Week 2 Individual Study Guide

Group Member Names:

- Martha Hernandez

STUDY GUIDE FOR : Writing to Change the World, Mary Pipher. Introduction and
Chapter 1. Pgs 1-30.

Part 1: SUMMARY
In the introduction of the book, Pipher presents how writing allows people to communicate with
each other in an immense manner that it can be interpreted as a form of language. She explains
that good writing facilitates the making of connections in such an inspiring form that people are
encouraged to think, talk, open their mind and take action regardless of the injustice world we
live in. She also describes that the language that is being used in the world is only serving for
profit, destruction and power. Pipher mentions that just as much as this filthy language is
dominating the world, the language of reason and empathy can change that around and save us.
In chapter 1, Pipher begins talking about the time her spiritual innocence was lost when she
read the book The Diary of Anne Frank. This book made her realize how cruel and evil this
world can be, but also inspired her by Annes writing and exposition of the events. Even though
Annes life was mostly spent in frightness, she saw the world as a beautiful and managed to
search the joy of life. Pipher then got the encouragement to stand up for writing and express that
writing can truly change the world. She provides us with two ways that writing can connect with
the world: Art/Artful/Propaganda and Moral Writing. Her beliefs strongly support that writing
attaches the reader with the writer and creates a powerful arm to encourage one another to
change the world through writing.

Part 2: OUTLINE

I. While we call our time the Age of Information, wisdom is in short supply.
A. War is called peace, while destruction is called development.
1. Our government disregards the Geneva Conventions and uses torture as a method of
interrogation.
2. Power is distributed according to wealth, not wisdom or compassion.
II. I will teach you what I know best, a connecting style of writing that employs storytelling
to build empathy and motivation to help.
A. Good writing facilitates the making of connections in a way that inspires open heartedness,
thinking, talking and action.
B. Good writing enlarges readers knowledge of the world, or empowers to act for common good
or inspires other good writing.
C. Good writing connect people with one another, to other living creatures, to stories and ideas,
and to action.
III.All writing is designed to change the world, or at least a small part of the world, or in
some small way perhaps a change in the readers mood or in his appreciation of a certain
kind of beauty.
A. Songs can be a powerful tool for connecting people to one another.
1. Think of civil rights workers singing We Shall Overcome.
B. Films often change the world.
1. Supersize me movie changes the perspective of an unhealthy man to eat healthy.
C. Journalists can change the Zeitgeist as well.
1. Reporters pick the stories to tell and call readers attention. The readers respond.
IV. Discouragement can stop us from doing our work, as can humility.
A. Our relationship to the written word is changing.
1. Fewer people are reading newspapers and serious magazines these days.
2. Children spend their time on televisions or video games.
V. Writing turns out to be one thing in control in a world where much feels beyond our
control.
A. Everyday we witness the degradation of much that we value. And we write.
B. Fryodor Dostoyvsky lived in a hopeless time and place, yet he left us a beautiful message.
C. I passed by a man at the market in the Burmese border, he quickly scrawled on his display pad
Freedom from Fear. which is the motto of Aung San Suu Kyi, she returned to burma to work
in the restoration of democracy.

Part 3: Key Terminology with definitions

I llegal Alien - A person who entered the U.S. without permission of the department of homeland
security. This individual does not posses the permission to reside in the country legally.
(http://www.dhs.gov/definition-terms)
Stereotype- to believe unfairly that all people or things with a particular characteristic are the
same. (http://www.merriam-webster.com)
Run Amok - behave uncontrollably and disruptively. to run with the desire to kill or attack.
(http://www.merriam-webster.com)
I dealism- the attitude of a person who believes that it is possible to live according to very high
standards of behavior and honesty (http://www.merriam-webster.com)
Expository Writing - A pedagogical term for any form of writing that conveys information and
explains ideas. (http://grammar.about.com/od/e/g/Expository-Writing-term.htm)

Part 4: Discussion Questions
Even though Anne Frank was ultimately was murdered, she searched for beauty and joy
even in the harsh frightened world she hid in.
What are the reasons for Annes inspiration, even in dark times? How can a person be living in a
state of prosecution but still remain positive?

Language imparts identity meaning, and perspective to our human community.
What are some ways that language deprives its own people from speaking? How does this affect
the world as a whole?

Socially conscious writers want authenticity and transparency to saturate every page of
their work.
Name a few writers that provide authenticity and transparency in their work. How has their work
influenced humanity?

Part 5: Analysis
Piphers writing in the introduction calls for action against the unfair world and the ability of
communicating through writing. She intends to not teach the reader how to write but instead to
change the world by writing ones own ideas positively. In the portion of the book Writing to
Connect (Chapter 1), Pipher calls the reader to understand her perspectives of how writing can
efficiently and positively influence the world despite all of its unfairness. She acknowledges how
the writing of Anne Frank influenced her perspective of the world but also inspired her to write
in a manner than the readers are enlightened to make a change just as she did.

Part 6: External Sources
Rieder, Jonathan. Gospel of Freedom: Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Letter from Birmingham Jail
and the Struggle That Changed a Nation. Bloomsburry Press. 2013. Print.
Jonathan Rieder is an American author who has studied Martin Luther King intensively. In this
book he touches the delicate issues that King fought for, justice, equality and activism. The book
refers greatly to a letter written by King at the time he resided in Birmingham Jail when he was
arrested for protesting on Good Friday. It suggests the reader to switch places with the writer to
better understand the importance of achieving justice for all and the civil rights war that was
fought during the time of King. King also wrote several books expressing his disbelief with the
systems of the world and the way humans have lost their rights to the government. I found this
book helpful in the matter that Pipher and King both talk about the government providing itself
too much power and treating the people unfairly. For a deeper understanding of Piphers Writing
to Change the World one must read at least one of Kings works and how his writing influenced
millions.