Encouraging Student Voice in Academic Writing

Author(s): Rebecca Gemmell

Source: The English Journal, Vol. 98, No. 2 (Nov., 2008), pp. 64-68
Published by: National Council of Teachers of English
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Rebecca Gemmell

Student
Encouraging
VoiceinAcademic
Writing

Notebooks?
Using"Writer's
Rebecca GemmelVs
studentsare able to engage
personalopinionsin their
literaryessays.The
studentswritewithmore
zeal, resultingin more
enjoyablereadingfortheir
teacher.

The Problem: Bored Students,

Boring Papers
At the end of each school day,I would dutifully
pack my twelfthgraders'BritishLiteratureessays
into my canvas workbagand cart them frommy
Englishclassroomto mycar to myhouseand then
back again. All the while, the essays remained
unread.I would findanyexcuseto put offreading
those papers: cleaning the toilet,picking up my
dog'spoop, talkingto a telemarketer.
Englishteachershave to read studentessays,
of course. Having taught for ten years,I knew
this and eventuallyI'd buckle down and grade
them. But as a fellowof the
Here was a bright, San Diego AreaWritingProject (SDAWP), a supposedly
articulate, wittyyoung
"good" writing teacher and
man whose papers read
writermyself,I was supposed
like cardboard. He did
to readingstuto lookforward
what I call "robot
dents' work, not dread it. I
had a problem.
writing" in which he, like
definitely
frustrated me
What
many students, parroted
abouttheessaysI was getting,
back everythingI had
and why I procrastinated
said in class.
reading them,was that they
all sounded the same, not at
all like the lively,diverse group or students1
enjoyedworkingwith in my classroomin Escondido, California.Take Jacob, for instance.Here
was a bright,articulate,wittyyoungman whose
papers read like cardboard.He did what I call
"robotwriting"in whichhe, like manystudents,
I had said in class about
parrotedback everything
The CanterburyTales or Macbeth. I wanted to hear

64

what Jacob had to say,but I wasn't hearinghis

voice or ideas in his writing.
That was,untilhe wrotehis paperon whyhe
Afteran
thoughtpoetrywas outdatedand irrelevant.
to
students
I
asked
the
of
Romantics,
in-depthstudy
readand respondto BruceWexler'sessay"PoetryIs
to incorpoDead. Does AnybodyCare?"in an effort
and argumentative
ratemorenonfiction
writinginto
my BritishLiteraturecourse.Jacob'spoetrypaper
fromthe restof his work- it was a
was different
pleasureto read.In thispaper,I couldhearthewitty
rowon myleft,theboywith
boywhosatin thefirst
whom I enjoyedjokingand withwhomI debated
theoriesabout the TV showLost.In fact,he made
to Lostin his paper.He knewhe couldget
reference
to Lostbecause,in
his
reader,witha reference
me,
I would ratherwatchLostthanreadpoetry,
reality,
too, just as he was tryingto argue.In this paper,
to sayand he was aware
had something
Jacobfinally
his
ofhowto persuade audience,makinga difference
in thecontentofhispaper.
IntuitivelyI knew I was onto something.
What I had foundwithJacobheld truewithmany
of my otherstudents.In general,I got morepassionate and convincingargumentsfromstudents
whenI askedthemto writeabouttheirconnections
and reactionsto textsand theirthemesratherthan
whenI asked themto writeabout character
analyforexample.
sis,tone,and symbolism,
At the same time,I worriedwhetherI was
doing the rightthingformy students.Afterall,
wasn'tEnglishall aboutliterary
analysis,as perthe
AdvancedPlacement(AP) exam?That is whatother
English teachersin my departmentwerefocusing

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Rebecca Gemmell

on, particularlystyle analysis. Literaryanalysis

essayswerewhatI had writtenin high schooland
in collegeas an Englishmajor.I wantedstudentsto
be preparedforcollege.

Changing My Approach:
PuttingStudents' Ideas First
My fearswereallayedwhenI joined the California
WritingProject's(CWP) ImprovingStudents'AcademicWriting(ISAW) program.The goal ofISAW,
whichbegan in 1999, is to improvethe achievement of nontraditionally
college-boundstudents,
such as minorityand second language students,
development.
throughteacherprofessional
As partof the ISAW program,studentsroutinelypracticewritingto promptsfromtheUniversity of California'splacementexam, the Analytic
the
WritingPlacementExam (AWPE), formerly
SubjectA Exam.The examrequiresstudentsto read
a shortnonfiction
selectionand thenrespondto the
The
reading.
promptdirectsstudentsto (1) discuss
theauthors ideas,and(2) discusstheextentto which
theexamtakeragreeswiththeauthor.Studentsmay
and observations
drawon theirpersonalexperiences
as wellas thereadingitselfto supporttheirviews.
When I learnedthattheUC systemmeasures
students'readinessforcollege-levelwritingbyasking themto expresstheiropinionand thatpersonal
experiencecould be a major sourceof evidence,I
felt empoweredto follow my initial hunch and
encouragestudentvoice in academicwriting.Studentsshould respondto authors'ideas, I came to
ifwe arepreparingthemforcollege.
learn,especially
a
to
According surveyconductedby theUniversity
ofCalifornia,
"Collegefacultyassignwritingto get
to know how studentsthink, to help students
withcoursereadand thoughtfully
engagecritically
what
students
understand
demonstrate
to
ings,
and guide theirinquiry,
fromlectures,to structure
to encourageindependentthinking,and to invite
theminto the on-goingintellectualdialogue that
characterizeshighereducation"(5). College studentsare expectedto respondto others'ideas and
expresstheir own. As Gerald Graffand Cathy
Birkenstein
explainin theirbook TheySay, I Say:
thepurTheMovesThatMatterin Academic
Writing,
pose ofcollege-levelwritingis to enterintoconversationsaboutacademictopicsand issues(ix).

As a resultofthenewunderstanding,
I boldly
banishedtraditional
literary
analysispapersthatasked
forexample,to analyzeMacbethas a tragic
students,
in mydeparthero,a movethatraiseda feweyebrows
ment.But beingpartof ISAW,a statewideinquiry
and authority
to
initiative,
gave me the confidence
proceed.I wantedmyseniorsto be trulypreparedfor
college,so I invitedthemto sharetheirbeliefsabout
thetopicsand issuestheliterature
we studiedraised.
And I neverlookedback.I modeledmystudyquestions and writingassignmentsafterthe AWPE
and center.
prompts.I put students'ideasfront
For the studentsthis approachwas a major
departurefromtheirpreviousEnglishexperiences.
In surveying
mystudents,I
foundthat 55% described
Surprisingly,in the
my English class as dis- beginning at least,
many
fromtheir
tinctlydifferent
students resisted this new
otherEnglish classes. "We
havealwayslearnedto write focus. I assumed they
about the author'sopinion would love the
and not give our own. Oh
opportunityto express
but howthatchanged,"Jeff their opinions in their
explainsin his end-of-the- formal essays. In reality,
year reflection.Many stuthey didn't want to have
dentsdescribedtheirother
to thinkthat hard.
classesas book-focused
and
senior year as opinion-focused.Matt states,"In thisclass,we did notalways
writeabout books and theirunderlyingmeanings.
We wroteabout real issuesand gave our opinions
on them."
in the beginningat least,many
Surprisingly,
studentsresistedthis new focus.I assumed they
would love the opportunity
to expresstheiropinions in theirformalessays.In reality,theydidn't
wantto haveto thinkthathard.Theywantedme to
tellthemwhatto write.It was easierthatway.And
it was whattheywereused to. Theydidn'tbelieve
thatit was OK to expresstheiropinionin an "academic"essay.They'dbeentaughtthattherewas no
place forpersonalopinion,onlyanalysis.The shift
in focuswas especiallydifficultforstudentswho
had previouslybeenin honorsand AP classes.

Using the Writer'sNotebook

A turningpointwas the introduction
of the Writer'sNotebookat thebeginningofsecondsemester.

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65

Encouraging Student Voice in Academic Writing

I got the idea to use a Writers Notebookafterseeled by Bill Martin,aboutOccaing a presentation,

sionalPapers(OPs), a kindofreflective
essay,at the
2006 NCTE AnnualConventionin Nashville.The
discussedhow writingOPs and sharing
presenters
and
themaloud helpedcreatea senseofcommunity
in
their
discussion
classrooms,exactlythe
sparked
act" academicwritkind of "social,conversational
in
the
is
to
meant
college classroom
generate
ing
to validatethe
I
wanted
Birkenstein
and
ix).
(Graff
use of personalanecdotesand observationsin my
academicclass and I was inspiredby the kindsof
discussionsOPs generated.The proverbialwheels
beganto turn.
I had had success in using Writer'sNotebooks,thekindRalph Fletcheradvocates,withmy
creativewritingstudentsand
thoughttheymight work in
I wanted students to
my BritishLiteratureclasses,
thinkcriticallyand to
with some adaptations,in the
share their perspectives
same way OPs had workedin
through their writing. Bill Martin'sclasses.I wanted
And I shared mine. I
students to see their Notewrote every day along
booksas a safeplace to explore
withoutworrying
with the students to
topicsfreely
but thetopaboutcorrectness,
model the kind of
ics needed to be tied to our
thinkingand writingI
studies. I needed studentsto
wanted to foster.
thinkabout the issues being
as a way
raisedin theliterature
I
to engagewiththetextsand to makeconnections.
also wantedstudentsto returnto theirentriesto
generateideas fortheirformalessays.And so we
begantheWriter'sNotebook,academicstyle.
The Prompts

Studentswrotedailyin theirNotebookson assigned

prompts.Sometimestheywrotebeforewe read a
selection;othertimes theywroteafter.On good
daystheywrotebeforeand after!Forexample,when
studying the concept of heroism and reading
pieces about heroism,stuBeowulfand nonfiction
dentsansweredpromptssuchas thefollowing:
Explainwhatit meansto be a hero.What
makessomeonea hero?What kindsofthings
do heroesdo? Give an exampleto illustrate
yourpoint.
Describesomeoneyoulook up to and/or
admire.Why do youadmirehimor her?
66

What does youradmirationofthispersonsay

aboutyou?

Americansseemobsessedwithcelebrities.
What roledoes fameplayin whopeople
admire?
Is therea difference
betweenadmiringsomeone and someonebeinga hero?Defendyour
opinion.
Do youthinkthedefinition
ofa herohas
changedovertimeor aretheresomeheroic
qualitiesthatareuniversal?Why do people
and culturesneedheroes?

The promptswere designedto call into question

some of the students'initial ideas about heroism,
heroes,and to help themthink
especiallyeveryday
about the bigger idea of heroes'roles in society.
These were more than simple quickwritesto tap
students'priorknowledgebeforereading.I wanted
studentsto thinkcriticallyand to sharetheirperspectives through their writing. And I shared
mine.I wroteeveryday along withthestudentsto
model the kind of thinkingand writingI wanted
to foster.
These informalwritingassignmentsand the
discussionstheyspurredpreparedstudentsto then
answermorechallengingacademicquestions,such
as "Writean essayin whichyoudefineheroismand
on theroleofheroesin societyand individual
reflect
lives." This questionrequiresstudentsto respond
to the readings,to take a position,and back it up
with evidence fromthe various texts as well as
examplesfromtheirpersonalexperiencesor perBecausethey'vealreadythought
sonalobservations.
about theirexperiencesand made connectionsto
the ideas expressedin the texts,studentswould
now be able to respondto thequestionwithinterTherewere
estinginsightsand uniqueperspectives.
no cookie-cutterresponseshere. Take a look at
conclusionto theHeroismessay:
Christopher's
heroeshelp
Fromparentsto an NFL superstar,
Andonceagain,a herois morethan
moldothers.
someonewhoriskstheirlifedoinga courageous
act but someonewho impactsanotherdeeply.
track.
Heroeshelpkeepus on a moreoptimistic
We tendto wantto be heroicso we tryand act
orbecomea rolemodel.Heroesplaya huge
selfless
rolein societybecausewithoutthemwe would
proveThomasHobbes,a politicalphilosopher
eachother,
whosaidpeopleareevilamongst
right.

November 2008

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Rebecca Gemmell

AndunlikeBeowulfwe do notneedto slaydiabolicaldragonsor riskourlives,butinsteadjust

life.
be a positive
impactonsomeone's
Because of our extensivework in the Notebook
was able to saysomearoundthistopic,Christopher
an
and
aboutBeowulf
thingintelligent interesting
the idea of heroism.And he wasn't the only one
who was able to say something.When challenged
to takea positionon a universalidea, suchas heroism, and do more than simply regurgitatewhy
Beowulfis an epic hero,mystudentsexcelled.They
had an argumenttheywereinvestedin.
SharingNotebook Entries
In the spiritof OPs, studentsread and discussed
whattheywroteaboutin theirNotebooks.Students
wererequiredto shareat least one entryeverysix
weeks.If theywantedto sharemorethanthat,they
would earnextracredit.They could also earnparon theideasraised
ticipationpointsbycommenting
in theirclassmates'entries.As withthe OPs, sharing students'writingled to livelydiscussionsthat
prompteda richexchangeof ideas, ones students
oftenrecordedand camebackto whenwritingtheir
essays."When I would get stuck in an essayand
didn'tknowwhat else to say,I would turnto my
journaland findsomethingthatI wrotethatrelated
to thetopic,"Thomaswrites.
I did havea fewstudentswhocompletedtheir
but didn'twantto sharetheirwriting
entries
daily
withtheclassandwhowouldnotjoin in thedebates
proddespitetheirclassmates'and myenthusiastic
were
more
the
students
these
excepding.However,
tionthantherule.
Then therewas Adam. He slept throughthe
entirefirstsemesterbut seemedto make a change
secondsemesterwhenI introducedthe Notebook.
He began completinghis Notebook assignments
and participatedin our classdiscussions.I thought
is themagicassignThisis it. TheNotebook
to myself,
theunmotivated!
mentthatevenmotivates
Alas, the
Notebookwas not the cure-allI had hoped it was.
Adam stilldid not completehis take-homeessays,
which meant he would not pass the class. I also
knowthattheNotebookdid not meanas muchto
himas it did to theotherstudents.He was theonly
one who gave me his Notebook to keep when I
askedto haveanyone'sthatwas headedforthetrash
oncethelastbell oftheschoolyearrang.Was I dis-

heartened?
No, becausewhenI lookedinside,I saw
all the work that he produced in his Notebook,
morework,I am sure,than in any otherEnglish
class (at least in mineup to thatpoint).I saw that
theentriesgot longerand morethoughtful
overthe
courseof the semester.He had at least made some
progress.

Showing Improvement
Most of the studentsmade measurableprogress.
Comparedto theirOctoberpretests,on theirMay
post-tests,
mystudents
Wrotethesisstatements
thatpresenteda
clearstance.
Used personalexperienceand observations
as
evidenceto bolstertheirarguments.
Showedawarenessoftheiraudience.They
workedto hooktheirreadersby beginning
withpersonalanecdotesand quotations.
Saw thebiggerpurposeofwriting
- to effectivelycommunicatetheirideas and opinions
and to engagewiththeideas in thetext.
When asked what assignmentsand/oractivities
helped them improvetheirwritingthe most,my
studentscited Notebooks (59%) and the discussions theyprompted(63%) as the top two activities. As Melissa explains: "Before,writing was
alwaysabout concretedetails,analyzing,and summarizing.I neverfelt like my opinion mattered.
BritishLiteraturetaughtme just the opposite.I
learnedhow to presentmyopinionin an organized
manner,and provide evidence to back it up. I
learnedwhatit meantto be passionateabout writing and how to connectthe promptto personal
I knowhowto includemyopinionand
experiences.
expressmyselfwithconfidence."

Changing More Than Students' Writing

Severalstudentsalso noticedthat Notebooksand
discussionschangedtheclass atmosphere.By reading, writing,and talking together,we createda
oflearners.Katherinestates,"Our class
community
becamea whole becauseof the Notebooks."JenniferechoesKatherine
's ideas: "Comingup withthe
Writer'sNotebookwas an excellentway to get to
knowtherestofourclassmatesas wellas ourteacher
on a morepersonalbasis."
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67

Encouraging Student Voice in Academic Writing

For many students,however,the Notebook

and discussions had an even more important
- theychangedtheirattitudetowardtheclass
effect
and
and writing.Severalstudents'self-confidence
self-imagealso began to change.Jill writes:"After
thisyearI honestlydo feelbetteraboutmywriting,
forme to saybecauseI used
whichis verysurprising
to hate writingessays.I feltas if I was not good
enoughto writethem.But now I have moreconfidence and a betteroutlookon writingessays.. . .
I think 12th grade was the best year I had in
to writedailyin
English."Having theopportunity
theirNotebooks about theirpersonalexperiences
and thereadingsand to discusswhattheyand their
classmates thought provided a safe, supportive
forstudents,especiallyinsecurestuenvironment
dentslikeJill,to tackletoughacademictasks.

A Solution? You Bet!

What morecould Englishteachersask forthanto
havetheirstudentsfindsuccessand joy in learning
about literature?That's easy: exciting,engaging
essaysto read.
While I still separatestudents'essays into
stacksoftento makereadingthemseemlessdaunting, I no longerfeelthe senseof dreadthatI once
feltin sittingdown to a pile of papers.Now I sit

down to readstudents'work,pencilin hand,and I

know I will findinsightfulcommentsabout and
connectionsto the textswe haveread.I will get to
learnaboutstudents'viewson lifeand whetherthey
considerthemselvesoptimistsor pessimistswhen
we readpoems fromWilliam Blake'sSongsofInnoI will get to learnabout social
cence
and Experience.
and politicalorganizationslike InvisibleChildren
and how I can get involvedwiththeircauseswhen
we studyJonathanSwift'sA ModestProposal.
Puttingstudents'ideas and opinionsat the
centerof our classroomhas freedstudents'voices.
TheyknowthatI careaboutwhattheyhaveto say,
and in turn,theycaremoreaboutwhattheywrite.
- writingthatsounds
Theyproducebetterwriting
like themand thatI enjoyreading.@
WorksCited
Gerald,and CathyBirkenstein.
TheySay/ISay: The
Graff,
New York:
MovesThat Matterin Academic
Writing.
Norton,2005.
of the Academicsenates. AcaCommittee
Intersegmental
Exdemic Literacy:A Statementof Competencies
PublicColleges
California's
Entering
pectedofStudents
andUniversities."
Spring2002. 1 August2008 <http://
www.californiawritingproject.org/Documents/ISAW/
>.
AcademicLi
teracy.pdf
Martin,Bill. "A WritingAssignment/A
WayofLife."En92.6 (2003): 52-56.
glish
Journal,
Wexler,Bruce. "PoetryIs Dead. Does AnybodyCare?"
5 May2003: 18.
Newsweek,

students
and danceteacherat EscondidoHighSchool,Rebecca Gemmellshowsgreatpassionformotivating
As an English
She also promotesteachervoice as a leaderin the San Diego AreaWriting
to expressthemselves.
Projectand she maybe
and NationalWritwithsupportfromboththeCalifornia
was written
Thismanuscript
reachedat rgemmell@euhsd.k12.ca.us.
ingProject.

Tap students'"own connectionsand reactionsto textsand themes" byaskingthemto reviewtextsthattheyread.

"So What Do You Think?Writinga Review"asks studentsto producereviewsof the literature
they'rereadingin
cjass- ancjto comparetheirideas withthe workof publishedreviewers.Withtheir"ideas and opinionsat the cenvoicesthatmake reading
terof [the]classroom,"studentsare encouragedto develop authenticand authoritative
theirworka pleasure.http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=876

68

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