March 13, 2002
Improving composition at Brooklyn writing center
With more writing required for state tests at elementary and secondary levels, it's good for everyone to remind themselves of the basics.
"Whatever your subject or grade, first, set the ground rules," advises Mauro Bressi, an English teacher who in 1999 established a writing center at John Dewey High School in Brooklyn with the help of a $12,000 McAuliffe Fellowship.
Grants from the program, named for Christa McAuliffe, the teacher-astronaut who died on the Challenger space shuttle flight in 1986, fund innovative educational projects.
Bressi offered six steps to his colleagues to help students improve their writing:
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Firmly establish that while you are willing to help, you are not a proofreader, nor will you rewrite a student's work.
"You say, 'There's a problem with this sentence' and you guide the student through the revision process with questioning," Bressi said. "You identify words that may be misspelled, but don't provide the correct spelling. A cardinal principle is not to touch the student's paper."
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Realize that writing is a complex process. Don't try to do too much at one conference.
When he works with students in the writing center, he applies a checklist of 20 items to each piece. The checklist ranges from the simple - "There is a title" - to the complex - "Ideas are rational or logical." [Download complete checklist.]
"The checklist helps to diagnose problems with a student's writing," Bressi said. Regardless of the number of challenges the student may exhibit in writing, Bressi chooses only a few for the next conference.
"It takes time to become a good writer," Bressi said. "For the student, it can be overwhelming to tackle too much at once."
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Concentrate on providing feedback, rather than a grade, on the student's writing.
"My feedback is designed to guide the students to think critically enough to evaluate their own work," Bressi said.
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Regardless of where you teach across the state, use the state English standards to guide and evaluate student writing. (English standards are on the State Education Department Web site at www.emsc.nysed.gov.) All students must now pass the state English Regents Exam to graduate.
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Share top samples of student writing with the class. "Students need to see what is expected of them," he said. "They should know what is needed to receive a high score."
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Encourage good writing by reprinting student work. His school has periodically compiled student essays into a journal. Topics are across the curriculum, such as a science report on the composition of blood, a technical writing piece on how to make masks in sculpture class, a social studies report about how Spartan society in ancient Greece centered on developing an army, a personal essay about learning to play the flute, two computer-aided drawings and an English essay about the play Antigone.
For more information, Bressi compiled a 10-page instructional guide on developing a writing center and the structure of a writing conference. For a copy, send $1 in postage stamps to cover shipping and handling to Bressi at John Dewey High School Writing Center, 50 Ave. X, Brooklyn, N.Y. 11223. He also has a Web site at www.geocities.com/maurobressi.
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