Low-Stakes Writing with a High-Tech Twist >Kella Hammond

Like James Bond, I like my writing (and reading) shaken, not stirred. I seek writing that is provocative, thoughtful, colorful and edgy. Let me read the Louises: Glück, the poet, and Erdrich, the novelist. I love contemporary writers like Vladimir Nabokov, George Saunders, Lorrie Moore, and JoAnn Beard, yet I still turn to Boethius, Basho, and the Brontës.

And like many of you, I will venture to say that as soon as I put forth a writing prompt to my students, one that I think embodies all Ian Fleming hoped James Bond could be, I realize that students sometimes, okay oftentimes, don’t see the sexiness, the danger, or the allure of writing. They see a grade, an assignment, another night’s sleep lost to staring at a blank computer screen, and an upset stomach due to drinking too much coffee, Red Bull or Mountain Dew.

I know all of this because I was "that student." I still battle the dark pull of procrastination or mental drift or whatever you call the semi-permanent, self-imposed pause button, that deadly art that many of us, if we’re being honest, have practiced at one time or another.


So, I think to myself, how can we shake up our students’ writing habits? How can we call them back from the siren song of procrastination and uninspired prose? In a phrase, low-stakes writing.


In the 1997 essay "High Stakes and Low Stakes in Assigning and Responding to Writing," Peter Elbow, the famed writing pedagogy professor emeritus at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, makes a convincing case for integrating low-stakes writing in class:


  • 5-10 minutes of writing at the start of class to help students bring to mind their homework reading or lab work or previous lectures.
  • 5-10 minutes in mid class when things go dead—or to get students to think about an important question that has come up.
    5-10 minutes at the end of class or lecture to get them to think about what’s been discussed.
  • 5 minutes at the end of class to write to us about what they learned that day: what was the main idea for them? What was going on for them during that class? This helps them integrate what they’ve heard, and if we collect it, we learn what’s getting through and what isn’t (Elbow, 1997).
Writing as a form of unevaluated exploration is not a new idea. This is a very basic and classic function of writing and communication in general … to seek, to play, to figure out what one believes and thinks, to disagree with a towering figure that surely won’t listen to the rebuttal until it is hashed out on the safety of paper or screen, and to improve one’s fluency in writing by doing exactly that—writing.

And yet I have felt that if I didn’t review every piece of students’ writing, I am doing them a grave disservice. I am not teaching them; I am slacking. I’ve found I am surely—and sorely—wrong.


Low-stakes—aka, ungraded, though not unread—writing, as Elbow points out, is often "livelier, clearer and more interesting—in spite of any carelessness and mistakes" than high stakes (read, graded) writing (1997). Elbow even goes so far as to say, "I’ve almost never seen a piece of low stakes writing I couldn’t easily understand, but I’ve seen lots of high stakes writing that students have worked very hard on—and found it impenetrable" (1997). I know what he means. I’ve seen students who I know are smart, capable, and contain bucket loads of promise and hard work and I want to cry or laugh when I see them eek out the most confusing, opaque sentences and paragraphs.


But I do think there is hope—the bright and shining technological hope that students already practice low-stakes writing in their Facebook and Twitter updates, in emails to their professors, academic advisors and support services such as the Writing Center, in chat rooms during seminar, and beyond.


Which got me to thinking: How could we incorporate more low-stakes writing in a high-tech classroom?


  • Use Twitter to teach students how to write with haiku-like concision. When one only has 140 words to work with, action verbs, strict diction, and a laser-like ability to cut out the fluff are imperative. While many of us use Twitter for class announcements, why not ask students to practice writing topic sentences, emerging thesis statements, and summaries in a Twitter-based workshop? Students who follow class tweets can respond immediately with specific, concrete ideas and receive feedback from one another.
  • Incorporate chat room "stop and jots." Have students chat their initial, emerging reactions to controversial ideas, images and concepts in the classroom. It’s amazing how a little wait time can really get student participation and ideas flowing, not to mention how stop and jots encourage critical thinking and low-stakes writing.
  • Encourage a sense of playfulness and discovery. Ask students to create word lists with Thinkmap’s Visual Thesaurus as form of ungraded prewiting. Help students see how words and ideas connect, intersect, overlap and influence the stance one takes in his or her writing. See how one word and thought branches out to others. Visual learners will be especially happy to see that writing isn’t a purely text-based pursuit. Images, sounds, sights, and our senses in general prompt us to connect with language and expression. Help students feel the sensual side of writing as Michael Lydon suggests in his essay, "The Art of Phrasing."
  • Create sentence-level challenges like Quadrivial Quandary. As the web site says, "Each day we present four words from our favorite dictionary sites. Your challenge is to use them all in one sentence that illustrates their meanings." Create a similar exercise for students as a beginning of class activity based on the ideas you cover in your content area. Push students to make connections, take risks in content-related writing, and reward students who make the effort to write into the unknown.
  • Prompt students to respond to real audiences and current events. I think all of us strive to do this, but how cool is it to get students riled about writing when they see their greater role within the marketplace of ideas and not just "a class"? Point out articles, podcasts, blogs, YouTube videos, and other tech-rich texts that require user-generated content and ratings. Remind your students to weigh in and provide their responses and thoughts as global readers and citizens.

I’d also love to hear from others about how they encourage low-stakes writing with technology so students create "livelier, clearer, and more interesting" texts for authentic audiences. Please post your comments below so we can begin to compile a "living" list for those who are interested.

Like Diane Martinez, Writing Specialist at the KU Writing Center, said in response to an article I wrote for the October 2009 edition of the Writing Across the Curriculum Newsletter, "We need to give students room to practice writing. We are sometimes so focused on the end product of a project that we don’t afford students the opportunity to practice. Just how can we incorporate more practice into our curriculum and resources?"

Personally, I think we can incorporate more writing practice into our students’ learning by using low-stakes writing more often in the writing process. We have the opportunity to empower students to find their own words for the issues that really matter by practicing writing that sets the foundation for polished drafts and finished essays. Low-stakes writing promotes active learning in our classes and communities. And let’s not forget: "Low stakes writing takes little of our time and expertise" (Elbow, 1997). We can create a culture of inquiry by reminding students that the most important writing they’ll do, especially once they’re outside of our classes, won’t be for a grade.

References
Elbow, P. (1997). High stakes and low stakes in assigning and responding to writing. In Deane Sorinelli, M. & Elbow, P. (Eds.), Assigning and Responding to Writing in the Discipline. Retrieved from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst’s Faculty Center on November 16, 2009, from http://www.wsc.mass.edu/facultycenter/lowstakes-benefits.pdf
Lydon, M. (2009, October 8). The art of phrasing. Retrieved from Thinkmap Visual Thesaurus on November 23, 2009, from http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/wc/2013/
Quadrivial Quandary. (2009). Retrieved November 23, 2009, from http://www.quadrivialquandary.com/
Thinkmap Visual Thesaurus. (2009). Retrieved November 23, 2009, from
http://www.visualthesaurus.com/

Did you know...
Michaella was named after her great-aunt Megella, who was a teeny tiny Sicilian spitfire who chain smoked filtered cigarettes and wore leopard-print outfits? Kella is somewhat taller (um, by a foot) than her namesake, but she channels her great-aunt’s spirit whenever she’s in need of a sassy approach to life.

Kella is a resource specialist in the Writing Center.

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