I spent the beginning of my career as an English teacher correcting nearly 160 freshmen essays every couple of weeks. I bled red—circling every grammatical error, commenting on every inaccurate word choice, and asking questions in the margin that were too sophisticated for most freshmen to answer.
When I graded student essays, I noticed that many of my instructions were not followed, even though I had gone over the essay structure and the purpose of analysis several times. I told students everything they should be doing in their writing but seldom followed up to find out why they might have missed something.
Now, as an instructional coach and reading specialist, I realize just how ineffective that approach was. It taught students to depend on me to rewrite their sentences. But by implementing the following strategies, I learned to encourage students to shape their own writing.
Incorporate Mentor Texts
I'm a huge fan of Kelly Gallagher's work and embrace mentor texts in every subject area. I'm currently working with our chemistry teacher to improve student writing. We provide the class with mentor texts—exemplar science conclusions and evaluations written by previous students. Then, we have students practice writing on their own using the mentor texts as guides. By practicing the style, structure, and syntax of mentor texts, students imitate the steps necessary to write the components of a successful lab report.
Personalize the Process
Early in my career, I demonstrated to students how to write a paragraph and then expected them to follow my example. Now, I provide templates to students who need a writing structure to stay focused, offer conferences to students who process best by sharing their ideas, and pair up students who benefit from receiving peer feedback. The "just start writing" approach didn't work for students whose learning styles relied on talking or listening. Students now choose what works for them—not what worked for me.
Investigate and Revise
Recently, I worked with our art teacher to determine why his 11th graders, who were usually strong writers, created dismal personal summaries. When we surveyed his class, we discovered that many students had afterschool obligations that forced them to choose between doing homework for a core class or for art class. We also learned that some students didn't think that writing basics were as vital in art as they were in an English class. As a result, we revised the lesson: students now receive a rubric for their summaries, have time to write in class, and peer edit and discuss how to improve their writing for the final summary.
Coach Students
Instead of reading and correcting papers like I did for so many years, I conference often with students. When I wanted to learn why students demonstrated insufficient analyses in a Catcher in the Rye essay, I asked specific questions and listened to their responses about the novel. I wanted to move them beyond the rudimentary "what happened?" to "why did it happen?" When questioned one student, I grabbed my laptop and said, "Keep talking, I'll type what you're saying." Soon, we recorded examples of her thinking that she could use to strengthen her analysis. She went back and started the essay again, but this time her thoughts were clearly articulated.
Change Your Language
According to the Oxford Dictionary, "should" is a verb used to "indicate obligation, duty, or correctness, typically when criticizing someone's actions." I never thought I was critical of students; rather, I thought I was helping them become better readers and writers. When I look back at my language, however, I realize I was "shoulding" them to the point that they viewed writing as something that had to be done, without joy or enthusiasm. Now when I work with students, instead of indicating obligation—"When you write this paper again, you should use stronger vocabulary"—I say, "Let's use stronger vocabulary to build up your argument." Instead of implying duty—"Next time you need help, you should let me know"—I ask, "When are you available to meet so we can practice together?"
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