Being a college student I am constantly given assignments to write a paper on a certain topic that I may have never even heard about. Rather than worrying, my first reaction is to Google the term. This does not only apply to me, but to most college students. Thankfully, everything is found on the web today. Even though it is easy to access this information, I do not believe the work is authentic.
John Pedro Schwartz, a professor at the American University of Beirut and Olin Bjork, a professor at Santa Clara University wrote the article “ Writing in the Wild: A Paradigm for Mobile Composition” which suggests how ones writing is much more authentic when in a different setting other than the usual (dorm room, library, coffee shop). With the advancements in technology such as laptops, iPod’s, and smartphones, people are writing their assignments in their room or the library and being influenced by second sources off the web. Schwartz and Bjork suggest that students should research in a new way that involves experience and setting.
Recently in one of my classes I was given the assignment to write about the famous Mexican holiday Dia De los Muertos. I have never celebrated this holiday and so I was relying on researching it online to gather most of my information. A day before the paper was due and I had already finished writing it I was given the opportunity to celebrate the holiday on campus. I took a printout of my paper and wrote down extra information of my experience. I ended up rewriting my paper while being at the event and experiencing it live. Doing this gave me a different experience rather than writing it in my room and being influence by other sources. I definitely agree with the argument in the article that,
“students can better perceive and learn to challenge their social, cultural, and historical locations when they research, write, and even publish on location.”
It would be a wonderful idea of more students followed this advice and changed their setting when writing a paper.Writing in the usual place such as your room or the library lacks creativity. Being able to write in a different location gives one the opportunity to write thought a different lens.