The Georgia Department of Education (GaDOE) has powerpoints about formulaic writing for 5, 8, and high school.  I am including here the link to the fifth grade one.

http://www.gadoe.org/Curriculum-Instruction-and-Assessment/Assessment/Pages/WA-Grade-5-Resources.aspx

       C onventions occur within context.

       O rganization is paramount.

       N ever give up on success for all.

       T each the writing process.

      E xpand ideas and vocabulary and engage the audience.

    e  X amine own writing to improve.

       T echnology is used as a tool.

We can no longer rely on a quick fix to teach student writing any more than we can use the excuse that we are poorly trained to keep us from teaching it.  Students must be taught how to write and teacher ed programs have got to rise to the occasion to make sure all teachers are aware of what the teaching of writing entails.

Many of us were taught to write by using the five-paragraph essay: introduction, 3 body paragraphs and the conclusion that many times restated the introduction.  This formula did offer a framework and some structure and was easy for the teacher to grade since it basically departmentalized the information. Was there a thesis? Were there topic sentences?  I suppose formulaic writing did and does, as it is still alive today, help students who struggled , but it didn’t give students any help in knowing what an essay looks like or how to actually put one together without the five-paragraph method.  Also, students do not like to move away from this and writing becomes stagnant. In the real world, students must learn how to make choices about genre, content, structure, organization, and style (Mark Wiley 2000) so formulaic writing does hinder this process.

When I broach this subject, I see the nervousness in teachers’ faces and hear the concern in their voices as they ask why it matters because that was how they were taught and they have done ok.  Could that be why we are many times reluctant as writers ourselves? Could we and our own teachers have been so consumed with structure that we failed to have any sustenance to our writing?  It is afterall about the content which is what we have to say and what we are thinking.

Mark Wiley says that “formulaic writing short-circuits the discovery process” for students.  It is our job to teach students different strategies that can be an arsenal of information for them as they choose their purpose for writing and the audience to whom they are writing.  Students need to know when to use certain strategies in different writing situations not just rely on the five-paragraph quick fix.  Relying on this approach stifles ideas, organization, style and conventions, as it limits the variety seen in effective writing.  Students are not able to display their understanding of transitions and organization when they are limited to the five-paragraph essay.

I am not saying to never use this approach.  It might be what some struggling students need for structure, but they have to be given the chance to advance beyond this.  We owe all students more than the teaching of the five-paragraph essay.

Next: Formulaic Writing: Take 2

How many of you have ever taught persuasive and expository writing just to have students confuse the two? Join the crowd.   I hope to clear up any confusion by sharing the definitions of both modes that are provided by the GaDoe (Georgia Department of Education).  Students need to know the definitions and the characteristics of each if they are to effectively compose them.

Persuasive writing has as its purpose convincing others to accept the writer’s position as valid, adopt a certain point of view, or take some action. It clearly establishes a position on a topic.  The argument should be defended with specific details and examples. The evidence should be appropriate for the audience. This writing uses specific facts, personal experience and knowledge, and/or statistics to support the author’s position. It contains an organizational structure appropriate for persuasion.

It is NOT copying words or information from the writing topic, nor is it formulaic writing that repeats the position and supporting reasons. It is not a list of facts, a story, or any other personal anecdote that is unrelated to the writer’s position. It is not a chance for the writer to vent about a topic.

Expository/Informational writing enhances the reader’s understanding of a topic by instructing, explaining, clarifying, describing, or examining a subject or concept. It provides facts, statistics, descriptive details, comparison, contrast, analysis, evaluation, definition, humor and personal anecdotes that are related. It contains an appropriate organizational strategy for the purpose of explanation, description, comparison/contrast, or problem and solution. It is information that is presented in the logical order.  It is NOT an encyclopedic coverage of facts or an abundance of facts that are unrelated to the topic.

Informational writing is meant to give information.  It is nonfiction/factual.

Key words: First, after, next, then, last, finally

Avoid first person pronouns. (I, we, us, me)

Informational writing should not give an opinion.

Examples: driving directions, instructions, newspapers, biographies, almanacs, research papers, business reports, letters, guidebooks, how-to writing, pamphlets

Some strategies to engage: anecdote, facts, statistics, quotes, vivid word choice, mood, real-life connections, descriptions, narration

Strategies to inform: facts, statistics, quotes that lend credibility, descriptions, and explanations

Expository structures: description (for example…characteristics are…), explanation , compare/contrast(different, alike, same), problem/solution (problem is…question…answer), cause-effect (reasons why, because, if)

PREPARING STUDENTS FOR PROMPTS: 

Students must have practice with prompt analysis and initial planning.

Students must understand the terms persuasive and expository/informational.

Students must be aware of the different structures that expository prompts might ask for: description, explanation, c/c, problem/solution, and cause/effect.

Examples of informational topics:

1. Describe the causes and effects of pollution on the environment. Narrow your topic to one form of pollution.

2. Compare and contrast two different types of transportation. Consider issues such as speed, comfort, enjoyment and expense.

3. Compare and contrast an insect to an arachnid.

4. For primary, write, draw, or dictate to your class about what you will bring to Show and Tell. Tell what you know about this object.

5. Discuss and then write your own Bill of Rights.

6. Write a letter that gives next year’s class specific advice on what they really need to know before they enter your grade. Tell what teachers will expect and how to succeed as a student.

7. Compare and contrast healthy individuals to unhealthy.

8. Tell what happened when…

9. Write a report about…

10. Explain how…

11. Describe how to …

Students need specific information and instructions if they are to understand persuasive and informational writing.  Let’s help them succeed.