responding to student writing (and to student writers!) tom thompson professor of english the...

Responding to Student Writing (and to Student Writers!)

Tom ThompsonProfessor of English

The Citadeltom.thompson@citadel.edu

843-953-1418

Why do STUDENTS write?

Reality check:

Make a list of the kinds of writing you do outside the classroom.

Note to kidsShopping listEmail messageMessage about a phone callReminder to self to do somethingDiscussion on FacebookNotes for classDirections (how to get somewhere)Summary of a faculty committee meetingArticle for an academic journal

Share your list with a neighbor…

DBQ Artifact to be graded Proof that I know something

GIGO

Garbage In Garbage Out

Weak assignment Weak product

To elicit good writing, you need to start with a good assignment.

Text

CONTEXT

Writer Reader

Subject

The Rhetorical Situation

Writer

Subject

What

does the w

riter

know about th

e subjec

t?

Writing to learn.

Writing to show learning.

Writer seeks to discover, clarify, or make sense of new information or ideas. Writer is the primary audience.Usually low stakes.

Writer seeks to demonstrate learning to someone else.Teacher is the primary audience.Usually moderate to high stakes.

Writer

Subject

What

does the w

riter

know about th

e subjec

t?

…without worrying about writing skills

…without worrying about conventions

…without worrying about grades

Writing to learn lets thewriter focus on the subject…

Once the writer knows the subject…

What rules am I expected to follow?

What should the final product look like?

What’s the most effective way to present my ideas? (What genre? What format?)

ReaderWriter

Text

…the focus can shift to the text & the reader.

Step 1: Know WHY the student is writing.

Learning content?Showing that they’ve learned content?Practicing a skill or a format?Showing their mastery of a skill or a format?

Step 2: Know WHY you are responding.

To force students to practice?To help students improve a skill?To let students know how they are doing so far?To assess a performance for a grade?

You don’t have to READ everything your students WRITE.

You don’t have to GRADE everything you READ.

Both FORMATIVE and SUMMATIVE responses can be useful.

Text

CONTEXT

Writer Reader

Subject

(Teacher) (Student)

(Student’s paper)

(Teacher’s responses)

(Classroom setting)

Now let’s talk about yourresponses – what youwrite on thestudent’spaper

Quality of ideas

Appropriateness of the material

Accuracy of content presented

Organization of ideas

Depth/development of ideas

Likely audience reactions

Stylistic/format issues

Grammar/mechanics issues

Aspects on Which to Comment:(“focus”)

From Straub & Lunsford, 12 Readers Reading

Ways to Respond:(“mode”)

From Straub & Lunsford, 12 Readers Reading

Practice Time!Read the sample student paper and respond to it as directed:

1st group: focus mainly on ideas; write only descriptive & evaluative statements

2nd group: focus mainly on ideas; write only questions

3rd group: focus mainly on format/grammar/mechanics; write only descriptive & evaluative statements

4th group: focus mainly on format/grammar/mechanics; write only questions

TELL

ASK

Practice Time!

Now, swap papers with someone in a different group and compare comments.

Compare focus: ideas vs form. Describe your reaction as if you were the student author. (Which comments were useful? Why? Which comments were not useful? Why?)

Compare mode: statements vs questions.)Again, describe your reaction as if you were the student author.

What are potential benefits of each focus and mode? What are potential drawbacks of each?

Remember:

Not all aspects of an assignment are equal. If something MATTERS more, you should pay it more attention. Don’t worry as much about less important aspects of the work.

Perhaps more importantly, not everything has to count – not every performance has to be graded. Practice is important. Grades might be required at the end of the process, but they can do more harm than good when they interfere with that process.

Continuum of Responses

No response (They’re just practicing!)

Minimal response (Done/not done; check/check-plus/check-minus)

Short conference (A few key questions or comments)

Rubric (Scored by teacher, or maybe by student)

Critical response, diagnosis, or advice (You write a lot!)

If you remember only ONE THING…

Use a response method that is appropriate to the assignment and the goals.

What makes a fire burnis space between the logs,a breathing space.Too much of a good thing,too many logspacked in too tightcan douse the flamesalmost as surelyas a pail of water would.

So building firesrequires attentionto the spaces in between,as much as to the wood.

When we are able to buildopen spaces in the same waywe have learnedto pile on the logs,then we can come to see howit is fuel, and absence of the fueltogether, that make fire possible.

We only need to lay a loglightly from time to time.A fire growssimply because the space is there,with openings in which the flamethat knows just how it wants to burn can find its way.

(Teaching with Fire, ed. by Sam M. Intrator and Megan Scribner)

Fireby Judy Brown

Tom ThompsonEnglish Department

The Citadeltom.thompson@citadel.edu

843-953-1418

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