Peter Elbow’s steps to writing a cut & paste (collage) essay

• Find the good passages in what you’ve written & cut them away from the bad passages. Cut out anything in these passages that’s bad, unclear, or unnecessary: cut, cut cut!
• Review all the good passages you’ve found and find a single idea or “thread” that ties all or most of them together.
• Arrange your good passages in what you think is the best order
• Write whatever transition sentences, passages, or paragraphs are necessary to smooth out the seams between good bits.
• Go back & tighten/clarify the entire essay

The introduction and conclusion paragraphs of a collage essay are particularly important since they point to the single idea or “thread” that ties everything together. In mining your blog posts & in-class practice writing for collage bits, you might find that the themes of “writing,” “creativity,” and/or your research topic emerge as a possible unifying idea or “thread” to tie your essay together.