[Teaching_Composition] Puzzling First-Year Students
Mark Scott
teaching_composition@mailman.eppg.com
Sat, 07 Oct 2006 01:52:31 -0500
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None of my 30 students is puzzled, and this puzzles me. Or I should say, th=
e
only thing that puzzles them is =B3what I want.=B2 They spend most of their tim=
e
in class trying to guess what that is. I resist telling them. They fill in
with all that they have learned over ten or twelve years=8Bthe rules they wer=
e
taught to write with and by, namely:
* Always have an introduction, body, and conclusion.
* Always have a thesis. Make sure the thesis is stated in the introduction.
* Never use a sentence like, =B3In the following essay I will ...=B2
* Always write in ascending order of importance.
* Don=B9t get too personal in essays.
* Never use contractions or informal speech.
* Use at least one quote per paragraph.
* Never begin a sentence with =B3but,=B2 =B3because,=B2 or =B3and.=B2
* Never start a story with a quote or dialogue.
* Sentences should not be longer than three lines.
* Always have at least five paragraphs in an essay.
* Always have smooth transitions between paragraphs.
=20
There are twenty-six more. I spent a month bringing these rules out into th=
e
open, as objects of thought. But they=B9re like the animal Fred Flintstone
ushers out the door: they come right back in through the window. Maybe ten
students wrote a so-called =B3literacy narrative=B2 that surprised them. One
said, and I believed her, that it was the first paper she=B9d ever written in
which she=B9d been =B3100% honest.=B2 The gist of it? That she hated writing. She
wrote an almost flawless paper of 300 words or so in which, for the first
time, she really looked her miserable education in the face. Or so I
thought. In talking to her about it, I saw that it too meant so little to
her. Why? Because I liked it, and that=B9s what mattered to her: she=B9d done
what I wanted after all. Until that complex can be worked out, I don=B9t see
what value there can possibly be in talking to semi-literate young adults
about arguments and positions.
Mark=20
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<TITLE>Puzzling First-Year Students</TITLE>
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<FONT FACE=3D"Verdana, Helvetica, Arial"><SPAN STYLE=3D'font-size:12.0px'>None =
of my 30 students is puzzled, and this puzzles me. Or I should say, the only=
thing that puzzles them is “what I want.” They spend most of th=
eir time in class trying to guess what that is. I resist telling them. They =
fill in with all that they have learned over ten or twelve years—the r=
ules they were taught to write with and by, namely:<BR>
<BR>
</SPAN></FONT><UL><LI><FONT FACE=3D"Verdana, Helvetica, Arial"><SPAN STYLE=3D'f=
ont-size:12.0px'>Always have an introduction, body, and conclusion.
</SPAN></FONT><LI><FONT FACE=3D"Verdana, Helvetica, Arial"><SPAN STYLE=3D'font-=
size:12.0px'>Always have a thesis. Make sure the thesis is stated in the int=
roduction.
</SPAN></FONT><LI><FONT FACE=3D"Verdana, Helvetica, Arial"><SPAN STYLE=3D'font-=
size:12.0px'>Never use a sentence like, “In the following essay I will=
...”
</SPAN></FONT><LI><FONT FACE=3D"Verdana, Helvetica, Arial"><SPAN STYLE=3D'font-=
size:12.0px'>Always write in ascending order of importance.
</SPAN></FONT><LI><FONT FACE=3D"Verdana, Helvetica, Arial"><SPAN STYLE=3D'font-=
size:12.0px'>Don’t get too personal in essays.
</SPAN></FONT><LI><FONT FACE=3D"Verdana, Helvetica, Arial"><SPAN STYLE=3D'font-=
size:12.0px'>Never use contractions or informal speech.
</SPAN></FONT><LI><FONT FACE=3D"Verdana, Helvetica, Arial"><SPAN STYLE=3D'font-=
size:12.0px'>Use at least one quote per paragraph.
</SPAN></FONT><LI><FONT FACE=3D"Verdana, Helvetica, Arial"><SPAN STYLE=3D'font-=
size:12.0px'>Never begin a sentence with “but,” “because,&=
#8221; or “and.”
</SPAN></FONT><LI><FONT FACE=3D"Verdana, Helvetica, Arial"><SPAN STYLE=3D'font-=
size:12.0px'>Never start a story with a quote or dialogue.
</SPAN></FONT><LI><FONT FACE=3D"Verdana, Helvetica, Arial"><SPAN STYLE=3D'font-=
size:12.0px'>Sentences should not be longer than three lines.
</SPAN></FONT><LI><FONT FACE=3D"Verdana, Helvetica, Arial"><SPAN STYLE=3D'font-=
size:12.0px'>Always have at least five paragraphs in an essay.
</SPAN></FONT><LI><FONT FACE=3D"Verdana, Helvetica, Arial"><SPAN STYLE=3D'font-=
size:12.0px'>Always have smooth transitions between paragraphs.<BR>
</SPAN></FONT></UL><FONT FACE=3D"Verdana, Helvetica, Arial"><SPAN STYLE=3D'font=
-size:12.0px'> <BR>
There are twenty-six more. I spent a month bringing these rules out into th=
e open, as objects of thought. But they’re like the animal Fred Flints=
tone ushers out the door: they come right back in through the window. Maybe =
ten students wrote a so-called “literacy narrative” that surpris=
ed them. One said, and I believed her, that it was the first paper she’=
;d ever written in which she’d been “100% honest.” The gis=
t of it? That she hated writing. She wrote an almost flawless paper of 300 w=
ords or so in which, for the first time, she really looked her miserable edu=
cation in the face. Or so I thought. In talking to her about it, I saw that =
it too meant so little to her. Why? Because I liked it, and that’s wha=
t mattered to her: she’d done what I wanted after all. Until that comp=
lex can be worked out, I don’t see what value there can possibly be in=
talking to semi-literate young adults about arguments and positions.<BR>
<BR>
Mark <BR>
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