Using Exploratory Writing in the Classroom
Robert L. Fielding
| We have had several years now, probably more, of having all our writing students jump through hoops in their writing, as opposed to having them really learn how to write. Writing is about finding out what you have to say and how best to say it, rather than saying what someone else wants you to say. The concept of ?owning? the words you have written is lost with this formulaic writing being taught at all levels. Students have to pass IELTS, that is a ?given? but on the way, rather than exclusively training for that important exam, students should be encouraged to find their own style, say what they have to say, and learn from their writing. It should and could be an enjoyable experience, not a chore. It is the intention of this essay to attempt to say how that can and should be done. Robert L. Fielding |
William Zeiger has characterized the exploratory essay as open: ?[I]t is easy to see that expository composition?writing whose great virtue is to confine the reader to a single, unambiguous line of thought?is closed, in the sense of permitting, ideally, only one valid interpretation. An ?exploratory? essay, on the other hand, is an open work of nonfiction prose. It cultivates ambiguity and complexity to allow more than one reading or response to the work.? (?The Exploratory Essay: Enfranchising the Spirit of Enquiry in College Composition.? College English, 1985)
http://grammar.about.com/od/e/g/Exploratory-Essay.htm
The key word in the text quoted above is the word ?open?, as opposed to ?closed?, restricted, limited, all of which point to several undesirable aspects of students being taught how to write.
First, since students are not being challenged, except perhaps in a very formal and formulaic sense, a fact that they must be well aware of, they effectively stop thinking, do not get engaged in their writing, and realize that something is being systematically taken away from them ? their opportunity to explore, which is the biggest motivator of all in the classroom; students who are told what to think, how to think it, and when to think invariably stop thinking.
Writing is arguably the most challenging of the four skills: it is visible on the page and therefore open to our scrutiny; it affords only more difficult strategies to the student, and it is bound by grammar of the sentence.
Speaking, on the other hand, affords students many, easier ways of saying something, it can achieve the desired result without recourse to grammar, does not depend upon the sentence, and is usually far less specific in content.
Writing is all of these, but it is something much, much more; it is a means of self-expression, or at least it would be if teaching didn?t rob it of this most important characteristic.
Of the ?types of writing suitable to the affording of this opportunity to be creative, to express oneself, creative writing ? short stories, longer stories and poetry, is arguably the chief way of promoting self-expression. However, be that as it undoubtedly may, not everyone feels able to write poems or stories and have them read by others. There is something deeply personal about one?s writing ? particularly if it is of the sort that could be described as ?exploratory?. Coming under this umbrella term comes creative non-fiction.
Creative nonfiction (also known as literary or narrative nonfiction) is a genre of writing truth which uses literary styles and techniques to create factually accurate narratives. Creative nonfiction contrasts with other nonfiction, such as technical writing or journalism, which is also rooted in accurate fact, but is not primarily written in service to its craft. As a genre, creative nonfiction is still relatively young, and is only beginning to be scrutinized with the same critical analysis given to fiction and poetry.
http://www.rlfielding.com/creativenonfiction.htm
The phrase, ?written in service to its craft? is a telling one. Creative non-fiction, whilst not being as creative as its close relative, ?creative writing ? fiction per se ? it is nevertheless similar in some ways: the main similarity is in its propensity to be ?owned? by its creator; it is sufficiently creative in its wording to be recognized for what it is ? creativity!
This aspect of exploratory writing - creative non-fiction ? is the main reason for my advocating its use in the classroom ? once underway, it engages writers in ways that other forms of writing do not always do.
1. The focus of an exploratory essay is a question, rather than a thesis.
Because the focus of the essay is a question ? one generated and asked by the writer rather than by his teacher, he is able to become more engaged than he would otherwise be. This is the property that is sadly lacking in more formal ways of teaching writing, which are often little more than a written version of ?try to think what I am thinking? type of exercise.
With the exploratory essay taking up a question of the student?s own devising, problems of plagiarism and lack of motivation do not arise. In addition, students do not ask the question, ?Why are we doing this, teacher?? They know why they are doing it, hence the higher levels of motivation.
Compare the following:-
i) State the advantages and disadvantages of studying abroad
ii) Are there any advantages or disadvantages to studying abroad?
iii) There are advantages and disadvantages to studying abroad. Discuss.
In (i) and (iii) it is implied that there are indeed advantages and disadvantages to studying abroad, whereas in (ii) the question asks the student to discover or relate what he or she knows about the topic. The ?ownership? of ideas is taken from the student in (i) and (iii); it remains with the student in (ii). In (ii), the student can express what he or she knows; this empowers students, whereas what we usually do ? provide them with assumptions, removing the opportunity for them to discover ? has the opposite effect; it makes them subservient to the task they are ordered to complete. ?Four walls do not a prison make?, it is said, but there are other effective ways of imprisoning minds ? and they are far more odious for their apparent imitation of being ?well-meant?!
2. The two main ways to compose an exploratory essay yield different effects: The ?in-process? strategy produces immediacy, while a ?retrospective? strategy produces more artistically designed essays.
Immediacy and, I would add, relevance to the writer, are two properties of the exploratory essay that ensure that the student feels something when he writes. This ?feeling? is an important component of any meaningful writing. If writing doesn?t effect a feeling for what is being written, nothing worthwhile is produced.
3. Exploratory essays chronicle your research actions and the thinking that results from those actions; they address both content-oriented questions and rhetorical questions about possible responses to the problem under consideration.
With higher level students ? ESP/Skills/Faculty ? essays can be tailored by students to reflect their needs in their studies. This is always going to be more beneficial to a student?s learning than anything foisted on them from above.
4. Exploratory essays regularly consider the strengths and weaknesses of various different solutions to a perplexing problem.
Because the question has been devised by the person about to answer it in writing, the answer/solution can be found, contradictions in arguments will also be found, and so students discover something valuable- that they have this ability to find out without the teacher ? a great discovery to make ? one usually made in undergraduate years at university by those willing to trust themselves.
5. Exploratory essays are often dialectical in either the Platonic sense of that term because they recreate the engagement of antithetical positions, sometimes resulting in a productive synthesis of contraries.
Taking part in a sort of Platonic dialogue in one?s writing always has this ?teaching? effect; things you didn?t know or realize that you knew come out in this type of writing. With the other type of essay, the one students are more used to but have probably come to detest, students are asked to consider things they have no interest in. Consequently, motivation is low, as is learning. The type of learning that is the most beneficial is that which is initiated by the student rather than the type we insist on but ultimately never get.
The exploratory essays can be written in many different subjects. Here are some popular topics to give you an idea:
? Effectiveness of the World Health Organizations ? How effective is the WHO?
? The Impact of Sports ? What impact does sport have on the young?
? The Democracy and Human Rights ? What is democracy?/What are ?human rights??
? The Importance of Creative Methods of Teaching ? Why???.?
? The Reasons of Immigration to US ? What are the?????..?
? The Taxation System of US ? How????????.?
? The Fairness of College Admissions ? Is??????????
Whatever topic you choose, you should pick the subject you are really interested in, it will show in the exploratory essay you write and will make it more interesting to the readers.
http://essayinfo.com/essays/exploratory_essay.php
This type of essay is a very specific one as the author basically begins writing the work without having a definite position or attitude to the analyzed subject. This is a ?flow? essay as the conclusions come to the author in the Exploratory of writing. During the Exploratory of writing an exploratory essay the writer learns more and more about the subject and the reader can trace the formation of his subjective opinion on it. It is different fro other essays as it is not aimed to reveal the author?s knowledge on the topic but the ability to learn throughout the Exploratory of writing.
The essence of exploratory writing, as its name suggests, is this exploring and consequent learning. This is clearly evident to the reader (the teacher) and is clear evidence that something has indeed been learned whilst writing. This is in more or less direct contrast to the more usual situation in which, in my opinion, learning is actually inhibited or slowed by this having to write something, no matter how dull the topic is.
An exploratory essay does not have a certain structure because cannot be written according to a standard essay scheme. This is due to the fact that the thesis statement is actually a question, which is answered throughout the essay.
In the exploratory essay, a formal structure is avoided. It is this insistence on structure that inhibits real learning. If there is a plan in exploratory writing, it is developmental, altering as the focus alters, which is not to say that it is without discipline ? it has the discipline of thought ? the student?s rather than the teachers. This type of essay reclaims the writing exercise from the teacher, and places it firmly in the hands of the student, where it should be. Independent thinking is not brought about by being told to be independent, but rather by being given the real opportunity, the freedom to think. Why teachers are threatened by giving students freedom is a perplexing question.
? The essay never has a clear thesis statement.
It is this insistence on a clear thesis statement that is at the root of the problem; essays that are delimited by a sentence ? often of the teacher?s devising, or closely influenced by him inhibits students from the process of exploring through writing. It is tantamount to saying, ?You will write about this, only about this and nothing else.? This is perhaps what we want students to do in L 3 Finals and in IELTS but I would argue that students two or three semesters away from such exams are harmed rather than helped; hindered rather than encouraged.
? It reveals the course of the author?s thoughts and positions on the subject and makes the reader follow the same steps and come to the same conclusions.
? The exploration Exploratory includes all the possible questions that can be made by the author and by the reader in order to form an attitude to the analyzed subject.
? The essay is focused on answering these questions and not present arguments for or against the subject or its characteristics.
? It often possesses dialectic positions obtained while learning the subject.
Exploratory essays can be written on many different topics which don?t base on some exact thesis statement that comes to the author at the end of Exploratory writing. During writing an the author learns more and more about the subject and the reader can trace the formation of his subjective opinion on it. Delicate approach to the choice of a topic or keen understanding of the one topic is the key element of good essay writing.
http://www.custom-essays.org/essay_types/Exploratory_Essay.html
BUT
Because writers don?t know at the outset exactly what they are going to say in exploratory writing. It?s often hard to make a detailed plan or outline ahead of time.
AND
And exploratory piece is no harder to write than an explanatory piece, but it is harder to plan because it resists a systematic approach. Often it takes longer and requires more drafts. Nevertheless, may writers enjoy the process of discovering ideas through the act of writing. It can be exciting to see suddenly how two ideas connect or to recognize parallels between a current celebrity scandal and novel you?re studying. Many College writing projects are exploratory, particularly in the liberal arts; so are many magazine articles and personal essays. For instance, your writing would be exploratory if you wrote a profile of a political activist on your campus or a reflective essay on the inequities of college entrance exams.
I am not advocating any abandoning of principles that must be applied in IELTS writing, but rather, I am voicing my support for writing classes to be less regimented, freeing up students? personal space to enable them to write what they want to express. Writing what someone else wants you to express under the guise of academic discipline is something that should be avoided.
http://www.english-for-students.com/Exploratory-Writing.html
Teachers are usually loathe to give students their head, let them go with something, preferring instead to retain some control. It does take some courage, nerve and faith in one?s students to ?let go? sometimes. Exploratory writing provides that opportunity to do just that.
Try it. What have you got to lose? Perhaps some control over your students, but what good is that if their learning is inhibited by it? Getting the best out of students means getting the best out of the teacher ? you!
Robert L. Fielding
Links
Expository Writing Prompts
http://www2.asd.wednet.edu/pioneer/barnard/wri/exp.htm
Topics
http://whatsnewintheworld.blogspot.com/2011/04/topics-for-exploratory-writing.html
The concept of an exploratory essay
http://essayinfo.com/essays/exploratory_essay.php
Exploratory Writing
http://www.english-for-students.com/Exploratory-Writing.html
Incorporating exploratory writing into a writing course ? 25 ideas
http://www.unl.edu/writing/incorporating-exploratory-writing-course/
Examples of informal, exploratory writing topics and activities
http://castle.eiu.edu/writcurr/exploratorywriting.php
Exploratory Writing page
http://www.rlfielding.com/exploratorywriting.htm
Academic article: Creating a Learning Flow for Exploratory Writing
http://www.jstor.org/pss/357935
Exploratory Writing Contest
http://www.writing.com/main/forums/item_id/1826920-Exploratory-Writing-Contest-Forum
Occasions for exploratory writing
http://www.powa.org/exploratory-essays/occasions-for-exploratory-essays
This Week?s Activities ? a page which provides students with the opportunity to find out what they know, what they feel, what the think
http://www.rlfielding.com/thisweeksactivities.htm
And a 10-minute window in which to write ? this is a motivational tool for writers
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/composition/freewriting.htm
Making a start ? weekly writing topics for students ? students can also take more control over their own writing by coming up with their own topics.
http://www.rlfielding.com/weeklytopics.htm
Books of creative non-fiction
http://grammar.about.com/od/60essays/a/modnonfiction.htm
Appendix A ? Samples
Work history and experiences Essay
Being 19 years old is a perfect age to learn the ways of communication concerning business matters. It can form a strong base for future business communications. My job gives me a good opportunity to develop the communication techniques I already have and to reveal the ones I never knew about. ?For some time it was not very easy, because making a person interested in your product is not a simple thing. You can make one wrong step and you loose your client. I have been doing it for two month already and this job helps me to perfect my skills and I might even say ? to form some kind of business talent. Talking about the experiences my job brings I would also point out that it develops self-confidence.
When you communicate with people and you are successful, especially when it comes to them ordering products from you it really does make you feel professionally successful. And that in its turn makes you feel confident in general. This kind of job also makes you acquainted with different people in person.? So you do not just talk with them on the phone or take orders you actually meet them in person. This experience faces you with another kind of a problem. To make a client interested enough it is not just about luck. It is a result of combination of different components called ? ethics. It would be better to say the ethics of business contacts. It is very important to know what and when to say not to repulse the client by being too obtruding or by being too insure. Another experience connected with this job that can be considerably productive in future, is forming taste and being close to creative activity. In this case is about flowers: learning the right combination of colors and the observation of the construction of new creative shapes. It has definite influence on the perception of color and helps to see something beautiful in everything in the outside world.
Therefore, it does a little bit change the general world perception. It also makes the brain to look for new ideas, in other words it makes it really work. This work experience is of a great value for me in the first place because of all the points that were listed above. My work history is not very long but in my case I think quality is way more important then quantity and it is only the matter of time. I try to get everything I can from this job experience to become a very valuable employee not only here but in any job. And as an addition to all of these I get a unique personal experience that obviously will influence me as a future professional in a very good manner.
http://www.custom-essays.org/examples/Work_history_experiences_Personal_Essay.html
Appendix B ? Quotations
On style
?Style is the dress of thoughts; and let them be ever so just, if your style is homely, coarse, and vulgar, they will appear to as much disadvantage.?
(Philip Dormer Stanhope, Earl of Chesterfield)
When we see a natural style, we are astonished and delighted; for we expected to see an author, and we find a man.?
(Blaise Pascal)
?Style is the perfection of a point of view.?
(Richard Eberhart)
?Style is that which indicates how the writer takes himself and what he is saying. It is the mind skating circles around itself as it moves forward.?
(Robert Frost)
?What?s important is the way we say it. Art is all about craftsmanship. Others can interpret craftsmanship as style if they wish. Style is what unites memory or recollection, ideology, sentiment, nostalgia, presentiment, to the way we express all that. It?s not what we say but how we say it that matters.?
(Federico Fellini)
?The style of an author should be the image of his mind, but the choice and command of language is the fruit of exercise.?
(Edward Gibbon)
?Thought and speech are inseparable from each other. Matter and expression are parts of one; style is a thinking out into language.?
(Cardinal John Henry Newman)
On writing
?Writing is an adventure.?
(Winston Churchill)
?There are no dull subjects. There are only dull writers.?
(H. L. Mencken)
?Nothing you write, if you hope to be any good, will ever come out as you first hoped.?
(Lillian Hellman)
?Many people hear voices when no one is there. Some of them are called mad and are shut up in rooms where they stare at the walls all day. Others are called writers and they do pretty much the same thing.?
(Meg Chittenden)
?Writing is like everything else: the more you do it the better you get. Don?t try to perfect as you go along, just get to the end of the thing. Accept imperfections. Get it finished and then you can go back. If you try to polish every sentence there?s a chance you?ll never get past the first chapter.?
(Iain Banks)
?Writing is an exploration. You start from nothing and learn as you go. . . . Writing is like driving at night in the fog. You can only see as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way. . . . Writing is a socially acceptable form of schizophrenia.?
(E. L. Doctorow)
http://grammar.about.com/od/yourwriting/a/advice.htm
Robert L. Fielding
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