In the course of my Graduate Education, I've had the opportunity to review the work of students in an Honors English (190) class.
This task drew me back 10 years, nay -- nearly 20 years -- to a point where I was entering the Sophomore Year of the Advanced (honors) High School writing track. For years, people told me that I was a "writer' and had a talent for writing. Naturally, my ego was firmly in place: I was the best writer EVER; as a stereotypical "90 lb weaking," I had to have pride in something, and it wasn't going to be athletics. I couldn't throw a ball -- my shoulders had atrophied from multiple locker-stuffings -- or run more than a few yards before tripping over my own feet and bringing my two backpacks full of heavy texts toppling forward onto my head.
Imagine my distress when my sophomore English teacher -- bless her soul -- deconstructed my entire writing style, asking cutting questions like "what's your point?" or toppling my discourse foundations by "accusing" me of "rambling" and not "saying anything." I remember conciously -- over time -- shelving my ego and building my writing from the beginning. Granted, I had some talent -- I could construct a sentence or two -- but I would then toss it into a jumbled sea of dissociated, thesis-free chaos. Over time, I began to develop from a simple structure what would become coherent essays that "said something, " if not well, then clearly.
I see a lot of similar conditions with Honors English students in the 190 class. Depending on the rigor of their high-school writing programs, or the intensity of extra-curricular writing, these talented individuals have often not been given useful critique. Their audiences would respond to their courage in "taking on tough topics," and grant them leeway accordingly. Mom, Dad, or a teacher who was happy to have *some* quality work would give them accolades. I'm not dismissing any latent ability these students possess, but rather acknowledging that FYE -- even an Honors Course -- must contend with students who are not well-versed in supporting arguments and positing a thesis.
My experience in reviewing student work was consistent with my preconceptions and beliefs, though the students provided somewhat more structure in their compositions. I found some awkward grammar constructions; students attempted what they presumed to be intellectual or academic language that was more obfuscatory than revealing.
Most students seemed to know what they wanted to say, yet didn't always know how to support their position with facts. Some hadn't yet grasped the concept of "overcoming objections" by showing how the opposing viewpoint might be logically (or factually) incorrect.
A few budding writers tackled sensitive topics from a Christian perspective. This was the most interesting part of the assignment for me. I didn't see as much bold, unequivocal posturing -- that I frankly expected -- as I did waffling and over-qualifying. Students who were dogmatic, perhaps in some attempt to seem reasonable, watered-down their statements so as to make their arguments weak. This is difficult to correct; how do you teach a student to present an objective opinion strongly and without wavering? How do you revise writing in which you espouse a clearly partisan viewpoint in such a way as to both make your point and resist offending those in your audience who may not agree, or may disagree violently with, your opinion?
In some cases, I recommended fact-checking and word substitution. In others, I drew from my experience as a public speaker in situations where I faced a "hostile audience." I suggested establishing a common ground from which to gradually develop an opinion.
I'm currently poring over Rogerian -- and countless other (5PE, anyone?) -- persuasive styles so that I can provide my students with valid argument structures. I'm becoming an advocate of teaching argument in a condensed format for FYE students. Some composition instructors focus on grammar as the most important means of teaching writing; others release the students into a state of complete free expression. I'm looking for a way to provide choices: loose structures that can guide a student to creativity within accepted and familiar boundaries that comfort and convince the audience.
