Informal Writing
What are the uses of informal writing?
•	To develop/practice particular skills
•	To help with invention, drafting, revising
•	To develop students’ awareness of their writing processes
•	To motivate students to write
•	To promote ownership and agency
•	To master ideas
The varieties of informal writing
Type	Examples	
Freewriting	Speed writing; blind screen writing; e-list; chatroom	
Responding to prompts	Journal prompts; readings prompts; peer review prompts; beginning-of-discussion catalyst; middle-of-discussion rejuvenator; end-of-discussion summary	
Journals	Daily, weekly, reading-centered, event-centered, theme-centered, totally free, quantity-based, double-entry journals, lab notebooks, 	
Asking questions	Generating questions for readings; generating questions for peers’ texts; asking questions about the course; imaginary dialogues	
Online communication	E-lists (listservs); Pipeline chats; popmail address books; IM chats; Daedalus chats	
Class collaborative project	Class zines; class publications; mock trials; dramatizations	
Personal publication	Individual’s magazine; personal web page	
Imitation	Modeling of paragraph, sentence; using parodies; modeling genres (memos, letters to editor, CD liner notes, ads, etc.)	
Impromptu reportage	In-class report on a staged event; report of a field trip or video	
Metacommentary	Analysis of a writing assignment and how it was met; analysis of classroom use of a text, program; analysis of the course; generating grading criteria for assignments	
Creative informal writing	Dialogues; skits; bio-poems of real/fictional persons (Gere, 1985); letters to famous persons; metaphor games	
Skills-centered	Practice essay exams; job application cover letters; thesis sentences; revision of paragraphs; revision of peer papers	
How does informal writing fit into the course structure and assessment process? 
(The following options may not be valid depending on the type of informal writing assigned)
•	Tie informal writing clearly to formal graded papers or portfolio
•	Avoid evaluative responses to informal writing; record that it was submitted
•	Use informal writing for skills-building and encouragement—play coach, not judge
•	Let students be the respondents
•	Limit time you devote to reviewing informal writing, and stick to it.
•	Use class time to review informal writing
•	Ignore editing errors; consider this drafting