Writing Matters

Dr. Sean Meehan

Morningside College

Frederick Douglass by Jacob Lawrence

A description of the kinds of writing and writing process you will experience in the course.

Journal: informal writing

This is a key to the course; the journal represents the bulk of the informal writing you will do in response to reading, to discussions and presentations, as well as the beginnings of the formal writing you will undertake. In this sense, the journal is a combination of a reading response journal and a writer’s notebook. I will assess the overall commitment and consistency you give to the journal whenever I read them (sometimes briefly in class, sometimes I will collect them). I will not be looking for any aspects of formal writing or logic; I will be looking for your initial development of thought and insight.  My notebooks are messy and not always legible, but very useful as I ask questions and begin to reflect on what I am thinking and learning, what I want to write about. My goal is for you to use the journal by the end of the course (if not sooner) entirely on your own—regardless of whether I “grade” it. Early on, I will give you more guidelines and feedback to help you get used to this kind of independent writing and thinking. Your journal can be electronic if you wish (mine is, mostly)—though be prepared at times in class to go “old-school” if I ask for laptops to be closed.

Evaluation method: unsatisfactory/satisfactory/excellent.

Unsatisfactory: This means your level of engagement was inconsistent or lacking. This could be a result from not doing all the journal entries expected or not giving your journal writing the time and thought it demands—writing quickly and vaguely in several cases. Should you receive this evaluation, you will be required to meet with me to discuss questions you have and ways you can immediately improve. You will also be given an opportunity to have this evaluation revised if that improvement is shown.

Satisfactory: This means that your level of engagement is consistent and your work is thorough; you have completed all required entries and are making good use of the independent work that the journal represents. There is some room to push a bit further in some aspects of the journal, including writing further in some entries, something you are welcome to talk with me about.

Excellent: This means that your level of engagement is excellent and the thoroughness of the work reflected in your journal is impressive. You are consistently pushing your thought and ideas in your journal writing and using the journal—in class and out—as a great foundation for your participation in the course.

Writing Experiment: 1-2 pages, slightly formal piece

This is slightly formal in the sense that it will be typed (double-spaced) and read by me or others in the class (published and turned in); but it is still informal in that it is a chance for you to think in writing about an idea that you want to focus on, in response to your reading or class discussions—and risk going somewhere with it. This focal point gives you a chance to take an idea from your journal and begin to explore it in more depth, see if it is something you want to stay with for a longer essay; a focal point may also be in response to an issue that I assign to the class. The objectives are for you to begin to develop your initial ideas and responses to reading and issues from class—moving out of your notebook for the first time, taking a risk with an idea, speculating a bit while also being responsive to what we have been reading and discussing. The focus is on developing a focus—not on correctness in style or form. These pieces should be readable, though I encourage you to give your attention to developing the idea and the focus of the writing, less to the grammar and style of the piece (which I will not be evaluating here). In terms of writing process, this piece should be revised at least once—a stage where you go back to your ideas and go further as needed.

Assessment methods may vary: peer response; holistic grading by me—with rubric provided; brief oral presentation of your focal point to class.

Rubric for evaluation: The scale for responses is 0-4. The numbers do not automatically translate into a grade. I will be looking at the work you do with your focal points overall this semester and make a final assessment that will take into account improvement and effort.

0/incomplete: This suggests that you either didn’t turn a focal point in or the piece was late without prior excuse from me. Immediate improvement is in order, as is discussion with me. Emerson expects to have something to read next time.

1/needs work: This suggests you completed the assignment but that your piece is not fully responsive to the reading/class discussion and fails to develop a focus. The overall effort that is evident in the piece is unsatisfactory. Emerson would urge you to work, with help from me, towards improvement.

2/consistent: This suggests that the focal point responds to the reading and develops a consistent focus and shows evidence of satisfactory effort with regard to the objectives; there is room for more work in either the response to the reading, the development of the focus, or in the overall originality represented by the focus. Emerson would want you to push yourself further.

3/solid work: This suggests that the focal point responds well to the reading and provides a thoughtful and engaging focus. The focus of the piece reflects notable originality and creative thinking. Emerson would be pleased and encourage you to keep up the effort.

4/impressive: The focal point explores a thoughtful, responsive and focused reading with impressive originality and insight. Emerson would be impressed with this example of creative reading.

 Essay: 3-5 pages, formal writing and inquiry

Though still relatively brief, an essay is a place where you are fully composing your ideas that you have been developing in your journal and perhaps began to try out in a focal point. This essay should be both thoroughly revised and copyedited. The audience here is a formal academic reader who expects clarity in writing as well as creativity in thought. These essays will be workshopped in class; you will also have an opportunity to conference with me while these are in process and/or after you turn them in. If research of any kind is involved with the essay, proper citation (MLA) format is expected. I may employ a range of assessment methods in “grading” and responding to these essays—something I will discuss in advance: e.g., contract grading, holistic, self-assessment. You will be given thorough guidelines and evaluation rubrics when the essay assignment is made.

In some cases, variations on the essay format will be offered or expected: for example, developing lesson or unit plans (for English education majors); developing a dictionary entry and history, etc. If there is a format for your inquiry that you are interested in pursuing other than an essay, feel free to make a case to me for doing it.

 Final project/portfolio: collecting and expanding your writing

Depending on the course, you might be assigned a final project in place of or in conjunction with a final exam. This final project would include a substantial essay, once again developed from the thought and writing you have been exploring. In addition, you may be asked to turn in a portfolio of all the writing you have done in the course (outside of the journal) and include with it a self-reflection on what that writing represents, what progress you feel you have made as a writer. One thing this means is that you must save all of the writing you do: certainly anything you turn in, but also keep an electronic file of drafts, etc. This is great practice for what writers do. Finally, this project will likely include an electronic component—presenting your work to the class and to the world in digital format for posting on your web space and future use on my course web. The point is to extend your writing to this newest medium but also, and more importantly, to see what this medium and technology (hypertext) can teach you about writing and English in the process.