nici /writing /response 5

"The Popularity of Forulaic Writing" by Mike Wiley

  • Suprises

    • I had never really thought through the negative connotations of teaching a formulaic method as the ONLY method, and I can see the appeal of such a method, especially when faced with a group of students unable to acomplish what the formula allows them too. The word counts supprise me, I've never counted words in a paragraph, rather trusted to break them apart when they start addressing more than one issue. And anytime you write more than half a page your adressing more than one issue, or at least more than one aspect of an issue which is the same thing.

    • That using such a formula would prevent students from addressing the content in any meaningful way and would thus take away the possibility of using writing as a tool to think through and find new insights into the material.
    • The value of having a consistent language to talk about writing (which I though existed but aparently my version isn't specific enough) would allow student better success across grade levels as they wouldn't have to relearn how to communicate with thier teachers about these things.
  • Confirmations

    • That many teachers make choices that are based on thier needs or political pressures instead of what is best for the student. They may not see it like this, but it happens.

    • The need for students to make judgment calls and learn how to make good decisions about what procedural knowledge to apply is just as important as learning any declarative knowledge.
  • Concerns

    • I'm sure this will get covered in the scope of this class but I'm not yet familiar with a great variety of writing styles. I write the way I think sounds good, I do try to mimic the tone of the academic writings I encounter, but I'm not able to describe that style of writing to someone else.

    • I like to use rubric's when grading, they don't count words but they do give a student an idea of how they did in different areas of concern. This article makes it sound like this is not such a great idea. However I think they are a highly usefull addition to a grading format, not a stand alone grading tool but something help break down the problems into managable chuncks.
  • Questions

    • When faced with a group of students, some of who can't even handle this formulaic method, how do you devise assingments that help them while not boring or injuring those who are ready to move on to the next step?

    • This approach may be usefull for timed writing, what other situations can it be applied effectivly in?
  • Sugestions

    • Go over the main points that this formula helps students with but don't require them to use a formula. Make sure they know that if they use a quote or cite a fact it must be addressed in their own voice and their own words in order for it to be appropriate.




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