composition

When I began teaching, I decided that I would let my students take the wheel when it comes to designing rubrics. I think that students look to the professor as the container of all knowledge, especially when it comes to writing. Letting them design the rubric helps them to see that I'm not the only one who knows what makes good writing. (Plus, they find it harder to claim they are being graded unfairly when they have chosen the criteria) To design the rubric, we start early in the semester with George Orwell's "Politics and the English Language," which talks about what makes bad writing. That conversation is followed by a discussion about what makes good writing. As students share their thoughts about the elements of good writing, I write their ideas on the whiteboard. Later, I copy these down. The next step in this process is giving them a voting sheet. I lay out a spreadsheet of their ideas, along with SAT writing standards for a "6" essay, good writing te...

Literacy narratives are seemingly simple assignments. How hard is it to write the story of how one learned to use language, read, and/or write? I think, however, that the literacy narrative is a crucial part of my first year writing syllabus. There are many benefits to this assignment for both the students and the teacher. For the students, the literacy narrative feels like an easy task. They don't feel the pressure of more "serious assignments" and are, therefore, less likely to be hung up on writing perfect sentences or making sure they have hyperintellectual words (incorrectly applied by right-clicking for the thesaurus in word). They are simply more genuine. At the same time, without the pressure to sound academic, students are able to practice necessarily skills like idea development, organization, and using supporting evidence without even realizing it.  On a mental level, it also amps up the confidence of novice college-level writers. Reflecting back on the hardshi...