Teaching “The Essay” as a Pathway to Research and First-Year Writing
Abstract
This session will guide attendees through teaching “the essay,” as a flexible, adaptable, customizable form. Using ignorance as a starting place, students develop research strategies that focus on their own gaps in knowledge—as opposed to relying on pre-existing certainty, bias, or opinions. By working through the essay-writing process as an exploration, students develop “high-quality ignorance,” which allows for deeper authenticity. Complex essays allow students to combine multiple rhetorical strategies—narrative, interview, immersion, argument—creating customized essays, instead of following a traditional five-paragraph format. Along the path to the final essay, they alternate writing and research, showing their inextricable connection.
Teaching “The Essay” as a Pathway to Research and First-Year Writing
Session 3 Breakouts
This session will guide attendees through teaching “the essay,” as a flexible, adaptable, customizable form. Using ignorance as a starting place, students develop research strategies that focus on their own gaps in knowledge—as opposed to relying on pre-existing certainty, bias, or opinions. By working through the essay-writing process as an exploration, students develop “high-quality ignorance,” which allows for deeper authenticity. Complex essays allow students to combine multiple rhetorical strategies—narrative, interview, immersion, argument—creating customized essays, instead of following a traditional five-paragraph format. Along the path to the final essay, they alternate writing and research, showing their inextricable connection.
