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Surefire Assignment: Personal Ode

I have my students write a personal narrative of 3 pages or so (at least 600 words) about a place that has had some special meaning in their lives. In addition to providing specific detail about the place, the essays should attempt to reveal a “story� the students hadn’t realized was there.

The essays by Woiwode and Eudora Welty are models of how authors use sensory description, dialogue, and reflective passages to make their writing vivid and interesting. These essays also suggest ways that the students can order and pace their own narratives. (What information will they summarize? Dramatize? Will they use flashbacks? Flash-forwards? What kind of tone are they aiming for? Serious? Comic?)

I remind them that the audience for this essay is our class. They should give readers enough context and information so that they will be able to grasp why the place holds significance, but they shouldn’t overlook the value of subtlety. Small “telling� details, figurative language, and thoughtful reflection convey far more than any last sentence “announcement� of the meaning of it all.

By Alison Russell at Oct 13 2005 - 9:34am | Chapter 1: Observing the Ordinary | previous forum topic

Comment from Dan, the IRM author

“The value of subtlety� is a wonderful thing to inspire in student writing. All too often we urge unmistakeable clarity, which might restrict growth in student writing. Having students study and even imitate the subtle strategies used by writers like Woiwode and Welty can be immensely helpful. If students observe such subtle moments during class discussion, you might then ask students to do the following:
a) rewrite the section in a variety of ways—different sentence lengths, different word choice—to see how the section works.
b) write a paragraph of their own that mimics the author’s style.
If clarity must come first, then when students have managed to make their points loudly and clearly in a draft, we may suggest that they employ less direct methods in revision.

By Dan Keller at October 13, 2005 - 5:15pm | login or register to post comments