine. "The Relationships Among Writing Skills, Writing Anxiety and Metacognitive Awareness." Journal of Education and Learning 7.3 (2018): 233-241.

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