When doing the Writer's Journal assignments, I have tended to perform the tasks in chronological order, summarizing one task and then moving onto the next. Upon answering tasks, I typically find myself answering several other questions in the process: for example, Writer's Journal #2 had me explain which communication literacy was most important to me and why, and that opened up a paragraph about the learning process to gain the skill of using that communication literacy. These assignments have shaped my responses and thinking in the way that I have begun to answer more specifically than I normally would to the questions. When writing for something very simple, like a book, I tend to answer questions less readily; if someone asks me to write a two-paragraph fictional story with predefined requirements, it might be difficult to find the requirements being answered amid all the action from the main storyline. With these Writer's Journals, however, I respond clearer and more actively than I normally would.
Writing assignments in general, like MLA papers and essays, haven't really shaped my thinking too much. When there would be something wrong with the essay, though, I think my brain would start to adjust to the requirements, and then I would catch on to why there was something wrong with the essay, or how I was supposed to approach the assignment. But the assignment type that has the most impact on shaping my thinking, however, is ones where you're instructed to use 10 or more vocabulary words in a story about anything at all. Since I already use lots of advanced words in everyday, casual writing, it's typically easy for my brain to adjust to this, and I've never had a time where it's been tricky or daunting to complete these assignments. There have also been times where writing instruction has shaped my thinking, especially when I find out about a new technique or new words. In the end, I think writing assignments requiring me to use vocabulary words, and in some cases writing instruction, are the two things that tend to shape my thinking.
Generally, I think almost all kinds of writing can shape and structure our thinking if we enjoy doing it. If we see a particular assignment as grueling or extremely hard, we won't stop at doing it, but chances are, that assignment won't be shaping our thinking. It's the ones that require you to write any story you like, but with certain limitations, that will get our minds going. This idea does not concern me at all--it actually provides a bit of reassurance that the assignments I'm completing are helping me to structure my thinking. There are many upsides to this; the reassurance factor is one of them, and another is the enjoyment factor, where you enjoy what you're doing and writing. Of course, there are downsides, but they're few and far between, like the fact that only certain writing assignments can structure thinking, and others may not have that ability.
And that's all for Writer's Journal #3.
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