Table of Contents
What is expressive writing essay?
Expressive writing is personal and emotional writing without regard to punctuation, verb agreement, or other technical aspects of writing. What Is Expressive Writing? Expressive writing—also called emotional writing—is the process of writing about personal and emotional events without regard to form, structure, spelling, grammar, or punctuation. Essentially, it is free-writing, often inspired by a prompt, poem, or piece of literature. Written expression is a complex process of using various cognitive operations to translate ideas and thoughts into a written language. Anything that communicates thoughts or feelings is expressive. Expressive comes from the French word expres for clear, plain.” It’s easy to read people who are expressive, their emotions are clear. Smiling, laughing, shouting, crying, and pouting are all expressive. The Expressive personality, a verbally adept personality, is engaging, accommodating, supportive of others, persuasive, socially adept, and relationship- rather than task-oriented. Researchers have found that people who practice expressive writing — that is, writing to help make sense of your thoughts and emotions — can experience mental and emotional benefits, including a reduction in stress, anxiety and depression and greater clarity and focus. They may even experience physical benefits.
What is expressive writing in education?
Expressive writing is writing in which the writer is her/his own audience. It need be evaluated by no one other than the writer. Transactional writing, in comparison, is the communication of previous learning performed for others. Expressive writing is not creative writing; it is the thought process made visible. Expressive writing involves writing about how you felt during a particular event versus what happened. It is a much more intimate and emotional style of journaling than what we typically think of when it comes to journaling (Pennebaker, 2013; (Nazarian & Smyth, 2013). Expressive language is the ability to request objects, make choices, ask questions, answer, and describe events. Speaking, gesturing (waving, pointing), writing (texting, emailing), facial expressions (crying, smiling), and vocalizations (crying, yelling) are all variations of expressive language. Written expression refers to a highly complex, cognitive, self-directed process. Higher order components include planning, translating (drafting), reviewing and revising.
How do you start an expressive essay?
Write the introductory paragraph of the expressive essay. Open up the paragraph with an I statement (I feel the most important thing to ever happen to me is…). Lightly mention the three details that were written on the list, then close it with another definitive statement about the topic. One way to start your essay is with a shocking, unexpected, or amusing fact about the topic you’re covering. This grabs the reader’s attention and makes them want to read further, expecting explanation, context, and/or elaboration on the fact you presented. Concluding Sentence What do you want your reader to know or understand and introduce that idea in one sentence. Summarize the big idea of the paragraph without repeating the exact same words. Include the subject and your argument or claim in one complete sentence. Give the reader something to think about. The main parts (or sections) to an essay are the intro, body, and conclusion. In a standard short essay, five paragraphs can provide the reader with enough information in a short amount of space. Good paragraphs begin with a topic sentence that briefly explains what the paragraph is about. Next come a few sentences for development and support, elaborating on the topic with more detail. Paragraphs end with a conclusion sentence that summarizes the topic or presents one final piece of support to wrap up.
What are elements of expressive writing?
The three basic steps of expressive writing – prewriting, composing, and revising – have to be taught explicitly. Expressive writing is used to express opinions. Its main purpose is to contribute to human thought and make deeper connections with those around you. Expressive writing is a form of writing therapy developed primarily by James W. Pennebaker in the late 1980s. The seminal expressive writing study instructed participants in the experimental group to write about a ‘past trauma’, expressing their very deepest thoughts and feelings surrounding it. The following is a brief description of five qualities of good writing: focus, development, unity, coherence, and correctness. The qualities described here are especially important for academic and expository writing. Self-expressive writing is often used in therapeutic settings where people are asked to write about their thoughts and feelings related to a stressful event. An example of expressive writing in a personal journal is the famous Diary of Anne Frank, which gives perspective on emotion in a critical period of time. Essays and memoirs are also forms of expressive writing.
Why is expressive writing important?
Expressive writing can result in a reduction in stress, anxiety, and depression; improve our sleep and performance; and bring us greater focus and clarity. These effects of writing as a tool for healing are well documented. Expressive language is our ability to communicate our thoughts and feelings through words, gestures, signs, and/or symbols. It can be as simple as pointing to a desired object or as complex as writing a book about an area of interest. Narratives, personal commentaries, personal essays and blogs are examples of expressive texts. The three basic steps of expressive writing – prewriting, composing, and revising – have to be taught explicitly.
How do you end an expressive essay?
The concluding paragraph summarizes the topic in very concise terms. A concluding paragraph should never introduce new points that have not been developed in the body. You should also avoid repeating the same words you used in the body. Summarize the main points in new words with new transitions. The conclusion paragraph should begin by restating your thesis, and then you should broaden back out to a general topic. End with a closing statement. This paragraph looks like the reverse of your introduction paragraph, going from specific to general. The five-paragraph essay structure consists of, in order: one introductory paragraph that introduces the main topic and states a thesis, three body paragraphs to support the thesis, and one concluding paragraph to wrap up the points made in the essay. A good introduction needs to get the audience’s attention, state the topic, make the topic relatable, establish credibility, and preview the main points. Introductions should be the last part of the speech written, as they set expectations and need to match the content.
Is expressive writing creative writing?
Generally, though, poetry refers to writing that is highly personal and expressive. Therefore, when I use the phrase “expressive writing” I am using it as synonymous with what, in the U.S., we most often term “creative writing,” which includes fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction (or the personal essay). Generally, though, poetry refers to writing that is highly personal and expressive. Therefore, when I use the phrase “expressive writing” I am using it as synonymous with what, in the U.S., we most often term “creative writing,” which includes fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction (or the personal essay). Expressive writing is personal and emotional writing without regard to punctuation, verb agreement, or other technical aspects of writing. In contrast, expressive vocabulary refers to words that a person can express or produce, for example, by speaking or writing. #1) Narrative Writing Best for fiction and creative writing. Narrative writing is storytelling in written form. It captures a journey, or a part of it, from the start to the very end.
What is expressive text type?
Expressive text refers to written language forms such as narrative, poetry and metaphor that can be used as tools in research to vividly represent the meaning and feeling conveyed in an experience. Expressive writing is writing in which the writer is her/his own audience. It need be evaluated by no one other than the writer. Transactional writing, in comparison, is the communication of previous learning performed for others. Expressive writing is not creative writing; it is the thought process made visible. Expressive writing can result in a reduction in stress, anxiety, and depression; improve our sleep and performance; and bring us greater focus and clarity. These effects of writing as a tool for healing are well documented. Written expression is a complex process of using various cognitive operations to translate ideas and thoughts into a written language. Emotional expressiveness can be defined as individual ability to communicate emotional states through nonverbal movements, including through the face (Riggio 1986). Expressing emotions through facial and body movements is an evolved adaptation. The four main types of writing styles are persuasive, narrative, expository, and descriptive.