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Building Blocks | Using Readings | Mini-Lessons | Using Student Texts | Discussion
Sample Assignments | Other Resources
As writing instructor Brad Ricca says, "Everything you read is a text." That is, every book or article you read with students in a seminar can be analyzed as a piece of writing, offering lessons about organization, phrasing, awareness of audience, and so on. Brad's larger point is that writing instruction need not be separate from the core intellectual work of the seminar. Instead of being confined to occasional writing workshops or peer review exercises, it can be integrated into daily classroom activities. This page offers some examples of such integration.
Building Blocks for Academic Writing
SAGES does not dictate particular forms or genres for student writing, but it does require students to develop basic analytical and argumentative writing skills. Composition research in the 1970s and 1980s placed the teaching of rhetorical modes - narration, description, explanation, etc. - at the center of college writing instruction, and these can indeed be useful tools. However, students often see the modes as static and separate, rather than as forms that can be combined to create complex arguments. Instead of emphasizing specific modes - narrate a trip to the store; describe a work of art; compare and contrast two religious ceremonies - many SAGES instructors focus their instruction on the specific expository skills that their students will need to write successful college essays. (See also Sequencing Assignments as well as the goals for English 150, the pre-SAGES writing course for first-year students.)
The basic skills necessary for college writing include:
- > Summary. Students need practice in distilling the main points and purposes of what they read. And, as a preliminary step, they may need explicit instruction in reading academic prose. They may not yet know that academics don't simply read from beginning to end without stopping - many of us flip to conclusions and then back to the beginning; others of us annotate as we read; still others read sections (or whole essays) multiple times, depending on our purpose in reading.
- > Paraphrase. Students also need practice stating other writers' (and speakers') ideas in their own words. The most common misapplication/misunderstanding of this skill is the overuse of a thesaurus (without real comprehension).
- > Quotation. Students often find it difficult to incorporate other people's words into their writing. Fortunately, determining when and how much to quote is a skill that can be practiced. Above all, students must learn that quotations don't simply stand by themselves (i.e., they need to be explained and integrated into one's own arguments).
- > Evidence. What counts as evidence for this paper? Can students cite personal experience or opinions? Or would statistics "prove" the case? What about "lore" or family wisdom? As with quotations, moreover, finding legitimate evidence is only the first step. Beyond that, a writer must use the evidence to prove her/his claim.
- > Analysis. Why/how does a particular piece of evidence prove your claim? Why might someone disagree with you, or even use the same evidence to prove a different claim? How can you convince a skeptical audience?
- > Argument. What is the difference between an argument and an opinion? Between an argument and a statement of fact? What counts as an arguable claim? What makes a particular claim interesting within the context of the course/assignment?
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Use readings to talk about writing
Select passages from the assigned readings to review in class. Point out rhetorical strategies or other features of the writing; ask students to rewrite passages for a different purpose; ask what effect a particular structure has on the meaning of the text.
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Have students lead mini-lessons on elements of good writing
These can take the form of presentations of grammar and usage (following the old adage of “learn by teaching”). Alternatively, you might consider asking students to bring in an example of what they think constitutes good writing. In small groups, students could compare their examples and brainstorm a list of qualities of “good writing.” Is there a single definition?
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Use student texts to talk about writing
One of the best techniques for learning to become a proficient self-editor is to practice. Take sample sentences from your students’ drafts and use them as the heart of a 20-minute writing workshop. Sample sentences can be edited by the whole class or in small groups. It is important to choose both strong and weak examples - so that students see the full range of the writing that the class is producing, and discover that even accomplished writing may benefit from editorial attention
- > Kim Emmons’ “Integrating Another’s Argument” – this exercise starts with a student example, but adds to it. A large-group discussion about the first example is followed by small-group discussions of additional examples (only one is included in this version of the handout).
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Emphasize techniques in discussion that translate into good writing
For example, follow up statements of opinion by asking students to cite textual or other supporting evidence. (“That’s an interesting reaction - what part of the reading made you feel that way? Can you [or anyone else] point us to a specific passage?”)
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Sample Assignments
In addition, class time can be well spent focusing exclusively on writing techniques. The following examples are exercises that are not necessarily tied to specific course readings or discussions.
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Additional Resources
- > Donna J. Kain, “Teacher-Centered versus Student-Centered” – this article, published in 2003 in Pedagogy, discusses the move to student-centered classrooms. From the introduction: “In principle, few of us would argue against the idea of student-centered classrooms. While "student-centeredness" sounds compelling, however, I find myself hard-pressed at times to define and accomplish it. Our classroom practices are often constrained by practical considerations, such as students' expectations and experiences, and by institutional realities, such as class size, required grading criteria, and instructor training. Add in theoretical implications, and teachers—particularly new ones—can find it quite a challenge to align classroom issues, theories of composition, and teaching strategies. The merger of practical realities and theoretical complexities tends to collapse the binary of teacher-centered/student-centered classrooms, in truth the very idea of a "centered" classroom.”
- > Rosenwasser and Stephen, "What is Analytical Writing?" - this chapter (pdf) from Writing Analytically addresses frustrations and complaints common among students who are asked to analyze. The chapter is brief (15 pages) and provides helpful distinctions between summary and analysis, and between argument and analysis.
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