Idea Control, Part 2

It might be futile to pinpoint what constitutes a great idea in a piece of writing. Like in teaching, so many factors are at play that to narrow down the multitude of possibilities to fit neatly into some eye-catching title (Five Ways to Improve Your Writing! or The 47 Things You Didn't Remember to Do Today that You Should've!) seems fraudulent.

But how do we know that we're on the right track in guiding ourselves and our students toward a more intimate understanding of how to generate compelling ideas in our writing? How do we know that we're pushing ourselves toward writing with more authority--and ultimately--with more meaning?


In Idea Control, Part 1, I wrote about the kinds of questions we want our kids asking about their writing--questions that are idea-focused rather than turn-in/teacher focused. Akin to those kinds of questions, these questions push us toward a more challenging and effective process as we're developing our ideas. In addition, deeper into the writing process, they help us self-assess, peer-review, and assess for idea control.

Here they are:

• Is the piece built around a bold claim?
• Does the piece convey an intimacy with the topic?
• Does the piece provide compelling and thorough evidence?
• Does the piece take intellectual as well as craft risks?
• Does the piece take us somewhere new?
• Does the piece convey a truth that matters beyond the borders of the page?

It is important that students understand that the terms "claim" and "evidence" do not only apply to academic writing, but to any kind of writing. A novelist presents claims and evidence through character, plot, theme, etc. No matter what form of writing my students are engaged in--poetry, fiction, business communication, academic papers--I ask them what their claim is because I want them to know the point--the truth--they are trying to drive home with their piece.

You might argue that craft risks (in question 3) belongs more comfortably in the arena of "Stylistic Control," but I feel it is an important question to begin asking early on in the process because students start to make important rhetorical decisions about how they can execute their idea on paper. Decisions such as, What motif could I use? What metaphor might capture this?

Come peer review and grading time, if the answer to most of these guiding questions is "yes," then we know we have an author who did what was necessary to not only expertly (and perhaps even artfully) convey an important idea--but to grow as writers.

Thanks for reading. I'd love to hear your thoughts on this.

Steve

This article on Writing Control is the introduction to the series.

Writing Control

One of the most empowering things we can do for students is to allow them to make decisions about the course of their own learning. It instills a sense of ownership, increases engagement, and amplifies learning.
 

We know this.

Then why has so much of writing instruction been about removing decisions from students? We've told them in a variety of ways that they are incapable of making sound and effective decisions about their own writing, and then we chastise them for writing poorly and for not understanding the huge implications in their future academic and actual careers for not being able to write effectively.

Is there a solution to this? Yes, and it is something we're already experts at. When we teach kids to ride a bike, drive a car, dance, play an instrument, or dribble a basketball we're trying, ultimately, to teach them to control what they're doing. So, let's teach them to control what they're doing on the written page.

What "Real" Writers Do

If you look at what writers do, there are three areas they have to control if they're going to effectively communicate their ideas to their readers.

Whether it's a novel, a play, a poem, a scholarly article, an email, an essay, a letter, or a blog, these three areas need to be effectively controlled: Ideas. Structure. Style.
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First and foremost, is control of ideas. It has to be, for without an idea, there is no reason to write. And this is how students naturally come to writing because they have ideas bursting forth. They are enthusiastic writers of fantastic things, and we reward them for this. But too soon, we alter their conceptions of their approach to writing by proposing to them that they need to consider structure first and foremost.

As a classic example, consider how we teach them to write essays (three- or five-paragraph). We begin by handing them an outline of the structure and ask them to fill it in section by section--or even line-by-line. The hollow equivalent of a paint-by-numbers picture that looks pretty from a distance, but that possesses no originality or evidence of transferable skill.

Structure is important, but only in service to an idea worth writing about.

All three areas are vitally, vitally important. Without an effective structure, meaning begins to unravel. Without style, the writing will be lifeless and unread. But without an idea, there is no impetus to write.

But they have to earn a grade, isn't that impetus enough? Yes, for some. And these few will write dutifully, and without any real commitment--and most significantly, without any sense of control or authority.

Author-ity

The word "author" has its roots in the word "authority." In all writing endeavors, we must instill this in our students. We must allow them to make decisions about their writing so that they can begin to assert themselves, begin to sense and develop a sense of control over their writing.

So they can become authorities and authors.

Thanks for reading,
Steve

Upcoming articles will detail the pedagogical implications for the three areas of writing control, beginning (of course!) with Control of Ideas.

Please leave a comment or ask a question. I'd love to hear your thoughts.