Chapter 4: In Fifty Words or Less

Knowing how to write concise statements on a particular subject matter is key in reflecting a students understanding. Often time’s students take up too much writing space to write out dates, emphasize unimportant events, or repeat the same idea in different ways. Students may be knowledgeable in certain areas but if they cannot effectively express their understanding,  because their writing consists of all the cons listed above, then their writing does their knowledge no justice.  I think an effective way to tackle this problem would be to model exemplary brief bios like the reading suggests. If students compare an exemplary bio versus an unideal bio they can see how each sentence is transformed into an important concentrated fact. On page 62, “The task of the brief bio” covers five points that are essential to brevity.  These five tasks should be explained to students and then ensemble review the task that each sentence is serving.  Students can then individually practice writing their own bios covering all parts of the tasks required.  

I found the section on connotations to be of much interest. Once again through most of my schooling career I always thought that giving my opinion on something meant starting off with “I think” or “I feel.” My students are all notorious for writing this at the end of any paper they are asked to write. What stood out to me is that a lot of the materials I’ve read, which have molded my perception on things, don’t always start with I think/feel but they still managed to steer my beliefs. Perfect example would be the one they gave in the book about Christopher Columbus discovering America versus invading America. My textbooks wanted me to believe that Columbus was a hero of some sort for discovering this continent and I absorbed this information as if it was fact instead of realizing that it’s just an opinion. The only fact that exists is that he landed in America but whether it was discovered or invaded is a matter of opinion. It’s just since the textbook writers didn’t phrase it “I think or feel” I automatically figured it was fact especially since it was in a textbook. If I was a more detailed reader I would have read between the lines. For this very reason I think it’s important for students to learn how to read avidly into connotations and also learn how to utilize it within their own writing.

The chart on page 67 is also an effective tool in spatially organizing information before writing. I think it would be a helpful graphic organizer to hand out to students to layout what they know on whatever the topic is. Lastly, all of the model words provided in each section should be accessible to students so they can familiarize themselves with words that can help mold their writing style. Hanging these words up conspicuously would be beneficial.

Chapter 3 Blog Response

I really wish I would have read this during my fresh man year in college or even in high school.  If there’s one comment that I can remember resurfacing essay after essay after essay is “please be more specific.”  

I think it would be simple to show two pieces of writing to my fifth graders and have them see the difference between a paper that is specific and one that is vague. It would be easy for them to notice how specificity changes the entire delivery of a piece. Students may encounter issues though when it comes time to address their own writing. The plan would then be to focus on one aspect of specificity at a time. I think the first part should be to identify vague words, discuss why that word is ambiguous, and how can we narrow it down? After that, students should revise and edit the same piece a couple of times, each time focusing on a different strategy to narrow their writing.

 I think generalities are one of the main issues with student writing, besides repetition. The example given under “Generalities and Specifics” (ex: Hudson/Rivers/bodies of water/geographical features) would be a great homework assignment. This way the kids can get practice in narrowing and expanding concepts.  Chapter three also suggests that students should become mindful of using the word “it.” Students should refrain from using “IT” when they speak too because the reason they use it so much in their writing is because it’s dominant in their everyday speech. 

Writing vs. Reading

As I was reading, I started to reflect on my own writing experiences in school. Reading was always promoted more than writing. It was important for us to understand where the author was coming from and what the authors’ purpose for writing was. The times when writing was practiced, it was usually expository, argumentative or persuasive in reference to whatever we were reading. There went many times when we would practice creative writing or narrative writing. I did have one college professor through when I attended York College (freshman year) that did enforce writing alot. Her classes were so much fun because of the way she conducted it. We would come in in the morning and do a small free writing. After that, we would usually discuss the reading from the night before which was only about 5-7 pages in length, not long at all. Along with the reading with would also have to do some writing. The writing usually consisted of us expressing our ideas on the subject and detailing why we felt the way we did.  There were also a couple of short answer questions that we had to complete. The fun really came in the next day in the morning when we got to discuss what we wrote and verbally debate our opinions on the piece. Till this day I could still remember some of the tings we read in that class.

I say that, to really say I see where Elbow is coming from and I completely agree with his logic. If the class, in my above example would have just consisted of reading and then writing what I think the authors’ purpose was, I’m sure I wouldn’t have been as passionate about the class. The passion arose when my own ideas and thoughts became valuable to class discussion; it kept me awake and involved. Like Elbow says, writing asks ‘What do you have to say’ versus reading to understand what someone else said.  I haven’t always been a fan of writing because usually the writing I did in school wasn’t always creative, it was usually expository. The only other time when I did enjoy writing was when I wrote poems on my own time about things I found to be interesting. Elbow makes a good point when he said “Talking is a crime and writing the punishment.” More often than not, teachers will assign writing tasks as punishment for bad behavior. When I was in the fifth grade, our punishment for misconduct was writing during out lunch period. I’ve actually just recently developed an interest for writing, besides poetry I’ve always liked that.