TYCA-PNW.ORG

Hello All,

Well, here's a little attempt to get a rousing discussion going; we'll see what happens.

I recently came across the concept of "inkshedding" as a teaching technique. It was something I'd not heard of before, but has been around for 20 years or so. The minimal information I've read is that inkshedding is meant to bridge a gap between freewriting (which is often not re-read or is simply discarded) and more polished essays submitted for feedback or grades. In short, people (students and professionals at conferences) write spontaneously for a short period of time with the idea that the material will be read and shared with everyone else. Advocates say it creates more polished and audience-centered work, which gets people thinking about fundamental things like organization and writing for a particular audience in ways they don't when freewriting.

I was wondering what other folks know about this concept, if anyone's tried it in classes, or if this is even a viable idea anymore.

Samm