After reading several posts about the Writing What We Teach assignment, I've noticed that almost everyone plans on using the assignment as a model for the textual/critical analysis. Some seem very open to doing so, while others seem a bit more hesitant to present his/her writing as a model to be emulated or imitated. I think it is important to ask ourselves about the purposes, benefits, and dangers of modeling.
Obviously, the purpose is to give our students some idea of how to do the assignment. They benefit by having a model on which to base their efforts. The danger is inherent. If students base their writing on the model, are they really learning to write? Furthermore, if the model is the teacher who has power over their grades, then aren't students forced to model or imitate their teacher's process/writing in order to get a good grade? Of course, "forced" may be too strong of a word. They may choose not to imitate the teacher's writing, but wouldn't a shrewd student quickly realize the advantages of doing so?
Because of the above dangers, I think we need to be careful with how we present models to our students, especially when we are the models. The authors of the readings we assign are not in control of students' grades, are not in the classroom, or even in the same century sometimes. Hence, they may provide inspiration or ideas, but most students (I don't think) are going to say, "Wow, I should try to write exactly like So-and-So." Thus, assigned readings are benign but helpful models. The teacher's model, however, implies that this is how it is done. For that reason, I think we should try to present our model as one of many alternatives and then grade accordingly instead of expecting (consciously or unconsciously) to see our writing mirrored back to us.
When I presented my Writing What We Teach drafts to my students, I emphasized the structure in order to give them a rough outline of what they could do, adding extra emphasis on the could. I also emphasized the choices I had made, telling them that writers make choices that have advantages and disadvantages. Fortunately, some of my students were quick to point out the disadvantages. I told them I had a problem with being very wordy, especially with long introductory phrases, and showed where I had cut a couple very long introductory phrases, improving the writing in my opinion. Multiple students disagreed, arguing that the shorter sentence lacked the original's style, detail, and substance. Not only did it boost my ego, but it illustrated that I'm just a fallible writer whose choices sometimes succeed and sometimes fail, just like them.
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4 comments:
I frequently give my students examples of my own writing in both English 110 and English 100, but I use papers that I've previously written for a class (usually as a freshman myself).
I like this approach for a few reasons. One, it's easy for them to realize that the undergrad me isn't a perfect model. We can easily talk about what I might have done differently, and I can explain what about my writing process might have caused me to write the way I did. Two, it proves that such assignments do really exist outside my class (which made it especially handy that I'd done an I-search as an undergrad). I can actually make the connection between a writing class and how it will help them later in a content course!
I often use my own papers as examples for my class - it says what I want to say better than any other essays I could use. It's especially useful for assignments such as the Annotated Bibliography. Also -just to avoid the "my way is best" syndrome, we often discuss the fact that there is no one correct way to write these papers, and try to have fun experimenting with different styles.
Because you so often respond to my blogs with the line “I agree, but….” I feel the need to respond in kind. I agree, but after reading some of Foucault and Harold Bloom (the last time the two will be featured in unity) and thinking of writers of fiction and poetry imitating other writers of fiction and poetry, I have come to the conclusion that it is impossible to purely imitate and recreate a work. In terms of fiction, the cultural standpoint of the original author is inherently different than that of the imitating author. The imitating author attempts to recreate but by misreading through their own narrow lens, the imitating author create a different work and methodology altogether.
I feel the same applies for comp students. While I agree with your fear of students imitating you, as it is a very great fear of my own and my marked criticism of implementing writing what we teach, our students can’t imitate us directly, but are doomed to fail if they attempt to. But simply because they fail in their attempts of imitations does not mean they fail in their attempts of writing. In trying to recreate, they have put cognitive processes together to create a method they see as best. It may not arise from the pure mental framework we would like it to, but it is a product of our students none-the-less.
Eric,it sounds like you did a great job presenting your paper as a model to possibly follow and not THE model. What I like most about your presentation to your students, though, is your willingness to point out your faults in the paper. None of us are perfect writers, and acting as one in a class full of freshman writers with confidence issues can cause major problems. This is also a great way to stress the importance of multiple revisions--even after your third draft, you STILL have things to improve upon.
Well done, sir.
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