Doing the Demo

Today was a good day. Even though I had been stressing over and worrying about doing my demo for weeks now, I have to say that it went much better than expected (there were no judgmental stares, snide questions, or natural disasters) and I think that we were able to get a good conversation started. 

That’s what is really the most important aspect of the demo for me: having a conversation about how we view good writing. I don’t necessarily have an answer or think that we should throw out these rules as we have always known them, but I do think that we need to complicate the notion itself and consider the possibility that these rules are much more malleable than we may think. If we look at writing only through the lens of these unbreakable rules, then we may be missing out on the more visceral or felt sense of writing. (That’s hopefully what the groups noticed as they were forced to rank certain pieces of writing in a certain way according to the rules). If we had extra time, I would have liked to read "What Writing Is" by Stephen King, which comes from his memoir On Writing. I love how he defines writing and how we should approach it, and I think that it would be well worth your time to read it--my students love it just as much as I do (it's not only funny, but he really has good things to say). 

Also, I probably would have shown this video made by some journalism students on the oh-so lauded and hated Elements of Style byStrunk and White. 

Even though the video is kind of overdone at times, it can show that even the most widely accepted experts on style can be ridiculous too.  We also would have spent more time talking about each of the pieces individually and discussed how each one could function as an example of good writing, which would lead into an even larger discussion of genre, purpose, audience, tone, etc. (Interesting note: the “Itwas a dark and stormy night” piece is what Snoopy is usually writing as his masterpiece in the Peanuts cartoon and it is generally thought to be one of the worst opening lines to a novel ever. They even have annual contests named after the author where contestants try to write even worse ones...might be kind of fun...) 

Overall, the teacher demonstration was a great experience for me and I learned so much from listening to everyone in class. I especially appreciated Wendy’s comments on how these conversations may not be the most practical for certain students/what do you do when you are bound (by pay and testing) to these rules. I don’t have the answer to those questions yet, but it certainly got me thinking and I always appreciate anything that helps me complicate my thinking in new ways. I am including the text from my lesson plan below along with notes and pictures in case you may want them for any adaptations. Thanks so much!

What is Good Writing?

A Game of Belief and Doubt

“The truer it seems, the harder you have to doubt it” (Peter Elbow)

Writing into the Day:

Throughout our schooling career, we are repeatedly given examples of “good writing” and we are constantly reminded of the “rules for good writing.” I want you to spend today’s daybook time making a list of these examples of good writing and trying to remember some of these rules that you have been told are true and maybe even some that you also believe to be true. Then try to use those rules to create a personal definition of both good writing and bad writing.

Getting into Groups: Group Configuring with Composer Cards (novelists, poets, movie directors, screenwriters, cartoonists, lyricists, visual artists, etc.)

I try to get my students into random groups as much as possible during the first few weeks of class before we move into assigned writing groups. I like this method because they have to talk to each other to figure out who they are and where they belong. However, I also will use playing cards and match them by suit or number.

Cooperative Work:

Once in groups, you must share the rules and definitions that you wrote in your daybook to the rest of the members. After everyone has shared, you must collectively (everyone must agree!) decide on 4-5 rules for good writing that you have been told and will believe to be true. Please make sure that you record these rules in order of significance. 

Posters from the Groups:

Once the rules have been recorded, you must read and examine the eight different writing samples that I have given you.  

The eight pieces were a comic on writing by comic theorist Scott McCloud, the DVD synopsis/blurb for One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest (I try to use a movie the students may not know), an excerpt from Plato's Allegory of the Cave, Hamlet's "To be or not to be" Soliloquy from Shakespeare, the infamous opening line from Edward Bulwer-Lytton's Paul Clifford,  the directions from Crest Whitening Strips (directions to children's games like Candy Land work well too), the lyrics to "Smells like Teen Spirit" (chosen because they are messy and seem discordant, but the lyrics are representative of a generational shift), and the last piece comes from James Gee's discussions on Discourse or an excerpt from a theorist like Michel Bakhtin or Jacques Derrida. Of course, you could choose any pieces you like, but these are the ones that have worked for me.

According to the rules that your group created, rank each of these pieces in order of their “quality” (along the spectrum of good writing to bad writing). Then, record your ranking on your group’s sheet and explain why you ranked or had to rank each piece in its particular position. 

Circle Up and Share Out:

Each group will share and explain their rankings. Then, we will take a moment to see if we can complicate things a bit and I would also like for the group to comment on any of the following questions:

*What rules do we all seem to agree on? Where does this agreement come from?

*Why do we have the preconceptions about writing? How may it change once you go outside of this particular classroom?

*Why may it be important to know “the rules” of “good writing” first? Do you have to understand something before you subvert it?

*What is dangerous about setting up a distinct dichotomy of good vs. bad?

*How do audience, genre, medium, style, and purpose play into this?

*Is good writing based on what it produces in the reader? If they want to engage and not put it down? Emotionally charged? Factual? Argumentative?

*How do these rules function in the context of professional writers? Do professional writers follow these rules?

*Try to think of these rules on a broader level. What kind of function or purpose do they serve? Should everyone follow them? Do they work in all situations? Do they privilege certain people? Is it the intention to privilege certain people?

*And most importantly, why do you think that this notion of rules for good writing persists?

Returning to our Thoughts:

Take a few minutes to respond to your initial definitions of good writing. Did this particular activity affect your previous thinking? Why do you think the notion of good writing persists? How will it affect you as a teacher? How will it affect you as a writer? How could you apply Elbow’s ideas of belief and doubt into your own teaching practices?

Theoretical Framework:

The believing and doubting game can be found in the appendix of Peter Elbow’s Writing Without Teachers (1973). Essentially Elbow is asking the reader not only to doubt what she is reading (look for error, assume that something is wrong, develop a contradictory opinion), but also to believe what she is reading (project herself into the writer’s perspective). There needs to be a balance of both doubt and belief to really read and understand a piece of writing. (**Please keep in mind that this is a reductionist version of this theory and there is much more to it than I have described here**)

You can see some of Peter Elbow's ideas on writing here:

The following is just a fun thing that one of my students sent me after we did this exercise:

When in doubt, just try to remember the rules on HOW TO WRITE GOOD:

1.      AVOID ALLITERATION ALWAYS

2.      PREPOSITIONS ARE NOT WORDS TO END SENTENCES WITH.

3.      THE PASSIVE VOICE IS TO BE AVOIDED.

4.      AVOID CLICHES LIKE THE PLAGUE. THEY’RE OLD HAT.

5.      IT IS WRONG TO EVER SPLIT AN INFINITIVE.

6.      WRITERS SHOULD NEVER GENERALIZE.

Seven:  BE CONSISTENT

8. DON’T USE MORE WORDS THAN NECESSARY. IT’S HIGHLY SUPERFLUOUS.

9. BE MORE OR LESS SPECIFIC.

10. EXAGGERATION IS A BILLION TIMES WORSE THAN UNDERSTATEMENT.