Analysis of Amicucci’s Writing Prompts (Assignment Post 3)

In her CEA Paper on the pedagogical value of reflection in writing courses, Amicucci shared some of the assignments she gave to her students. Without context of the lessons themselves, it can be difficult to discern the effectiveness of these, but free of context, it is also easier to imagine repurposing these in all kinds of classes.

Amicucci’s Week 1 assignment is partly an ice-breaker and a way for the instructor to know the class. Currently, I am putting together a curriculum for a class on independent living skills for adults with intellectual disabilities, so I have been considering the need to set aside time in a first class to know who your students are. This can help the instructor better adapt the curriculum to the needs of the students. I liked the question about the student’s “relationship with writing”–it’s not focusing so much on the student’s writing skills but on their perceptions of themselves and writing itself. It can open up a lot to be addressed later in the class. The question regarding “critical thinking” not only pushes the student to explain what they view as critical thinking, but also to reflect on how often they use that skill. People tend to use critical thinking more often than they think, even if it’s when watching episodes of a reality TV show or reading a BuzzFeed article, so to open up the discussion on a simple usage of the skill is helpful.

I do think the Week 1 prompt has too many questions, especially for a starting prompt. They would have been overwhelming to me as a student. I still have a hard time with a paragraph of questions, even when I know I don’t need to answer all of them. Breaking these into bullet points and combining similar questions would be helpful here and could avoid unnecessary confusion. As an instructor, I have always found that to be most effective in getting information across to students. It makes an assignment seem simpler when a student can see it split up into manageable chunks.

I have mixed feelings about the Week 6 prompt. First of all, it should be broken up into bullet points for clarity. As for the prompt itwelfth, what I like about it is exactly what I dislike about it: the two seemingly disparate options. Option 1 is creative (“a fictional story or poem that metaphorically depicts your inquiry process”) and Option 2 is more traditionally academic (“an explicit version of the…inquiry process”). Amicucci’s states she created these options because of ongoing anonymous class evaluations (great idea!) that asked for more creative assignments. Personally, despite my love for creative writing, I dislike Option 1, as it seems forced and actually boring, like it is trying too hard to be fun. As a student, I would prefer the straightforward Option 2, which also seems more useful. But I recognize that all students are different and I have worked with students who would prefer any creative option, as they have trouble with and/or are easily bored with academic responses.

I would not assign Option 1 unless I was certain students understood what a metaphorical depiction in a story looks like. I would perhaps have given samples previously, so they don’t feel like they’re going in blind. Giving samples can be really helpful to students, especially for journal/blog assignments, which can vary in formality requirements depending on the  instructor. As an adolescent education major, modeling and scaffolding were always on my mind–they pushed us to consider how we would model what we wanted from students and how we would scaffold the students to get them there. This is not always emphasized in adult education, which is unfortunate. Learners of all ages benefit from these techniques.

Overall, these prompts encouraged critical thinking and self-reflection, skills which are useful to students in any major or career.  A biology major would benefit from thoughtfully examining what they read and considering their own methods. Too often composition courses privilege English majors and humanities students in general, but English instructors must consider the value and direct use of their lessons to those in other fields. Pushing students to be more observant and self-aware is a step in the right direction.

Analysis of Writing Prompt #2 on Metaphor in Eric Liu’s “The Chinatown Idea” (9/22)

First of all, prior to an assignment like this students would have to be familiar with what a metaphor is and be able to differentiate it from other kinds of figures of speech (simile, idiom, hyperbole, etc.). If I were giving this assignment, I would have called students’ attention to metaphor within Liu. Liu’s use of metaphor is referenced in Seeing Prompt #1, but it’s lost in all the other barrage of questions so I would make sure to highlight that and have students be able to pick out metaphor with certainty. All people, including basic writers/readers, use metaphor at times, but not everyone knows it by that name. I would encourage use of metaphor and creative language in Writing Prompt #1, as basic writing students will be accustomed to writing either more blandly or more succinctly in formal settings. Students should be told in the prompts to refer to Liu’s style of writing for tone.

What role does metaphor play in your descriptions to family, friends, and classmates of the community in which you live? This is confusing phrasing and the object is unclear. The descriptions are “of the community”; the family, friends, and classmates are not necessarily “of the community”. This is the kind of question that will set some students in the wrong direction.

What metaphors do you use? Again, students should be reminded to utilize metaphor.

To what extent does the nature of this figurative language change, depending on the audience to whom you are speaking or writing? What are the implications of these metaphors? As students were assigned an expository essay on their community and assigned no specific audience, this question will be difficult to answer. It is asking students to imagine a description to an extremely varied audience (especially if a student has a heterogenous circle of acquaintances). The essay they wrote has an audience of one: their professor. If an instructor wants to see differences in description based on audience, the previous assignment is the problem. Students should have written descriptions for two select audiences (someone from their community, like a relative or long-time friend, and someone outside the community, like a newer acquaintance). This allows them to bring their “private discourses into academic spaces” as Robertson et al recommend for building on students writing and thinking skills (62).

Specifically, what does each figure of speech state or imply about the significance of this community to you? Write an expository essay in which you analyze the nature–and the variability–of the figurative language you use to describe your community. But if audience is the main concern, then the figures of speech say more about the perceptions the writer has about others and their understanding of the writer’s community. It is unclear whether the student is analyzing their own personal relationship to their community or how the audience affects their presentation. If those are BOTH goals then that should be clearer.

I would first give them the assignment to write two short 1-page essays describing their community (either past or present) to two different acquaintance groups. One would be someone from the community and the other someone from outside the community. They would be told not to copy and to write each without looking back at the other. If they want to imagine specific people they know, they could. Then I would pare Prompt #2 down:

Metaphors we use represent our personal perceptions of things or ideas. In your two essays you created a picture of your community for two different audiences. Compare and contrast these two, considering not only what information you included but what figurative language you used. Reflect on why you chose the words or phrases you did. How do you think each audience would react to the other essay? Will they have different perceptions of how you feel about your community?