We began class today with an SAT essay question. Students had 10 minutes to read the question and construct a logical response. This exercise exposed the challenge of on-demand writing - fluent and fast thinking must give rise to a thorough and organized essay using specific references to texts or experiences as evidence. Many discovered that this is a tall order in the allowed time of 25 minutes. The students began to understand the need for planning the essay before writing, for though 25 minutes would seem to require one to begin writing right away and hope for the best, it is better to write a shorter essay that is well developed and organized rather than write a long essay that meanders from one superficial point to the next.
We then began to prepare for the timed writing that has now been pushed back to Thursday because we haven't had enough time to discuss the SAT scoring guide that will serve as the grading rubric for this assignment, nor have we had enough time to review the parts of an essay. We debated the following statements:
1. Boy soldiers should be held morally responsible for the acts they commit in war.
2. A person, once he has committed certain actions like Beah in A Long Way Gone, can never live a normal life.
The object of this exercise was for the students to commence thinking about possible responses to the timed writing prompts, which are related to these statements. After the debates, students wrote down points they heard on both sides of the argument. Even though I advise students to pick only one side of the argument to discuss in a timed writing because they will have more time to be thorough, it is good to anticipate possible counterarguments. Sometimes the most effective tool one has in argumentation is disproving the counterarguments.
HOMEWORK: By Friday, reread "The River," "The Rope," and the epilogue in Kindred. As you are reading, mark up for parts of the text that seem to develop Butler's theme, make use of symbols, and explore Dana's paradoxical feelings about Rufus. Please refer to the "How to Mark Up a Text" handout for further instructions on marking up a text or using "marginalia." You can expect a reading quiz on the specifics of these chapters. Also, please bring the book to class on Friday.
