|
 |
Saving Student Samples
(13 November 2006)
We have many student essays coming across our desks this time of the
year--long essays, short essays, revisions of essays, and so on. We
get in the mindset, knowing that more work is inevitably on the way,
that we should just grade the essays and turn them back, quickly.
While you are at it, spend a few minutes and Save
Student Samples!
Ask your students to turn in an extra copy of
their final drafts, and you will have a helpful database of samples
for coming semesters that you can share with students. To help the
students take ownership of their ideas and writing, I ask them for
permission to use their work, using a simple
request form.*
Ways to Use Student Writing Samples
 | When explaining a writing assignment,
distribute a sample, illustrating strategies and skills that you would
like used in the essay. I use samples anonymously, but the fact
that they are from real Monmouth College students makes
them more credible than the generic samples found in textbooks
or on-line.
|
| Use samples to discuss revision of rough
drafts. I always present student samples positively,
pointing out what they're doing well, giving students an
illustration of what to strive for in their own writing. (The
students will often point out ways that the drafts could be
improved, but they do so constructively and diplomatically,
rather than just "tearing apart" the sample.)
|
| Cut and paste from a variety of samples,
creating a low-tech, but helpful, handout that illustrates
important strategies or skills. For instance, if you want
students to use specific details in their descriptions, find
some effective paragraphs in your collection of samples.
|
| Some faculty save multiple years of student
samples, while others keep them for only a year, replacing them
with newer samples. |
Benefits
Using student samples:
| helps you talk about writing in a practical
way, with real texts in front of you and the students.
|
| helps students see, first-hand, an illustration of
"what you're looking for," in terms of writing skills and
strategies.
|
| casts writing in a more positive light, as you
show strengths and achievements.
|
| shows that you value effective writing and
the writing of your students. |
*I ask them to place their permission forms in an
envelope, which I will not open until after final course grades have
been posted. |
 |
|
