Week Two: The Most Difficult Thing to Teach

What is the most difficult thing to teach in the teaching of writing, and how do you go about teaching that?

Although I have never taught writing, as of this point in my life, it is obvious that I have been involved in the teaching process (as a student) for a number of years.  I recall that the act of writing always felt natural to me, which, in my younger years, I took for granted.  When thinking about the difficulties of composition that I did run into, those with which my peers struggled as well, I identify critical analysis as the area that caused the most trouble. It is for this reason that I maintain that critical analysis is, indeed, the most difficult aspect of teaching writing.

Although it would seem logical to have students read examples of critical analyses while pointing out characteristics and important aspects of the writing, this does not, in fact, teach them how to construct a cohesive argument centered on a central topic.  A critical analysis requires students to carefully read a text, to pick a focal point from that text which they will argue for or against, and to draft a cohesive response that thoroughly addresses the text and all aspects of the argument.  I believe the first two steps in this process are much easier to teach than the actual composition of the analysis.  To begin with, teachers can walk students through close-reading by taking the time to read a text aloud with them and by verbalizing the process.  After demonstrating the process of close-reading, teachers can provide an example of how to select an aspect of the text with which to argue for or against.  It is the act of composing the analysis that presents the greatest issue.

In order to teach the composition of a critical analysis, it is imperative that teachers stress the importance of developing critical thoughts, which can be supported by textual evidence, over opinion.  The distinction between opinion and analysis should be stressed from the beginning of the process, as should the distinction between summary and analysis.  In order to do this, teachers should prompt students to continually ask themselves, “How is what I am saying relevant to the text?” and, “Does this thought further my argument?” Teachers should provide examples of both summary and opinion, and they should juxtapose these examples with a good example of analysis.  Furthermore, teachers should require students to draft some form of a pre-writing exercise that illustrates how they will organize and transition between ideas.  An exemplary form of this exercise is the outline, which requires students to state their general argument, to select points of interest relevant to the argument, and to select specific textual examples that support these points of interest.

In order to ensure that students attempt to engage in critical analysis, teachers should provide a list of good transition words.  It is necessary for teachers to emphasize the importance of constructing fluidity within an argument, which providing a list of this nature might do.  Familiarizing students with a range of words designed to connect thoughts allows teachers to illustrate the level of cohesion that this type of writing requires, and it directs students’ thoughts toward furthering their argument, rather than restating it.  An additional resource that would be useful in teaching the composition of critical analysis could be a list of strong, active verbs.  It is important that the students’ claims are progressing that which they are arguing; by providing a list of strong verbs from which to choose, teachers might aid in eliminating many of the static statements that students make.

Another important aspect of teaching the composition of critical analysis is having students draft a series of interrelated questions that they intend to address, if not answer, in their analyses.  Students should be prompted to ask “how?” “why?” and “to what extent?” in order to ensure they address the important aspects of their arguments.  These questions would provide direction for them if they became stuck, or unsure of which direction to direct their thoughts; furthermore, this would help students develop their thoughts, which might aid them in arranging them logically.