By Zainab Faessal
The writing process is never smooth or natural; often bad first drafts and mistakes are important steps in becoming a great writer. Revising and editing work is something all writers do and learning how to do so begins in the classroom. In the essay, “Failure Can Be an Important Part of Writing Development,” Collin Brooke and Allison Carr discuss the reasons why failing is essential to improve writing. They begin by explaining that failure should be accepted in writing classrooms, as often students fear it to the point of avoiding the assignment altogether. To learn and grow, students need opportunities to fail and room to do so in writing classrooms.
Brooke and Carr also detail the importance of understanding that all writers write bad first drafts, make mistakes, and revise and edit their work. Failure in writing does not mean one is ignorant or inexperienced, but a part of the writing process and something even good writers use to build and expand their skills. They reference J.K. Rowling, often referred to as a great writer, the author of one of the bestselling children’s series, who experienced failure before succeeding. Brooke and Carr urge students to embrace mistakes and learn to fail so they can flourish as writers no matter the situation.
In the past, my writing courses did not give room for failure. Collin Brooke and Allison Carr were correct in that, as a student, I did avoid some work because I was so afraid of making a mistake. After all, as they stated, “In the writing classroom, when assessment is tied too completely to final products, students are more likely to risk failure for fear of damaging their grades, and this fear works against the learning process.” Without flexibility in my classrooms, I couldn’t understand why I failed, or learn how to do it right. I felt inexperienced coming into this course because I had not written essays in many years, and when I did, I rarely edited or revised them. Most of the writing I do daily is for work and personal life, so I was afraid of writing poorly and failing. But since learning that it’s fine to have bad first drafts, even bad essays, if I identify those mistakes and improve them, I can be a confident writer.
“One of the most important things students can learn is failure is an opportunity for growth.” (Naming What We Know p.63)
I’m not only afraid of writing bad first drafts, but I’m also afraid of failing in general. There have been so many times in my life that I was afraid of doing something wrong, simply because I was scared of failing.If I had learned early on that it’s okay to be imperfect, then I wouldn’t have that fear. After learning to make mistakes a few times at work and in my personal life, I realized that the only thing I gained from avoiding failure was regret. Regret should be what we avoid in life, instead of failure. I wish many times that I had risked a bad grade rather than avoiding the work entirely. I hope that classrooms and other educational institutes will encourage students to try, even if they don’t get it right. It’s fine as long as we practice over and over until we progress, because it’s better to fail and improve than regret it later on.
