Reader Response Outline (Draft 1)

Main Topic Focus/Thesis Statement:

There are many benefits of expressive writing. It can lead to behavioural changes and improve happiness. 

First Supporting Idea:

Parker-Pope (2015) states that Stanford researchers once carried an study about asking a part of African-American students to keep dairy or video to be seen by future students. The results have showed that the African-American students who cared about writing or video everyday achieved better grades.

Second Supporting Idea:

It is also stated in the article, a woman named Siri initially wanted to improve her fitness, but as the primary breadwinner for her family she had to work long hours and already felt guilty about time spent away from her children. After prompting, she eventually wrote a new story, based on the same facts but with a more honest assessment of why she doesn’t exercise. The truth was that she did not like to exercise and also did not value her health enough. She used work and the kids as excuses to her lack of fitness.

 

Third Supporting Idea:

In another news article, “28 Years Of Psychology Shows That Expressive Writing Makes You Way Happier”, Drake Baer (2014) also state that Avoiding unpleasant emotions or suppressing your thoughts will makes your body tense, your mood negative, and your cognition impaired. By writing down all your unhappy thoughts and feelings, you are disclosing them. You will feel happier as you can access, express, and process those blocked-up emotions.