I strongly believe that students learn best when they care about what they are writing. I also believe that each student has individual strengths and weaknesses, so they learn best when I can work with them one-on-one. For these reasons, it is difficult to teach writing in a classroom where everyone works on the same thing at the same time.
This semester, I want to try something different. I want to give you more freedom to choose what you will write. Some of you are probably planning to go to a college or university where you will need to know how to write academic papers in English and take essay exams. Others may want to know how to create resumes and write business letters in English. Still others might want to create stories and poems, write about personal experiences, or send e-mail messages to English-speaking friends. Maybe you want to know how to do many or all of these things.
That is why I want to give you the freedom to create your own Individual Project Plan for this class. Of course, we will have some assignments that everyone will do, but most of the time, you will be able to work on the kind of writing that is important and interesting to you.
This also means, of course, that you have some responsibilities. You will be responsible to decide what projects to work on. You will also need to discipline yourself to work on your project every week. However, I believe that this freedom and responsibility will help you to improve yourself in many ways over the course of this semester. I hope you will also enjoy the experience!
I have thought of several different categories of writing in English that you might be interested in working on. These categories are:
- Academic Writing
- Business/Career Writing
- Practical Writing
- Personal Writing
- Creative Writing
Think about what you would like to use writing for in English. Maybe your answer fits in mainly one category, or maybe in many or all of the categories listed above. For more information about each of these categories, read the Project Options page.
How will I choose my Individual Projects?
Each of you will meet with me individually during the first week of class. I will talk with you about your interests and goals, and I will recommend some possible projects for you to work on. You will then fill out and give to me a Personal Project Plan that describes your goals. You will create a plan for the first half of the semester now, and a new plan for the second half of the semester after the midterm.
How will my projects be graded?
In my opinion, grades are not very important in writing. I believe that the best students are those who are trying hard to improve and learn, even if they aren’t the best writers in the class. For this reason, we will focus more on what is good about your writing and what can be improved rather than if your essay deserves an A or an F.
About once every two weeks you will meet with me individually to discuss your progress on the projects. You will also bring at least 2 pages of your writing to the Writing Circle every Thursday to receive suggestions from me and your classmates. You will choose at least 12 pages of your best writing to revise and include in your midterm and final portfolios. At these times, I am required to give you a grade, but I will not determine it in the usual way. Instead, you will tell me what grade you believe you have earned and why. Then, together, we will decide your grade for this class. We will talk about what you have learned, how you have participated in the class, and how you have worked on your individual projects. These things are the most important to me in determining your grade.
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