Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Professional Journals on Writing 32

How long does it take writers to write books? Roald Dahl: “I have written only two long children’s books myself, and for all I know they may be completely worthless…. Each of them took somewhere between eight and nine months to complete, with no time off for other work, and eight or nine months is a big slice out of the life of any writer….” The Writer (Apr. 05), 8.

What don’t standardized writing tests tell us about student writers? “Standardized tests like the SAT II and our own writing placement test, while they do provide some data about student writers, do not capture some of the qualities—like motivation, task persistence, and the metacognitive abilities that allow students to take courses strategically—that count most heavily toward success in the university. (That is why high school GPA remains the most accurate single predictor of success in college.)” S McLeod, H Horn & RH Haswell. College Composition and Communication (June 05), 556-580.

What are the advantages of short courses in writing? “Authors found that the short, 6-week writing course helped students with poor standardized test scores succeed in learning to write because of “immersion.” “We now know that our accelerated courses do not shortchange but actually support student learning: we can now look for ways to offer such ‘immersion’ experiences in other venues….” S McLeod, H Horn & RH Haswell. College Composition and Communication (June 05), 556-580.

How teach students to construct a story? Using 12 shots, students create a photo story with accompanying text on index cards. R Wilder. Class Notes Plus (Aug. 05), 14-15.

How help students learn to write fiction? Each person in a group writes the first paragraph of a story. Then pass to the right. Write second paragraph. Then pass to the right and write the third paragraph. Etc. F Jones. The Writer (May 05), 12.

No comments: