Should students be asked to produce essays in class, under timed conditions, as part of the process approach to developing their writing skills? The article by Weigle (2007) provides some interesting insights into the teaching of writing, and this issue in particular; Ron Tickfer’s response letter to colleagues provides a good initiation point for dialogue on this issue. In the light of the article (Weigle), Ron’s contribution, and your own practice, what is your view on timed writing in class and its contribution to developing writing?
The link to Ron's letter is broken - it points to a file on C: drive.
ReplyDeleteIn fact, my answer to the question: “should students be asked to produce essays in class, under timed conditions, as part of the process approach to developing their writing skills?” would be “yes” and my answer would continue with: “on the condition that…”.
ReplyDeleteStudents should produce essays in class under timed (and also under some other forms of conditions including the prohibition of using outside sources) to be able to have a (better) sense of achievement. The produced outcome would be a solid indication of what one can do (or in some cases “would” do) under certain circumstances. It is known that these “certain circumstances” usually appear in high- stakes tests, which play an important role in learners’ academic studies. Besides, if an evaluative outlook could be developed (by the teacher AND the learner) on the product of an in- class timed writing activity, then, both the writing performance of the student and his/her ability to manage time and his/her endurance could become visible. Without any doubt, all these would have an impact on learners’ overall development process of writing skills, too.
Yet, it could be a good idea to think of all the aspects of such practice- is it only the given “time” which makes this kind of a writing activity a rather “non- authentic” one? The fact that this piece of writing would constitute a large part of assessment in a course could make it more “fearful” for the student, too.
The key word could be “variety” if we, as instructors, wish to optimize learning and growth by making learners produce essays in class under timed conditions. This may mean balancing the number of in and outside class writings that belong to various genre and also to different modes.
Lastly, it is not always us - teachers- who “ask” for in class timed writing. We cannot neglect the fact that our students –time to time- request for such activities to be “fully prepared” for the approaching exams in their lives (at least in terms of developing the necessary affective skills).
Thanks very much Robin. Should be rectified now.
ReplyDeleteThere are advantages to doing writing in class from time to time. For example, in ENG 101, I generally have students do the outline and first draft of the third essay in class; however, this is only feasible because I make that essay very short. In general, essay writing has to be done at home because we can't expect students to write an academic essay in a two-hour lesson, and I wouldn't want to take week out of a course to write an essay draft. My worry about doing too much writing in class is that, like the 101 exam, it would encourage short "opinion" pieces rather than real academic writing.
ReplyDeleteAn alternative to writing whole essays in class is for students to just write, say, an introduction or a conclusion. That way less class time is taken up, but students still go home with something they can use.
I totally agree with Robin. It is really difficult to concantrate on writing an academic text within a limited period of time. And when they need to be critical, productive and reflective, they need their own time and PLACE. I believe that there are times and places when and where most people can be more productive.
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