Journal 3: Your Writing Process

     First-order thinking and second-order thinking, although very different, work hand in hand when crafting a writing project. First-order thinking can be defined as writing without any barriers based on who the audience is. For example, when I am speaking with my best friend, I mainly use first-order thinking. I am so comfortable with my best friend that I don't put up any barriers when I speak and just express all of my thoughts onto her. Second-order thinking is when these barriers do go up, and the thinking and writing process becomes much more specialized. This means that, in second-order thinking, one will be thinking about what they are saying or writing based on the setting and who they are talking to. These two go hand in hand because when writing a paper, it may be helpful to start by using first-order thinking and then move on to second-order thinking. First, put any and all thoughts onto a page using first-order thinking. Then, use second-order thinking to rearrange these thoughts into one, cohesive essay.
     Honestly, I am pretty terrified of writing. I have never been the best writer, so having a class focused on writing and only writing is somewhat stressful. In the past, my writing process has usually been gathering up my evidence and analysis, then forming an essay around these pieces. After constructing the entire essay, I would go back and read over it a few times to revise any thoughts or change the way some sentences were structured to make the overall flow of the essay smoother and to make the essay as a whole easier to understand.