Brain and writing

The brain and writing are related. The process of writing involves complex interactions between cognitive, neural, and social factors. Writing is a skill that transforms cognitive thought and language into forms for communication, memorization, and writing. It requires multiple mental processes such as conceptualizing, organizing, revising ideas, and drawing connections, which are deeply rooted in brain functions. Studies in neuroscience, psychology, and education reveal how brain regions contribute to these processes, emphasizing the critical connection between brain activity and the writing process. Writing is not only influenced by brain specialization but also by societal factors such as cultural norms, educational practices, and individual experiences.

Brain specialization and writing

Brain specialization refers to particular brain regions in charge of certain tasks or mental processes, often divided between the left and right hemispheres. The left hemisphere (LH) is responsible for language production and critical thinking formation. The right hemisphere (RH) specializes in imagery and creative thinking, for synthesizing ideas related to personal experiences. Research suggests that both hemispheres need to be engaged to facilitate complex tasks, like organizing and integrating pieces of information into an intuitive essay. Applying critical thinking, or creative insights, will no longer create provoking and consistent thoughts that are represented in writing, which leads to the formation of "sterile and doomed" workouts.

Creative writing and the process of conceptualization stimulate different portions of the brain. For instance, verbalization- transforming thoughts into speech or text- are dominated by the LH and RH respectively. Language functions, including reading, listening, reading, and spelling, are highly valued in writing and are further developed based on the integration of verbal knowledge from the LH and visual-spatial abilities reinforced by the RH. More specifically, Broca's area, as one of the brain structures for verbalization, enables speech production and comprehension. Among a primary sensory area, the Broca's area serves to receive external signals. Wernicke's area, working as a secondary sensory area, helps interpret different sources of information based on the stimulus it receives from other primary sensory areas, including the meaning of sentences and words and how they are perceived by the brain through touching and listening. Though specialization exists as functions vary between the two hemispheres, the concept of the "generative process of learning" is broached as a result of the overlapping functions of the hemispheres.

Brain implications and educational practice

Courtesy of the strong connection between brain functions and writing, learning how to write and even become a good writer requires effective hemispheric activation. By applying appropriate teaching approaches students are able to enhance the quality of their written works. Most teaching approaches informed by brain research are grounded in the principle of active learning, calling upon active engagement for students in the classroom instead of passively listening to lectures and memorizing the teacher's scripts. For instance, using these techniques provides explicit instructions with teachers on certain genres when freewriting, brainstorming, or peer-reviewing- in order to improve comprehension of genre and writing requirements. Peer review from another student or teacher promotes free exploration for novel insights or careful revisions of the original text based on personal will. In the meantime, students then harbor more time to really "deposit" their thoughts as they can select the most valuable information for elaboration. Which in turn helps students gradually learn to develop more meaningful ideas in what they write and compose. Given that a positive attitude is held by the students in terms of using writing as a medium for active learning, a welcoming, encouraging, and energetic classroom setting is greatly proposed and valued.

In addition to techniques that support writing at the initial stages or throughout the writing process, many educators have found that cognitive mapping, visualizing the mental representation of ideas for individuals, is a helpful method during the prewriting stage. As the writer states "To write is to think well," mapping is thus a cognitive process that involves language and visual expression, which shows the students the whole part of a story with each component presented with clear details. The writing class should utilize modeling to an acceptable extent rather than having students simply imitate or analyze the examples they observe. Evidence for this modeling draws upon the fact that the brain tries to find similarities and set up connections between familiar and unfamiliar experiences, which means that the more the students experience, the more reflective understanding they tend to gain when they encounter different, and sometimes new, genres of writing. Writing is also improved when teachers teach students to reflect on and become more aware of their writing- this concept is called metacognition.

Metacognition

Metacognition is the idea of thinking about one's own thinking. It is connected to perceptual tasks that are processed in the brains of students. When a student starts to be aware of their own learning process they also become able to regulate them. For instance, someone knowing they are better at remembering information when they write it down is a part of metacognitive knowledge, and ultimately produces higher quality work from students and greatens their writing comprehension. Metacognition is also beneficial to genre awareness in writing. Genres are the building blocks of present-day writing, they clarify the purpose and audience for different types of writing. Self-awareness is a key factor between the two; just like metacognition involves being aware of one's own learning process, genre awareness is being aware of the different characteristics and expectations of writing for different scenarios. This self-awareness is useful because it helps writers understand their strengths and weaknesses, leading to more effective and efficient writing. Additionally, metacognition processes in long-term memory, so information about a thinking skill can be moved into working memory, further benefiting one's writing. By engaging in metacognitive practices, writers can set clear goals, choose appropriate strategies, and make necessary adjustments during the writing process. Other skills like planning, monitoring, and evaluating are also involved in metacognitive thinking, which are all necessary for writing.

How writing practice benefits the brain

When one writes, they activate areas of the brain involved in memory, problem-solving, and language production. The brain and writing have a relatively mutualistic relationship, meaning while the brain does enhance writing skills, writing also benefits the brain and its functions. The article, "Writing is Applied Metacognition", talks about how writing is key to building skills like critical thinking and planning. Writing is also a recursive process, meaning that writers go back to revise and rewrite parts of their writing as they continue moving forward. This repetitive nature strengthens a continuous cycle of several cognitive abilities like problem-solving, critical thinking, and reflection. Techniques like brainstorming and free writing stimulate creativity in the brain and make connections between multiple pieces of information. This engagement exercises the brain and encourages new formations of ideas.

Another technique proposed by scholars is scaffolding. Scaffolding is a teaching method that provides support and assists students through more structured guidance. The idea is that the technique breaks down assignments into more manageable, smaller, steps, which ultimately allows for skills to build progressively and strengthen writing. These stepwise skills align with the brain's natural way of learning, as it builds upon itself. Scaffolding ultimately ensures that students don't get overwhelmed and instead build confidence in their writing skills.

Cognitive aspect of writing

Writing is also deeply influenced by societal and cultural factors. From a cognitive point of view, the way the brain organizes thoughts directly impacts the genres society uses, and how people communicate with them. Writing is more than an individual act of expression, but also a social practice that evolves in different contexts, ultimately influencing how and why people write. Cognitive studies of writing, far from being "passe" are crucial for understanding the connections between the brain and social environments. For instance the genres that people adopt are not only a reflection of individual cognition processes but also societal expectations. These genres exist solely to satisfy the common needs of society on a day-to-day basis. In total, genres demonstrate the relationship between cognitive processes and cultural expectations. Moreover, societal factors influence what we write about while the content is shaped to fit cultural norms. Writers may be influenced by social pressure like expectations on gender and race and more. Hayes highlights the importance of recognizing that cognitive studies in writing account for these societal influences, as the writing process is intertwined with mental processes and cultural factors.

Limitation of brain influence on writing

Recent research about writing acquisition has shown interindividual variances between the same population that due to the different structural neuroanatomy and interactions with writing environments pose huge challenges for both researchers and educators, not even mention people with different backgrounds. Traditional or normal teaching styles fail to cater to the needs of every student, thereby prompting the teachers to adjust to and make teaching plans based on individuality. Socioeconomic factors also significantly influence individuals’ access to qualified education and resources necessary for learning and developing writing skills. The 2011 NAEP Writing assessment is designed to evaluate student writing achievement from a national representative dataset. It turns out that only 12% of eighth-grade students who are eligible for free or reduced lunches had proficient or advanced scores, compared to that of 37% for the rest of the total population. Belonging to families under a low socioeconomic status (SES) or underfunded schools, students are less likely to attain a proficient writing standard due to the lack of exposure to enriched learning environments, like creative writing programs, experienced teachers, and technology. This deprivation limits opportunities for them to practice and refine their writing. Financial constraints, on the other hand, may lower chances to participate in extracurricular activities like writing workshops or mentorship programs, which serve to further cultivate writing passion. All these factors render a great discrepancy in either educational outcomes or students' ability to express themselves through writing.

Stepping away from external factors, most students fail to understand the value of thinking and learning via writing in either their present writing courses or potential careers, despite the fact that both the professors and students agree with the connection between these three concepts. Lack of opportunities to recognize the interrelationship between writing, thinking, and learning, students can be given writing assignments that present in specific circumstances they are influenced by most to create a personal understanding of this link. Furthermore, students themselves may be impeded from creating better writing by the identity crisis they are experiencing at the moment. Clark has raised the concept of "autobiographical self" in his narration, which is the most central self that retains power over other selves while being impacted by the experiences and social interactions of each student. During academic research, however, most students committed that they were afraid that an "academic" identity – scrutiny and integrity as scholars – would discard some of the important properties of their identity. An ideal situation for writing is that students are able to choose their identities to "poetry" their writing with enough awareness and understanding of themselves. It is commonly believed that students may perform better and be more relaxed under the condition without further pretending to be scholars themselves.

Historical and cultural context of brain and writing

Recent years have witnessed the evolution of brain theory from early studies of localized brain functions to a more integrated understanding of neural processes. Attention on bi-hemisphericity emerged in the middle of the 20th century as brain studies on hemispheric specialization revealed the different functions of the left and right brains. Late 20th-century developments in imaging technology expanded the scientific understanding of brain plasticity and the dynamic interactions between different portions of the brain during the process of learning. So far, contemporary brain-based education has come into play, emphasizing the brain's interconnectedness, incorporating knowledge of memory, emotions, and environmental influences to inform educational outreach.

Future directions

Writing is a complex cognitive activity shaped by both brain processes like hemispheric specialization, and also societal influences. Writing requires critical thinking and other cognitive functions like planning and organizing but also interacts with the external world as it conforms to different genres. Techniques like scaffolding and metacognition strengthen the brain's function and further increase academic writing performance. Writing as both a cognitive and social practice, is a tool for learning, critical thinking, and self-expression - one that will continue to evolve alongside the brain.

Future research on the brain and writing lies in conducting a meta-analysis on both writing in high schools and colleges to give further substantial results on the overall writing performance of students. Thus, educators are able to design more probable educational plans to better teach and improve the writing skills of students. Educators should also diversify the writing contexts from high school to the colleges to provide a balanced platform for students to learn about not only literary analysis but also writings that relate to their workplaces. Future brain research should emphasize the relationship between "cognition, affect, and motivation" to make up for the current vacuum through interdisciplinary collaboration with scholars investigating emotions, feelings, and moods.