Why Freewriting Is Good For Teens
Not so many kids and teenagers are keen when teachers give them writing assignments. Many kids feel that there are just too many rules when it comes to writing. No matter how careful they write, the teachers always seem to find something wrong with their work.
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Teachers and also parents who are struggling to get kids to write should understand that too many rules just don’t sit well for kids. When it comes to writing it’s best to relax the rules a bit or even throw them off altogether.
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Welcome The World of Freewriting
The term freewriting was first coined in 1973 by Peter Elbow, a Professor of English Emeritus at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Freewriting is like you’re brainstorming but put everything that crosses your mind in sentences and paragraphs.
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There many benefits of freewriting especially for teens. Let’s talk about them one by one, OK?
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Solves writer’s block
The reason why freewriting rids the writer’s block problem is the fact that you can pick any topic. And by any topic, we mean ANY topic.
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For instance, you can ask your teens to start their writing with “My t-shirt stinks.” Yes, that’s a real writing prompt. Since teens often have problem with body odor anyway, they won’t need extra googling to write about it. They have first-hand experience with the topic.
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Puts process first
Freewriting is simple: you just pick whatever topic you wish and write as you please for any set amount of time like 15 or 20 minutes. If the result is a well-written text, that’s great. However, if the result is a jumbled mess, that’s alright too.
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The purpose of freewriting is to let people write however they pleased. Whatever they come up with is rarely a problem.
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You see, kids and teens often complain about the many rules of writing. They hate being criticized for their work especially for things they deem trivial. With freewriting, it’s the writing process that matters most. All other things are secondary.
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Builds confidence
When kids learn to ride a bike, they fall a lot. However, as long as you, the parent, doesn’t freak out. They’ll keep trying until they’re good at it.
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It’s the same thing with everything in life, including writing. Don’t freak out when you see no commas or periods. Stay calm when one sentence doesn’t connect with the next. They’re making mistakes and learning at the same time.
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Promotes good writing habit
It’s easy to make a habit out of something that feels simple. Since freewriting comes with barely any rules, it’s easy to grab a pen and pour your brains out. That’s how people manage to keep their diaries updated about all the frivolous things that happen during the day.
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You never worry about grammar when writing a diary, right? You feel no worries about people criticizing you for misspellings too. Well, freewriting also feels like that.
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In summary, anyone who wish to write daily should use freewriting as the starting point. It’s that easy. Of course, if your kids are using freewriting as the starting point to write a paper, they should definitely proofread and edit their work before submitting it.
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If they’re not feeling confident about their proofreading skill, just use a tool such as the online spelling and grammar checker tool. It’s fairly straightforward to use and it can catch all the errors the eyes just can’t see.
