Mrs. Kirk's Philosophy of Teaching Writing

I can summarize my philosophy of teaching writing in three words: FEEDBACK, REVISION, and ACCOUNTABILITY. Sometimes, I will have students write an entire first draft and then begin the process of feedback and revision. Other times I will divide the task into phases and provide opportunities for feedback and revision at the end of each phase.

For a personal essay, I like to have students take a blind shot at the topic before offering too much guidance. This way, their ideas might be a little more fresh and natural. For a research essay, I prefer to go in phases. Because the research process is so complicated, getting feedback along the way can prevent big mistakes. For a critical essay (analyzing literature), either way might work. I might even take a class vote!

FEEDBACK will consist of class discussion and lecture, specific comments on the graded draft, sample papers shared in class, sample papers posted on line, excerpts from books about writing, etc. Students are always welcome to see me for face-to-face feedback also.

REVISIONS are a big deal in my class. As communicated clearly to students, a B paper needs at least a 20% revision, maybe more. Even A's aren't perfect. C's should be changing at least half of what appeared on the first draft. Revision efforts should be based on specific feedback on the earlier draft as well as the general/inspirational feedback offered to the whole class. Changing a couple of sentences, fixing spelling errors, or adding an additional paragraph are not considered sufficient. "Revise" means to "see again." You need to try to "see" how your paper could go from good to superb and do whatever it takes to make that change. Good revision is not like a band-aid. Rather, it requires a little demolition before the remodeling. Parents and students should be aware that a poorly accomplished revision will result in a lower grade on the revision draft.

ACCOUNTABILITY in editing is a final element you should understand. Imagine that you are going out for a big event and you've selected the perfect outfit, had your hair and makeup done, borrowed jewelry, and even lost 10 pounds... but at the last minute you get mustard all over yourself. That's the effect of poor editing. It mars the quality of otherwise good composition. In the same way, I will deduct points off the composition grade for errors in basic editing skills: spelling, capitalization, apostrophes, title treatment, run-ons, and any other major skill we've reviewed in class. In this way, I hope to stress the vital importance of the editing process and see students take on a little more accountability in this area.