There is an expected research paper voice and while the mode is driven by organization, voice still plays a part in this form of writing.
I'd describe the desired voice in this mode as; authoritative. Other descriptors would be strong, confident, and understanding. Lovitts 2007 p 36
It comes down to understanding the audience for the writing. There is a very clear and defined audience for research papers: other professionals or academics. Knowing the audience helps a student writer determine the voice (once they have the concept of voice in place).
You can help your students understand voice as a concept, and your expectations for a 'research voice' by using contrasting examples. (Here's where a search for appropriate mentor texts will help.)
For instance, you could provide strong and week thesis statements.
Also find or create contrasting examples. Demonstrate overly casual, or insecure voice, and contrast it with confident (fact supported) academic voice.
On one hand, you have an example of clear well supported, and authoritative writing.
Contrast this with excessively elaborate, vague and uncertain writing.
Examples of students attempting to hide a lack of understanding and content with elaborate long winded and confusing sentences could go a long way toward helping define the concept of ' research voice '
This reinforces the need to tune the writing to the audience.
You could also contrast the research piece with an expository piece to show differences in voice based on mode of writing.
While the voice of a research report is more constrained, it's there. By helping your students learn to recognize voice you clarify the intent of the writing and help build the concept.
Dennis/San Diego
reference:
Lovitts, B. E. 2007 Making the implicit explicit: creating performance expectations for the dissertation. Virginia, Stylus Publishing
Monday, February 21, 2011
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Teaching Traits in the Second Grade by Cathy Rencavage
"I think kids know when something is off in a story." Children are very savvy even at the earliest of ages.
This reminds me of a humorous story involving my second grade students a few years back. After being immersed in craft/trait instruction and investigating the qualities of effective writing, I introduced the students to our new Social Studies Program titled Social Studies Alive. It wasn't long into the first chapter when one little boy raised his hand and stated, "This author does NOT know how to write!"
Another raised her hand and stated, "I agree, this book should be called Social Studies Dead because there is no voice behind the writing whatsoever!"
Little by little, before I knew it, chaos erupted in my classroom. Hands were shooting up here and there as students angrily shouted out..."There are no sensory details, not one!"
"Talk about redundancy, the rivers this and the rivers that..." Etc..., Etc... Etc... LOL.
As happy as I was that the students realized quality writing when they saw it, (Believe me, my heart was singing a very happy song!) I also realized that we were married to this text for the second half of the semester. Every time I asked the students to pull the book out of their desk I was met with moans and groans and chants about Social Studies Dead!
The moral of this long thread is... students know when something is off in a story. When students are immersed in trait instruction, they gradually begin to read through the lens of a writer and emulate the craft of authentic authors.
Cathy_Pennsylvania
Another raised her hand and stated, "I agree, this book should be called Social Studies Dead because there is no voice behind the writing whatsoever!"
Little by little, before I knew it, chaos erupted in my classroom. Hands were shooting up here and there as students angrily shouted out..."There are no sensory details, not one!"
"Talk about redundancy, the rivers this and the rivers that..." Etc..., Etc... Etc... LOL.
As happy as I was that the students realized quality writing when they saw it, (Believe me, my heart was singing a very happy song!) I also realized that we were married to this text for the second half of the semester. Every time I asked the students to pull the book out of their desk I was met with moans and groans and chants about Social Studies Dead!
The moral of this long thread is... students know when something is off in a story. When students are immersed in trait instruction, they gradually begin to read through the lens of a writer and emulate the craft of authentic authors.
Cathy_Pennsylvania
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Voice & Point of View
This slam dunk classroom activity was shared by Tiffany, a first year teacher with a vision for writing with the traits...
This last year was my first year of teaching and therefore the first year I taught the 6 Traits of Writing (and really learned them myself for that matter!) Here is an activity that I did in my classroom:
This last year was my first year of teaching and therefore the first year I taught the 6 Traits of Writing (and really learned them myself for that matter!) Here is an activity that I did in my classroom:
I gave each student in the room a photograph with a prompt on the back, they didn't know it at the time but someone else in the room had the same photograph with a very different prompt on back.
For example, two students would have a picture of an ice cream sundae. One prompt would say, "Write about this sundae as if you haven't eaten anything in a week", oppositely the other prompt would say, "Write about this sundae as if you are on a very strict diet." Two students would have a picture of a person about to jump out of an airplane with the ground visible far below - One prompt would say, "Write as if you are this person and you love thrill seeking and adventures," the other, "Write as if you are this person and you are deathly afraid of heights." I told the students to answer the prompt based on the photo and that they would eventually share their writing with a peer.
After everyone was done writing I explained that there was another person who had the same photo and the two partners met and shared their writings - obviously very different!
We then talked about how different writers have different voices based on their experiences, background, what they are writing, etc. To be honest, I'm not sure if this was a proper activity to convey the topic of voice or not, but the students seemed to understand the concept - they liked the activity and sharing the very different writings that could come from the same picture. Any thoughts or modifications? I'm open for further ideas too! :0)
Tiffany @ Mosinee
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
eMints: Great 6-Trait Resources
With this in mind, I was delighted to find the following 6-traits materials on the eMINTS site.
Writing: 6 + 1 Writing Traits eThemes eMINTS Home page for eMINTS 6-Traits materials
eMINTS page on personal narrative.
These sites explain the different types of text structures that are used in expository writing. The text structures include chronological sequence, comparison/contrast, description, problem/solution, and cause and effect. (tags: writing 6-traits)Grammar: Interactive Writing Activities eThemes eMINTS
These sites feature interactive grammar and writing sites that are fun to use with SMARTboards. The online games and quizzes cover topics such as nouns, verbs, sentences, proofreading, capitalization, punctuation, plurals, and more. (del.ious.us tags: writing 6-traits)
Monday, January 17, 2011
Cure the Pre-Writing Jitters
"I just don't know what to write about." There was a quiet desperation in my student's eyes as we sat over a blank sheet of paper. While my student can't think of what to write, I can't think of where to even start counting the number of times I have been in this very situation with students before. To help combat what I often refer to as blank-page-syndrome, I pulled out my ice-cream bucket filled with old and horribly abused crayons I have collected over the years. With this simple action, student's demeanor shifted to slight confusion.
Writing, Technology, and the National Writing Project
Technology & Writing
- Report Spotlights Revolutionary Use of Technology in Teaching Writing - National Writing Project - Annotated tags: writing digital nwp 6-traits technology
- New York, June 10, 2010 – "If school is supposed to help us in the rest of the world, shouldn't school look like what's going on in the rest of the world?" asks 10th-grade teacher Paige Cole, one of nine classroom teachers profiled in Writing, Learning and Leading in the Digital Age (PDF), a College Board–National Writing Project (NWP)–Phi Delta Kappa International (PDKI) report released today on the state of technology resources in the classroom.
-
-
-
The NWP Digital Is website is a collection of ideas, reflections, and stories about what it means to teach writing in our digital, interconnected world. Read, discuss, and share ideas about teaching writing today.
-
News from the National Writing Project
News from the National Writing Project
2011 Summer Poetry Institute: Write-Teach-Lead
http://www.nwp.org/cs/public/print/events/535?x-t=sites_eos.view
The Alliance for Young Artists & Writers, the Poetry Society of America, and the National Writing Project present the 2011 Summer Poetry Institute, July 5–8, in New York City.
--------------
South Carolina Classrooms Improve Writing Through Poetry
http://www.nwp.org/cs/public/print/resource/3437
Teacher-consultants from the Aiken Writing Project invited two poets to conduct workshops at their school, getting both teachers and students excited about writing.
--------------
Education Resolutions for 2011 Include National Writing Project
http://www.nwp.org/cs/public/print/resource/3436
Education professor Mike Rose, author of "Why School?: Reclaiming Education for All of Us," lists his hopes for education in the new year, including an endorsement of the National Writing Project.
---------------
Language Arts Teachers Face Modern Challenges
http://www.nwp.org/cs/public/print/resource/3435
English teachers find themselves more accountable than ever for the academic success of their students, while balancing new technologies that change time-honored practices of reading and writing. Carol Jago of the UCLA Writing Project is quoted.
----------------
Writing Project Teachers Earn Awards for Digital Writing and Advocacy
http://www.nwp.org/cs/public/print/resource/3434
The list of 2010 Edublog Award nominees included many Writing Project teachers, whose influence and teacher leadership online continues to grow.
----------------
Writing Project Facilitates Digital Writing Studies in Alabama
http://www.nwp.org/cs/public/print/resource/3419
Etowah County Schools in Alabama, teaming up with the Jacksonville State University Writing Project, received a grant to use 21st-century classroom tools to improve student academic achievement. The grant was designed around NWP's book Because Digital Writing Matters.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)