IF YOU WANT TO:
Giving a "mini-lecture" on how to write a paper or respond to an essay question.
Several excellent teachers do this routinely in their courses. "I impress upon the students that history is a literate discipline," says one teacher. "I encourage them to respect their own research and ideas enough to organize them in some logical and coherent fashion before they start to write. I point out that I work hard at organizing and outlining my lectures, and I expect them to do the same for me."
A zoology professor says that he gives students his "sermonette" on the importance of good writing. "I give them a twenty-minute essay quiz bi-weekly, and take off a few points for incomplete sentences, poor grammar, etc. Spelling, however, I have to ignore," he concludes, "or no one would have any points left!"
"I emphasize that a good essay, like the design of a good building, goes through several drafts and frequently benefits from critiques by colleagues," says a professor of architecture. "A building, like an essay or poem, withstands the test of time when it is both appropriate and elegant." In his course, students' papers are subjected to peer as well as faculty critiques; students learn both editing and writing skills.
The TIES office has available a guide to composition resources which describes ways of improving students' writing skills. Contact TIES: 642-6392.
Limitations on Use of Suggestion
Copyright 1983 by the Regents of the University of California