Seeing & Writing Online Community - Introduction: Writing Matters

First day of class activities

Wed, 25 Jan 2006 15:55:24 -0600

Does anyone have suggestions for activities to do on the first day of class to introduce this type of course?

Surefire Class: Observation and Inference

Tue, 08 Nov 2005 13:16:10 -0600

One class that has been successful revolves around the photograph by Joel Sternfeld entitled "Warren Avenue at 23rd Street, Detroit, Michigan, October 1993," which appears in the Introduction to Seeing & Writing (p. 24). Since this is the very first image that we look at together as a class, our discussion of the photograph sets the tone for our study of visual culture. Looking closely at the photograph gives us an opportunity to question some basic assumptions and to establish a common vocabulary for future discussions and writing. Before this class meeting, the students have been asked to come up with three observations about the photograph. We have discussed the differences between observation and inference in our previous class, and students have read the first part of the Introduction.

Surefire Class: Observation and Inference

Tue, 08 Nov 2005 13:15:17 -0600

This sequence pulls exercises and readings from different parts of the book to introduce the class to ideas of observation, inference, and audience. I always use this sequence early in the term. My first goal is to familiarize the students with the process of making observations and inferences, first by asking the students to observe visual texts and then by asking them to observe their own writing. My second goal is for students to discover the role that audience plays not only in the style of an essay but in how its thesis is conceived. Conveniently, you can reference this exercise in future classes for a concrete example of the way audience changes an essay, in addition to examples of inventive thesis-making, inferences, and observing.

Surefire Assignment: Radical Revision

Tue, 08 Nov 2005 13:12:17 -0600

As teachers we hope students come to view revision as the re-seeing of their ideas and along with the reshaping of their texts. This process can involve elements of style, voice, purpose and audience. It can engage students in developing deeper meanings, crafting their words or more clearly communicating their ideas to others. This assignment helps students to realize that revision is more than editing.

Surefire Assignment: Doing Oral History as Preparation for Writing

Tue, 08 Nov 2005 13:09:47 -0600

Interviewing is a terrific way for students to become involved in their own learning, and some of the most interesting oral histories done by my students have been inspired by Dorothea Lange’s photos. History seems to come alive in the voices of people sharing their past experiences.

Surefire Portfolio: Visualizing through Web Portfolios

Tue, 08 Nov 2005 13:08:11 -0600

As compositionists we want to encourage our students to look beyond the discreet units of evaluation and see themselves as developing writers. Portfolio methodology has provided us a way to view student writers’ progress over time. Recent work with electronic web portfolios allows students to incorporate both the textual and visual dimensions of their work as they revise for new audiences and purposes.

Surefire Portfolio: Photograph Album

Tue, 08 Nov 2005 13:01:56 -0600

This assignment is the final take-home exam that I give to students at the end of the semester. It incorporates all of the ideas that we’ve talked about during the semester related directly to Seeing & Writing 2. Here, students are asked to pull together the photos that they have taken over the course of the semester into a final photo album with an accompanying essay that reflects on how their ideas of “seeing and writing�? have evolved and changed over the semester.