11 Writing in College
Activity 11.3 requires at least 1 week of time, from start to finish, the majority of the time required for students to plan, schedule, and carry out an interview. As such, it is appropriate that this activity be addressed when this chapter is started, so that students can work on their interviews, even as the class continues with chapter content.
This chapter focuses on the writing process and skills associated with writing. As such, it contains a great deal of written content and requires students to do more reading than most chapters. Students will also be writing essays, assessing the essays of their peers, and conducting interviews outside of class. Facilitators should be aware that many students will struggle with the amount of work they are tasked with for this chapter. This is not a bad thing and instructors should be take care to empower rather than enable students as they struggle.
The chapter opens with the distinction between formal and informal writing, and the writing process is examined. The Writing Methodology is presented, along with a discussion of the steps in the methodology, interspersed with an example (Abby's argumentative essay). The topic of assessing writing (as a process intended to strengthen writing skills) is then raised and Abby's essay is presented in full. The attributes of High Quality Writing are offered and a sample assessment of Abby's essay, as performed by her peers, is offered. It is important to note that this sample assessment uses the Writing Assessment Form which is available in Activity 11.2 (and in the online resources). A formal rubric, Performance Levels for Writing, is presented and the levels in action are referenced. The full examples are available on the online resources web site. The chapter closes with a brief discussion of writing in various majors, fields, and disciplines, a topic that students explore more fully within the context of Activity 11.3.
èRelated/Helpful Faculty Guidebook modules
èKnowledge Table for Chapter 11
|
Ch 11 Writing in College |
Concepts |
Processes |
Tools |
Context |
Way of Being |
| Informal writing | Writing methodology-exploratory writing, identifying purpose, composing a thesis statement, planning a draft, creating a draft | Writing assessment form | Abby’s story | Learner | |
| Formal writing | Levels of writing | Argument essay | Documenter | ||
| Writing in the disciplines | Writing samples by level | Assessor | |||
| Attributes of quality writing | Peer assessment |
èOnline Resources for Chapter 11: http://www.pcrest2.com/fol/ch11.htm
èNotes on Chapter Content
Critical Reflection The Writing Process
This exercise is much more philosophically oriented than most and requires students to read and process a quote and then to react to it, explaining their reaction (in the first prompt). The second prompt allows students to shift gears and consider the utility of writing both within the context of college as well as the wider context of learning. Either of these prompts work well for an in-class discussion. The first prompt will tend to elicit emotional responses while the second will trigger much more cognitive or academic-type responses.
Life Vision Portfolio A Creative Vision
This is a very broadly defined exercise that essentially turns students loose to practice creative writing skills focused upon the context of their LVP.
èActivities
| Activity 11.1: Applying the Writing Methodology | In-class: Full Activity or Orientation Only | May span multiple class meetings |
|
This activity tasks students with applying the Writing Methodology to produce a short (2 to 3 page) paper. The steps of the methodology are presented in the case study of this activity and students are given four model student responses to each step of the methodology (John, Jennifer, Ken, and Lindsey). Many aspects of this activity must be determined by the instructor:
NOTE: Activity 11.2 depends upon students (or groups) producing a physical paper in Activity 11.1, as it will be assessed by other students or groups. It is important that students complete the Self-Assessment included with the activity. The performance criteria upon which they base their assessment are given on the first page of the activity. |
||
| Activity 11.2 Assessing and Revising | In-class: Full Activity (except Critical Thinking Questions and revised papers) | May span multiple class meetings |
|
In this activity, students (or groups, if the instructor chose to make this a group activity) will exchange the papers generated in Activity 11.1, reading one another's work. Each student/group will then complete a Writing Assessment Form (found in the Activity) for that paper. Note that not all prompts may be applicable for every type of writing. Instructors may choose whether or not they want students to revise their original papers; we strongly recommend they do and require each student to submit his or her revised paper, along with their answers to the Critical Thinking Questions. If this is not required, the majority of students will not actually implement the assessment recommendations they receive. Additionally, knowing that they will be required to submit the paper will tend to compel students to be more helpful with their responses to the prompts of the form. It is critical that instructors recognize the potential for affective reactions from students when their writing is assessed, especially by peers. It is important to stress that they are using assessment as a tool to help one another be stronger writers rather than judging or grading one another's writing or ability. Nonetheless, there may be bruised egos, hurt feelings, frustration, feelings of inadequacy/failure, etc., as a result of this activity. Your role as facilitator is to continually stress improvement (rather than success/failure); students must work through their affective reactions and some will require time away from class and perhaps an additional class period to do so. This is part of the reason that the exercises in this chapter are relatively 'light' and geared toward allowing students to react and write creatively. Answering the Critical Thinking Questions will require them to appreciate the feedback they've received as intended to help them improve, regardless of their emotional reactions. Critical Thinking Questions Note that we recommend that students be required to submit their answers to the Critical Thinking Questions, as well as their revised papers. What was most useful about the feedback you received? Did you disagree with any feedback you received? If so, why? What did you learn about your own writing from your classmate’s feedback? What did you learn about the writing process from the experience of assessing your classmate’s writing? |
||
| Activity 11.3 Interviewing about Reading and Writing | In-class: Orientation Only | Spans multiple class meetings |
|
Note that this activity requires more time than most (at least 1 week from start to finish). If an instructor chooses to use this activity, the introduction to the activity and preliminary team meeting should be carried out during the first class meeting on this chapter. Instructors are welcome to move the class meeting and subsequent planning to an online environment, if they so desire. This activity attempts to sensitize students to disciplinary reading and writing. Within the scope of the activity, students must make many decisions:
As such, student teams will require some time to organize and make these decisions. While this could be facilitated as an individual activity, students tend to find interviewing somewhat intimidating. Preparing within a group will tend to encourage students, as they will be accountable to their peers for following through with the interview. Instructors should touch base with each team while they are making their decisions, in order to be sure that the plans to contact potential interview subjects have been thought through and will not be disruptive or invasive. Though this is explicitly addressed in the Plan, it is worth bringing up again, in class. If students are having difficulty finding someone to interview, consider steering them toward any other faculty members or graduate students who you know would be willing to act as an interview subject. Try to keep the time frame for interviews to about 1 week; if students are unable to get an interview scheduled and completed within that timeframe, feel free to suggest that they conduct their interview via e-mail. While this is not the preferred conduit for such an interview, it can certainly be done, at the instructor's discretion. Students should be given necessary time to conduct their interviews and meet again with their team to synthesize individual results into their tip lists for reading and writing within different disciplines. As this activity is likely to be completed days after this chapter has been completed, instructors should decide how and when students will share their results (in class? electronically?) and how those results will be made available for the benefit of the whole class. |
||