The question “What is the most difficult thing to teach in the teaching of writing?” is a very difficult question to answer. The question “How do you go about teaching that?” is rather daunting. The reason I say so is that it is hard to pick just one thing in the entire process of writing. Moreover, it is not just about the teacher, it is about the student. It is about what a student finds hard and how hard he or she finds it or whether I, as a teacher, can address that problem or no.
In my short experience of grading, I’ve seen different students face difficulties with different aspects of writing. Some struggle with grammar, some struggle with analyzing a text, some struggle with revising it, some find editing hard, and some flounder at almost all of it. In fact, there are too many students struggling with grammar alone. This problem is further compounded by the fact that it can be profoundly difficult to teach grammar to students at this stage. The reason being that you first have to make them shed all the wrong concepts that they have about grammar. It’s not as easy as wiping off a badly scribbled on slate and to begin writing on it afresh. It is worse. It’s like working on bad engravings. But can engravings be wiped away?
If I were to choose one thing that I find the hardest to teach, it would be revision. The reason? Students barely get it. I often wonder what goes through a student’s mind when they’re told to revise a piece of writing. What is it that makes them submit that piece of writing without a single change? I reiterate, without a single change. It is like the word “revision” means nothing. It just vaporizes into thin air and no wonder none of it is seen in the so-called “revised” paper. I find teaching revision rather arduous because there is the danger of handing out to the student what needs to be done. There is the danger of spoon-feeding a student, which, to say the least, could jeopardize the entire process of learning. For example, you ask your student to revise her thesis statement. You provide an example of how it could be done. However, instead of working on the original thesis statement, the student brazenly copies and pastes in the final draft the example you gave her. This is a very tricky situation as there is no evidence of any effort made to revise that thesis statement, but you do have a new thesis statement in place of the older one.
This brings me to the question of how to go about teaching that. Well, we would think that peer reviews are a great way of getting students to revise their work, which is correct. However, I have seen students get offended by peer reviews. Worse still, I have seen students dismiss the suggestions of their peers without even giving them a thought. Sometimes, there is harsh language involved too. How then, can we get students to use peer reviews constructively? Do students even take their instructor’s advice positively? Is this a problem concerning students’ attitude or is it a problem of conveying your message in the correct tone attributable, of course, in part to technology (not that I’m against it)? After all, we are grading them online. If meaning and intention can be lost in text messages or emails, why not in online grading or feedback? But then, there is no alternative, is there? This reminds me of what Parker said in his essay, “But no one needs to persuade the American public that freshman composition is essential despite the fact that it rarely accomplishes any of its announced objectives.” (12) Maybe I’m just too pessimistic today. I hope we’ll be able to find an answer to these confounding questions in class.
Nidhi, I love the concerns that you bring up, because I think we have all shared these concerns before--both as students and as instructors. I agree that revision is extremely difficult to teach to students, part of the reason being that students need concrete examples of the improvements you want them to make. I know that when I was being taught composition in high school, my teachers refused to "spoon-feed" us, but I do not think this did me any good. They would tell me to revise my thesis, but they would not specify what they wanted to see. I would hesitantly make changes, and the revised copy would still come back "Needs more work." In contrast, my college professors gave me wide ranges of suggestive commentary. They would mark my writing with suggestions of the many different ways my writing could be improved. These comments did not feel spoon-fed, they felt more like like solid advice. It was during this time that I was finally able to grasp the idea of revising my own work and doing it well. I think that, in the beginning, giving students examples of improvements can benefit them. For students like myself, a strong base of examples can help improve writing more than almost anything else.
ReplyDeleteYour question about keeping peer reviews constructive is intriguing. In my undergrad, one of my professors had us turn in two copies of our largest semester paper--one for him and one for another student in the class. We were told to write a professional critique over another student's paper, and then we read our critiques out loud to the class like a conference paper. This assignment forced an air of professionalism onto the whole class. While this caused some strife in some of my classmates, our professor emphasized repeatedly that, in the professional world, people have to be able to listen to critiques of their own work. Also, the fact that we were being graded on the critiques we wrote made us take our analyses much more seriously than if this had been a casual discussion.
you make some great points, Emma! I find it interesting how your college professors were able to give you valuable advice on how to revise your paper without "spoon-feeding" you. I hope to incorporate that in my teaching. I agree that examples are a great way of helping students, but I am still learning where to stop so that I don't just hand out what needs to be done. I also agree with you on grading peer reviews as that would make students take them more seriously. I am glad that we do that in 1301.
DeleteWe'll all gain more experience on how we can best answer these questions about what's difficult about teaching writing and what students needs the most. Answers to these questions can relate to our own values as teachers, of course, too. If you value grammar and correctness of style, then you may see that students need a lot of attention there, for instance. And if we work more with majors or nonmajors may make a difference. If a major, for instance, students will have more opportunities with other principles of writing, but if we're thinking this may be one of few writing intensive courses students get before they graduate, that sort of changes things, doesn't it Nidhi? And good thinking about tone. I look forward to hearing what everyone says.
ReplyDeleteDr. Rice, yes, I agree that what matters to a teacher plays an important role in their teaching. Your example about grammar completely resonates with me as I can't imagine myself compromising on grammar. Bad grammar is like blasphemy!
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