Remember: this is a rough draft. We don't need to discuss final draft details. Don't get bogged down in grammar or in structure unless the problems are huge, i.e. preventing you from discerning meaning.
Author, remain silent and take notes while your partners discuss your essay. Once they're finished, ask questions. Otherwise hold your tongue. If you feel like they aren't understanding or are missing the point of your essay, write down your questions but ask yourself: did I really convey that in the writing, or did I simply think I had?
Focus on questions of direction and scope. For each draft do the following:
>Summarize the draft as it stands. Paraphrase the main point of the essay. If this is unclear, the author needs to work to find a thread or purpose. Try and help them articulate what interests them about the topic. Maybe they disagree with the concepts, how can they disagree and still address the requirements of the assignment? What could the underlying purpose be?
>Is the author writing for their own discovery, or simply because they were assigned to write an essay? Suggest possibilities to become more engaged in the question bioregionalism.
>Ask yourself: is this essay too big? Trying to do too much? Would it take a book to really address this issue?
>Is the essay on track to meet the criteria of the assignment? Does it discuss Missoula as a bioregion? Is the author in pursuit of wisdom; looking for answers to why more than what or how? Does the author take risks and engage the reader, or is the essay feeling uninspired (in which case they might consider taking a new track).
>Do I lose interest at any point? Should the author scrap sections of the essay and go in a new direction? If so, be clear about what should remain.
>End off on a high note: what did you enjoy?
No comments:
Post a Comment