Draft, Re-draft, Re-draft, and Re-draft

In high schoool, re-drafting (or revising, if you prefer) felt like extra to work to me. Typically, re-drafting simply meant, as Harper says, an opportunity to recopy my work and change a couple of words. It seemed like mindless busywork. I do not know if no teacher explained what redrafting meant or if I simply could not understand, but I do know that my writing involved exponentially when I learned this skill in college.

Spandel seems to offer some decent advice when it comes to what she calls "writing badly." I'm still not entirely sure what that means, but it must have something to do with how chaotic one's first draft can be. Sometimes that first bad draft is part of good writing. I do not even know how many first drafts I've simply tossed away. That appears to be what Spandel is saying about writing. That a poorly written draft can be as helpful (if not more so) than a decently written one.
On a slightly different note, I have noticed that many of these readings are focused on a particular type of writing, seemingly more creative than expository. I myself have that redrafting is much more rewarding (and entertaining) when working with some sort of creative or narrative structure. But when I recall the types of writing I did in high school, I mainly remember writing reports, research papers, and other less-creative essays. I wonder if these readings are not too focused on a specific type of writing. I sometimes feel Spandel is too--what's the word I'm looking for--artsy in her view of writing. Perhaps what an English teacher defines as good writing (publishable and entertaining) is not what others would define as good writing. This is somewhat of a tangent but when English teachers are expected to teach more fundamental skills in writing, can we then focus so specifically on one mode? Perhaps there should be writing teachers in every field from English to science describing and teaching their respective modes of writing.

Here is my link for this week. It's from Princeton's writing resources. Basically it describes methods of revision and other hints at the revision process.
http://webware.princeton.edu/sites/writing/Writing_Center/handouts/html/Revision.htm

Five Paragraph Essay

Wesley's view of the five paragraph essay is becoming more and more common. I agree that to some extant the FPE does inhibit an element of learning by placing too much emphasis on structure. FPE's, as Wesley puts it, do "stunt students' critical thinking abilities" to some degree. Confinement of any sort in writing does obviously decrease other freer modes of writing. That said, however, the FPE does serve a purpose when used effectively.
Wesley points out that we must maintain coherence and unity in an essay. Although creating the FPE originally perhaps served the purpose of being easily graded, the FPE also is clear and concise when responding to a topic. The FPE is a useful tool that can be used in numerous academic writings. The FPE teaches students to look at how one organizes paragraphs and thoughts, how to expand ideas, and how to concisely convey a point. Of course the FPE is not suited to 7-9 page papers; it was never meant to be used as such. Wesley sets up that argument even though it is unnecessary. No one, at least I hope no one, believes that FPE's serve all types of writing and topics.
I also disagree with Wesley's premise that the FPE denies students the ability to think for themselves. Borrowing a well-defined, histortically effective form is a great way to remove one obstacle from writing. For example, borrowing a poetical form, such as a sonet, can remove the necessary structure, rhythm, and rhyme search from the equation and allow a student to simply convey his or her thoughts, free of that obstacle. The FPE is similar. Use a form that is time-tested to convey one's thoughts and opinions with clarity and conciseness. Though perhaps not romantic or effective in every setting, it does not necessarily inhibit thinking.

Here is a link discussing the merits of FPE's.

http://www.msu.edu/~phl/phlskills/writing.htm