Pacing
Through a logical sequence of assignments, students will work toward the 5-page
essay, learning to draft/revise and pace writing, to allow time for developing ideas, to incorporate feedback from peers and the instructor, and to act as critical readers of their own work.
- Sometimes, students should be required to discard sections of drafts and further develop the best ideas (attachment to first drafts is a major problem for inexperienced writers).
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Rather than
just set a deadline for a 5-page draft, you should assign in-class
freewriting or response papers from which students draw ideas for
a 1-page argument, which then becomes a 2-page argument (workshopped
and reviewed), then a 3 ½ page, etc. This discourages
plagiarism and allows you to check both their writing process and
their ability to incorporate feedback. Grading something you've already read in draft form takes less time; responding most fully to initial plans and drafts is time better spent than commenting on final papers. |
- You must always
ensure that the student's formal papers are outgrowths of their pre-writing
stages; if you suspect a student's integrity, you may demand that he/she
supply all pre-writing stages for a final essay.
- It is never a bad
idea to require that all drafted versions be handed in with any final
essay.
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