Lu and What makes a Real Writer

"In my "literature" courses for junior- or senior-level college students or "writing" courses for first-year students, students learn to talk with considerable eloquence about the politics of stylistic decisions made by "real" writers, especially those writing from the borderlands by choice or necessity"(445)

It just seems like the politics of choosing a text is a "necessary evil." We would like our students to learn from the master(?) But at the same time, we want them to write in their own style and not sound like a text book. So we work around the problem by letting them select their own topics, believing that they will use their own voice in a written form. We want to have our cake and eat it too(I think some one on this blog has made an allusion to this teaching philosophy): we want them to write "academically" but when the form is too experimental, their content will suffer(?).

Writers, "real writers," use the English language in their own way, adding spice to their finished product. But that, for the most part, is what we see: a "real writer" presents a polished version of his experimental writing. This leaves the door wide open for deconstruction because a text is never finished, literature is never finished, its always being adapted, relived, reread, re-appropriated by professional and amateur writers alike. So what the hell is a "real writer?" In Lu's article, she gives two anecdotes  of professional writers who were criticized about their supposed misuse of the English language: these critics were editors of some kind. One writer chose to take the advice of the editor and one didn't; which one of the writers is a real writer? is the writer's integrity somehow changed? And if these two writers were used in a composition class, we dam well better know that there were editors telling the writers to appeal to a mass audience and their words were being manipulated.
My opinion: a real writer can recognize another writer; their form matches the content and their content matches the form.

    

Writing through the years

"Out of the woods: emerging traditions in the teaching of writing” by Ann Raimes. This article discusses how writing instruction has changed over the years, and how with each decade there is a new focus. In the 1960s, language instruction, content and knowledge are given so that students only need to apply the information, not create or analyze any critical information on their own. When there was a push for composition writing in the 1970’s, the idea of process essays evolved and there was a focus on creating and constructive knowledge like invention and collaboration. With the advent of the 1980’s, there was a focus on using personal experiences in writing and concentrating more on content. Teachers also had more control over what they taught, so that allowed them to create courses focusing on their chosen content matter. In the late 1980’s there was a focus on the reader and the expectations that come from audience. This focus on the reader determines the idea of “academic demands” and “academic discourse community” (412), in which students can determine the audience and then teaching forms and structure so that students can use it for that audience. Raimes discusses that she teaches writing in two ways in her classroom, once as “writing for learning” and the other as “writing for display”. While students need to pass a test, they do not to know that writing is a tool they will need to know in their lives.

Form vs content

“The Focus on form vs. content in teaching writing” by George Hillocks, Jr. This article discusses the obsession with formatting and how teachers of writing depend on teaching the “forms and devices of writing” while not focusing on the content (240). The reason for this is the assumption that once students know different forms of writing, they can then just add content. However, what is problematic is that knowing the format of a writing structure does not equate to knowing the subject matter, which makes a coherent essay. Hillocks explains that there are three reasons why teachers teach form: effective writing requires just a few rules, there is pressure on teachers to help students perform on tests, and methods that are being influenced by state writing exams. Hillocks expands on this by asserting that state mandated testing influence teachers to teach form because even though support is valued, it does not require that the support is high quality or detailed. In order to change the emphasis on form, teachers need to  be taught to focus on the same writing quality that colleges expect, teachers need to change their own teaching, and the state tests need to include information so that students can use actual data and textual support instead of simply stating general ideas.

I can use this article for my paper because it connects to timed writing. In doing a 45 minute timed write, students sacrifice content for style, making sure they have the 5 paragraphs. If we are to teach students to move beyond the 5 paragraph essay, I don't know if making students write under such a short time limit will allow them the creativity and time to do so.

Style over substance

”Style over Substance” by John. S. O’Connor. This article discusses timed write using a prompt from the SAT a few years ago, “Style is more important than substance.” This essay begins arguing that the timed write is seen “as a snapshot of student writing at that moment,” and that “writing is not a process, but is in fact measurable in discrete stages” (52). The timed write assumes that students do not need to revise their writing to become better, but that what they wrote is already sufficient and correct. It pays no attention to the content and using the correct examples, instead focusing on the writing. The timed write sacrifices quality if the paper is coherent. Furthermore, O’Connor states that a timed write also adhere to specific implicit rules, such as no profanity, no pictures, and an address to the omniscient reader. O’Connor supports these ideas with an example of a student who wrote about Godzilla, using text and images. The student failed the assignment because the graders decided that he did not follow the traditional format and that he did not pay attention to his audience. O’Connor argues that the student did address the prompt, but in an alternative style rather than the expected 5 paragraph essay. The problem with scoring timed write is that each scorer is looking for different things and that there is no common standard to assess timed writes. 

I have always been a proponent of substance over style, though substance is much harder to teach. It depends on the students' comprehension skills and reading skills, while style can be reduced to certain sentence stems and structure students can reproduce on their own. A matter of teaching substance is having teachers focus more on content also, but where is the time to do it in our education system nowadays.

No apology for the timed write

 “An Apologia for the Timed Impromptu Essay Test” by Edward White. In this article from NCTE (National Council of Teachers of English), written in 1995, the author discusses the rise and pitfalls of the timed writing tests. While it was heralded as an “effective, responsible, and teacher-supportive assessment” (White 30), there are many reasons why it is limited in terms of grading writing. White states that the timed writing test was a response against multiple-choice testing because it specifically focuses on writing instead of simply choosing a correct multiple-choice answer, which is a passive action.  Some reasons why timed writing tests are a valid indication of college class placement is that we can be sure that the essay is the work of the writer himself, and that it offers insight into the “focus and concentration” (34) of the student. The goal is not to seek a perfect multi-draft essay, but to see whether the writer can read and write coherent sentences (33). In contrast, portfolio assessment allows the reader to see growth and value in a variety of writing pieces (37), it uses multiple measures of grading such as self-assessment (38), and it defines the writing as a process instead of simple “first-draft writing” (36). The emphasis on timed writes focuses more on completion rather than content. What the author suggests is that instead of one timed write, students should respond to at least two questions so that the test can be a sort of “abbreviated portfolio” (44). He insists that all tests have restrictions, but the timed write is not bad.

June Jordan and Literature in a Composition Class

Jordan’s essay blended so many genres and issues in exploring the prejudice against Black English in and outside of the classroom. What’s ironic is Jordan’s quoting of her students’ own responses to The Color Purple: “Why she have them talk so funny. It don’t sound right” “It don’t look right, neither. I couldn’t hardly read it”(161). Jordan captures her student’s responses very well; they can speak up once the elephant in the room-Black English- is brought out into the open. It’s that self awareness, the aha moment, when I saw how immersed the student’s were within the traditional pov of literature, that it has to sound and look a certain way.

But I could definitely relate: reading idiomatic language can be so hard; one example comes to mind from Wuthering Heights, some of the “rustic” language in there is so hard to get through. But there’s  a place for the colorful word imagery of cultures who use the English language and literature is a great way to break the ice on these types of issues. Student’s can start to think about characterization and why the author decided to let her characters talk a certain way.

But the final manifesto isn’t a response to fiction, it’s a very real situation. What’s great about the piece is that it also blurs the lines: it starts out with exposition and creates a very analytical argument with transition sentences; it’s almost as if Willie is solving the case for us by following a very procedural outline for his brother’s murder. One of the resistances to Black English, to any hybrid really, is the view that it is vulgar: “Rule1: Black English is about a whole lot more than mothafuckin.” It’s interesting that Willie does not use Black English in his essay, but he does use a well timed “BULLSHIT” to call it like it is.

In a composition classroom, the source materials we select are sometimes seen as secondary-the learning outcome is first and foremost. But there is something to be said about the specific literary needs of a classroom.

Shari - Lindemann Chapter 15

Shari - Lindemann Chapter 15

This chapter is a must read for any teacher of composition, but also for any teacher of any topic.  She clearly states how and what teachers need to do for their students so that they can succeed!  What really stuck for me was the "Directions" section.  In my past educational and professional life, assignments/work have been given much ambiguity.  I didn't want to go to the teacher/boss to ask for clarification as I didn't want to look like I didn't "get it."  But I was in business school, one of my professors told me that if I want an employee to do something or get somewhere, I need to get them a map. This is what Lindemann does.  She says, "Because effective writing classes involve students frequently in prewriting, writing, and rewriting, giving good directions is crucial."  And she continues on to say, "Good directions answer the following questions for students:  What do you want me t do?  How should I do it?  How much time do I have?  Why am I doing it?  How will I know if I've done it well?"  This is the tool, the map that students need to have. And they want this information.  Writing is subjective enough, at by having this information, it tells students to go have fun and be crazy and experiment with the language, but within the boundaries that we are all aware of. 

Shari - Lindemann Chapter 13

Shari - Lindemann Chapter 13 - Developing Writing Assignments

This is a good chapter. I really enjoyed what she said as well as how she said it.  I agree when she says, "Because students learn to write by writing, our responsibility is to control and vary the rhetorical demands of writing tasks."    She goes on to say that we must develop in our students a sensitivity to looking at the relationship between the writer with the reader, and with the subject.  This is not necessarily easy (though she doesn't say this).

She does say and I like how she shows the various typical assignments that students are given (this was so refreshing as usually works that I've read only tell what to and not to do in description without giving clear examples).  It shows that teachers do the same old same old be it effective or not.  I want my students to have fun outside of the same old same old.  And it's true when she says that doing this same boring stuff produces dull, general writing that isn't clear to the student nor to the reader. 

I'm going to steal her variable for creating a effective writing task!  It's good!  It's clear.  It has the power to provide students with boundaries and demands (so students know what's expected of them), but still allows for freedom within the confines.  I want to say that students crave this kind of boundary so that they know what is expected from them.

1.  "Students' interest in and understanding of subject
2.  Purpose or aim of composition
3.  Audience (which needn't always be the teacher)
4.  Role for the student to take with respect to the subject and audience
5.  Form of discourse (which needn't always be an essay)
6.  Criteria for success"

For Posterity: What do you think of my "Statement of Issue?"

Here is my first stab at a "Statement of Issue" for the prospectus. I welcome (and fear) any comments:

Tentative Title: The Treatment of Race in Dystopian Writing: Otherness in Lois Lowry’s The Giver

Statement of Issue: Lois Lowry’s The Giver, published in 1993, won the 1994 Newbery Medal and sold more than 3.5 million copies in its first year, but is among the American Library Association’s “Most Challenged” titles. Challengers (typically parents) allege that the novel’s treatment of sexuality and violence is too graphic for young readers, but this novel also tops the annual “Banned Book List” due to its dystopian themes of repression of identity, the subjugation of the individual to the community, and the suppression of race. This project will examine the various racial controversies present in The Giver, and will situate them within the context and history of banned and challenged books per the description available through the American Library Association and the Office of Intellectual Freedom (OIF) and the research conducted by recent criticism thereof. In addition, this information will work in conjunction with a study of the multiracial students in a standard High School Freshman English class who will assess the novel in terms of its overarching racial themes. They will be prompted to assess the novel for its broader context, motives and themes, and will also be asked targeted questions on its racial implications. They will be assessed in terms of their personal experiences and exposures to racial issues relevant to their own backgrounds, and their personal history with the issues brought up in the book. 

...

I'll let you know how that goes...

Ansom Graham: Becoming Todd

 Becoming Todd. 

Todd thought that giving little instruction on writing assignments would leave his freshman basic English class free to write without restrictions. That they would enjoy their new found freedom and run with it. Well it turns out 18 year olds that need remedial English (yes, I used remedial) are not that excited about free writing. 

Even if one section seems interested in race, politics or current events, this does not mean that all classes will be able to write or think critically about such issues in an open class forum. 18 year olds that have shown no interest or particular talent in writing  until this point, or students that dread writing, have been trained to write for (typically bad) teacher only. Even good high schools only allow so much group work and group think and the rest is about being told what to do, how to do it, and how to get the best grade. There is no critical thinking left in modern education. 

So what I wonder is how do I teach about interesting topics and still get them to think about them not just throw pop culture at it? If I take new ideas on gender and show them what the thoughts were 50 years ago versus a decade ago and newest thoughts on "performative gender" how do I get them from talking about drag queens and key west to Twelfth Night and Anzaldua?

I want to be a hip teacher, but I also want basic English students to learn how to do more than pass scantron assessments and write bad essays prone to error and regurgitation. But if they don't care and if teachers like Todd keep screwing around with their only college level English requirement, how will they ever learn to communicate effectively on paper. Read effectively in New media? How to succeed in anything that uses any form of communicating. 

Ch. 13- prompting prompts

“Because each composition represents a response to a specific ‘invitation’ to write, the problems in many papers may be the fault, not of the writer, but of the assignment” (213)

“Effective writing assignments encourage students to define progressively more complex rhetorical problems” (215)

Pretend you are an administrator overseeing the prompts chosen for the following examinations: Developmental English: Basic Writing, Exit Exam  & Graduate Writing Exam (GWE).  Read the prompts below and explain which one would fit best for each exam.  Back up your decision with supporting evidence and claims.

For homework, research each prompt and find as much information as possible as to 1) where it came from 2) context 3) what schools and grades or courses have used it for exams 4) year it was written.

After researching, look back at your decisions.  Do you feel the same? How have your thoughts or supporting evidence changed and/or stayed the same.  What new evidence can you add or remove? Any insights post research?

From infancy to adulthood, advertising is in the air Americans breathe, the information we absorb, almost without knowing it. It floods our mind with pictures of perfection and goals of happiness easy to attain. . . . We are feeding on foolery, of which a steady diet, for those who feed on little else, cannot help but leave a certain fuzziness of perception. ----- BarbaraTuchman

We expect our ties with our immediate family to extend throughout the lifetimes of the people involved. This expectation is by no means always fulfilled, as rising divorce rates and family break-ups indicate. Nevertheless, we still theoretically marry “until death do us part” and the social ideal is a lifetime relationship. Whether this is a proper or realistic expectation of a society in high transience is debatable. The fact remains, however, that family links are expected to be long term if not lifelong, and considerable guilt attaches to the person who breaks off such a relationship.

----Future Shock, Alvin Toffler

A Trainor/Brodkey inpsired thingy

Pretend you are a composition instructor for a Developmental writing class at a college.  Read/Watch the following passages/youtube clips and convey the first 3 things you immediately think of.  This may be a single word, a phrase, name of a song, person, or place, a picture, another clip etc.

For homework, take another look at each example and your initial thoughts, and then research each example and find out 1) author/creator 2) the professional status of the author/creator 3) context 4) year 5) content/subject matter.

Once you do this, come to class with discussion notes, a freewrite, list of topic points- something tangible or digital to share.  

EXAMPLE:

EXAMPLE:

What if, actually, complaining was a good thing to in certain cases, because it was a way to get something to change.  Like if you don’t complain about racism, how will we ever end racism? Right? Let’s just say, like, complaining is actually a good thing. How would you feel about that?

EXAMPLE:

Du Yusong having business like fruit stand. Like off the street kind. He is Du like Du Zong -- but not Tsung-ming Island people. The local people call putong, the river east side, he belong to that side local people. That man want to ask Du Zong father take him in like become own family. Du Zong father wasn't look down on him, but didn't take seriously, until that man big like become a mafia. Now important person, very hard to inviting him. Chinese way, came only to show respect, don't stay for dinner. Respect for making big celebration, he shows up. Mean gives lots of respect. Chinese custom. Chinese social life that way. If too important won't have to stay too long. He come to my wedding. I didn't see, I heard it. I gone to boy's side, they have YMCA dinner. Chinese age I was nineteen.

EXAMPLE:

I don’t have must to said this week a good frineds husband was kill satday at 3:15 the man who kill him is a good man he would give you the shirt off of his back it is really self-defense but anyway I see police academy three it was funny but not is good as the first two

EXAMPLE:

EXAMPLE:

I don’t think you can say, like, it would do any good, to just

whine all the time. Like, around here, I know, it would get you

nowhere. No one would listen and people would just be all, do the

work and it will pay off. Like you can complain about homework, but

the truth is, if you do it, by doing it, you are getting somewhere.

You’re getting a job or like college or whatever. And complaining, if

we just complained and never did all the work, then like I think it’s

like just giving up and saying ok, I don’t care what happens to me.

And then, it’s like, just hopeless, I guess. Just complain because

nothing does any good.

Rethinking how to develop writing assignments

I actually really enjoyed reading this chapter in the Lindeman.  Maybe because it was short...
I think that as graduate students, our writing assignments are extremely removed from the types of assignments we received as undergraduates, or even high school students. I'm so used to just having to write on a text, without having been given instructions, that I think I have forgotten how much I used to hate not having a set prompt on essays as an undergraduate.

While I do think it is important to give young writers direction when developing writing assignments, I find it equally important to give students the opportunity to think outside a set prompt as well. I wonder if it would be beneficial to go over certain aspects of writing before giving any assignments.  Shouldn't teachers explain concepts like writing for an audience and desired effects of a piece of writing before having students delve into an attempt.

I guess that within my own class, I would try to appease both sides of this.  Having a set prompt for specific texts and units is a must.  However, u would also like to give students the opportunity to come up with their own topic, if possible.  That teaches them more than how to correctly address a prompt, it teaches them to critically think about another viewpoint that hasn't been discussed.  I think this would be extremely beneficial for all students- especially those who don't necessarily speak out much in class.  This gives them a chance to get their ideas out without fear of being judged by peers.

Lindemann Chapter 15

This chapter in designing writing courses states that “All writing courses share a common goal: giving students enough guided practice in composing that they become more fluent, effective writers at the end of the course than they were at the beginning” (254). Lindemann discusses what-centered courses and how-centered courses. She takes issue when the writing course simply focuses on just one or the other. Obviously, each has worth, but I would say that when combined together they become more productive methods. For example, what-centered courses are useful as when the student gains practice in writing modes such as argumentation or exposition; likewise, process is useful in learning about the “how” of writing because it gives the student an invaluable tool in which to practice and frame her composition practice. But what is wrong with combining both? Doing so gives the student rhetorical flexibility as well as techniques and tools in shaping the language to achieve such rhetorical flexibility.