Students learn to become more confident, and less anxious, about their writing if they practice in formal and informal assignments. It’s useful to establish in the class that student writers have common goals: to find a writing voice that is both personal and scholarly; to grasp the meaning of a text accurately; to posit a convincing thesis; to create work that feels significant and relevant. As essai means “trial” or “attempt,” the practice of writing in various modes demonstrates to the students that meaningful writing begins as a question, instinct, or idea that should be grounded in careful readings. It’s also useful to encourage a growing vocabulary and a consistent introduction to dynamic ideas and evolving writing rules. The students arrive with such varied training, but they all want to read difficult texts; they all have serious questions about the world and want to explore them in writing; they all want to become more confident and distinctive writers.
Description v. Analysis: In class, describe in great detail something relevant to your classwork (let’s say a painting, a historical figure, a black hole, etc.). Then, summarize at least one source’s analysis of your chosen subject. Finally, articulate your ideas and questions about your subject. What is the difference between your description, your summary of the source, and your analysis?
How I Write: Write a description of how you write. Where do you like to sit? Do you play music or not? Do you eat? Do you write alone or with others? How do you feel when you write for yourself and when you write for a class? What works for you, and what doesn’t? In this narrative, include a description of how you would like to write in the future.
Reading is Writing/Writing is Reading: As you read an essay for class, track your thoughts as you read—what you are absorbing, what you find confusing, what else you are thinking of (you can be honest). What does this tracing of your thoughts reveal about how you read and how you write?
Microscope Writing: Choose one difficult passage in any text. Look at it very closely. Which words are new to you? Look them up in a dictionary. Which parts are confusing? Write questions about the confusing parts. What do you want to understand about this passage in relation to the rest of the text? Share your vocabulary words, questions, or wishes to understand with the class.
Making Metaphors: Find a metaphor in your reading for the day. What is being compared to what? The thing described is the tenor; the metaphor is called the vehicle. What qualities do the tenor and the vehicle share? Draw a picture of your metaphor. How do these qualities and your own image reveal the significance of the metaphor? Metaphors often point to larger ideas in a text. Does your metaphor function as a vortex for the greater ideas in your text? How?
First Thoughts: At the beginning of class, sit in the quiet. Take out a notebook or blank piece of paper. Write in silence for 5 minutes. Don’t stop moving your hand. This writing is private and can be as deep or light as you like. Faculty can then give the students a question, prompt, or idea about that day’s topic to write about for 5-10 more minutes. Then, the students can share what they wrote; it’s important for the students to read what they wrote and not summarize it verbally. This is a helpful way to focus the class and begin a conversation.
List-making: Make lists in class by yourself or with a partner. Write three lists: Books that Changed Me; Books I Want to Read: As-Yet-Written Books I Want to Read (or Write).
Make a Cartoon: After reading an assignment, choose what you think is the most important information or meaning and find at least two examples that illustrate those ideas. Work by yourself or with a partner to make a cartoon of this information. Share your cartoon with the class and explain why you chose this particular information.
Essay Draft Reflections: Bring a draft of an essay to class; workshop it with your peers, receiving feedback about where you need to add evidence and whether you have a thesis yet; then, write for 5-10 minutes about what you want to do next with your draft; use the feedback of your peers and your notes to revise your essay.
Essay Due Day: Before you turn in your essay, write a note to your faculty member about what you feel you accomplished in your essay. Then, write about what you wish you had had time to accomplish in the essay. What was the most exciting thing you learned in your essay? Turn your essay in and keep these things in mind for your next assignment.
