A Method for Teaching Writing
In “A Method for Teaching Writing” by Peter Elbow, he proposes the idea of creating a college writing course that strays away from grading students based on the structural and conventional components of writing, and instead focuses on teaching students how to develop a writing piece that produces a desired effect on the reader. In addition, he advocates a method that helps students find/develop their own voice within their writing pieces. The class that Elbow envisions would be run primarily by the students as opposed to the teacher. The teacher is there to serve more as a guide and a facilitator during class discussion and evaluation. Elbow believes that having the students choose their own writing assignments along with evaluating their own classmates work will help students get a feel for what makes “good writing” as well as what components should go into the writing criteria in order to accomplish this. Elbow (1968) states in his writing that, “the point is to try to build from strength and only gradually to proceed toward areas of weakness” (p.116). Elbow believes that having students interact and work collaboratively in the classroom on certain writing pieces will ultimately help students get a solid feel for what criteria is and why it is essential to have a criteria when composing a piece of written work. By comparing their own pieces of writing to their peer’s written work students will obtain a better sense of what aspects work in writing and what aspects do not.
In “A Method for Teaching Writing” by Peter Elbow, he proposes the idea of creating a college writing course that strays away from grading students based on the structural and conventional components of writing, and instead focuses on teaching students how to develop a writing piece that produces a desired effect on the reader. In addition, he advocates a method that helps students find/develop their own voice within their writing pieces. The class that Elbow envisions would be run primarily by the students as opposed to the teacher. The teacher is there to serve more as a guide and a facilitator during class discussion and evaluation. Elbow believes that having the students choose their own writing assignments along with evaluating their own classmates work will help students get a feel for what makes “good writing” as well as what components should go into the writing criteria in order to accomplish this. Elbow (1968) states in his writing that, “the point is to try to build from strength and only gradually to proceed toward areas of weakness” (p.116). Elbow believes that having students interact and work collaboratively in the classroom on certain writing pieces will ultimately help students get a solid feel for what criteria is and why it is essential to have a criteria when composing a piece of written work. By comparing their own pieces of writing to their peer’s written work students will obtain a better sense of what aspects work in writing and what aspects do not.