Exploring the Use of Templates in Creative and Academic Writing

Dr. Gerald GraffDr. Cathy Birkenstein Graff

Cecilia PintoEileen Murphy

The Problem• Students need to understand and express complex ideas.

• Students from English Language Learners (ELLs) to Academic Language Learners (ALLs,) are often unnecessarily bewildered by academic literacy.

• Current methods to address this bewilderment are often inadequate.

Templates as Tools• Students need to understand and express complex ideas.

Templates help students read and write more powerfully.

• Students from English Language Learners (ELLs) to Academic Language Learners (ALLs,) are often unnecessarily bewildered by academic literacy.

• Current methods to address this bewilderment are often inadequate.

Templates as Tools• Students need to understand and express complex ideas.

Templates help students read and write more powerfully.

• Students from English Language Learners (ELLs) to Academic Language Learners (ALLs,) are often unnecessarily bewildered by academic literacy.

Templates help demystify texts and text structures.

• Current methods to address this bewilderment are often inadequate.

Templates as Tools• Students need to understand and express complex ideas.

Templates help students read and write more powerfully.

• Students from English Language Learners (ELLs) to Academic Language Learners (ALLs,) are often unnecessarily bewildered by academic literacy.

Templates help demystify texts and text structures.

• Current methods to address this bewilderment are often inadequate.

Templates help teachers provide the scaffolding students need to understand and express complexities.

The Panelists

• Dr. Gerald Graff• Dr. Cathy Birkenstein Graff• Cecilia Pinto• Eileen Murphy

Reading the Past, Writing the Future

Although fierce debates have raged over ____templates that promote formulaic writing_, the opponents all share a commitment to templates which are inherent to creativity and critical thinking that they may not recognize.

3 Artifacts

Classical and Renaissance Imitation

• “collections of commonplaces, figures, proverbs, and all the rest served as a source of approved material which could be inserted directly or altered to fit individual needs.“

Abbott, Don Paul. "Rhetoric and Writing in the Renaissance." A Short History of Writing Instruction: from Ancient Greece to Modern America. Ed. James J. Murphy. Mahwah, NJ: Hermagoras, 2001. 160. Print.

Arguments, History, and Literary Templates

• “Dictators ride to and fro upon tigers from which they dare not dismount.’”

–Churchill• “Those who foolishly sought power by riding the

back of the tiger ended up inside.”—Kennedy

McKay’s Sonnet and Churchill “If We Must Die” by Claude McKay

If we must die—let it not be like hogsHunted and penned in an inglorious spot,While round us bark the mad and hungry dogs,Making their mock at our accursed lot.If we must die—oh, let us nobly die,So that our precious blood may not be shedIn vain; then even the monsters we defyShall be constrained to honor us though dead!Oh, Kinsmen! We must meet the common foe;Though far outnumbered, let us show us brave,And for their thousand blows deal one deathblow!What though before us lies the open grave?Like men we'll face the murderous, cowardly pack,Pressed to the wall, dying, but fighting back!

Return to Old School?: Of Course Not

“Write the murder scene. When you have written it, turn to Oliver Twist, Chapter 47, and see where and why Dickens’ account is more thrilling than yours” (6)

--Primer of Literary Criticism (1924)

Used Well, Templates Can Be An Excellent Tool

Demystifying Genres across Disciplines

English Language Learners (ELLs)

Academic Language Learners (ALLs)

Building student resources for responding to rigorous reading and writing tasks in CCSS

CCSS Not All New

“Discuss the ways in which O’Brien uses a particular character, image, or storytelling technique in The Things They Carried in order to comment on the nature of storytelling.”

--Murphy’s A. P. English Assignment

Elements in Claims for Describing Text

• Choice-maker-Who (Author, Speaker)• Element-What (Detail, Character, Image, etc.)• Choice-How (How the element is manipulated by the

author)• Verbs for Describing Text• Interpreted Meanings-Why/So What (Ideas and

Themes Readers Construct)

Describing Text Template

“_______ , the author of _______ uses _____________(choice-maker) (title) (literary

element) to show (or another verb) _______________.”

(Interpreted meaning)

Where My Template Went Terribly Wrong

“I’m confused…is that what you asked for?

Toni Morrison uses dialogue, characterization and internal conflict in the context of Beloved to explore the differences between men and women.

-sara”

Training Wheels for Complexity: Student Writing as Data

“In The Things They Carried actions aren’t taken for the sake of actions, but for the sake of anticipated reactions. Using the character Tim O’Brien, O’Brien shows how reality-changing decisions are executed based almost exclusively on fiction. In “On the Rainy River” he demonstrates the mind’s fabrication of an audience on which to test out potential courses of action; this audience’s reaction takes priority to staying true to oneself. “

--Kristen G.

Templates: Old Practices Rendered New

• Exploring templates and “the moves” in mentor texts (Literary and Discipline-Specific /Informational texts)

• Practice expressing complex ideas aloud and informally (imaginative and academic claims)

Scaffolding Accountable Discourse: Think-Aloud

“Read and discuss imagery in small groups.”

--“This makes me picture …”(Visualizing Imagery)

--“I imagine the speaker’s voice sounding like…”

(Exploring Tone)

Scaffolding Accountable Discourse: Workshop Templates

“Peer Workshop your paper/poems”

Writing or speaking about each other’s work as authors instills the habit of

thinking about author’s purpose and author’s craft, of seeing readings as writings.

“Approved Sources?” Not in the 21st Century!

We will not impart most of the most important knowledge our students will gain in this century; therefore, it is imperative to equip them to be both critical consumers of text and skillful communicators.

Connecting the Past to Our Future

• Instilling desire and skill to communicate powerfully in our democracy is the core of our common work.

The Special Place of Argument in the StandardsFrom Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts & Literacy in

History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical SubjectsAppendix A: Research Supporting Key Elements of the Standards • …the Standards put particular emphasis on students’ ability to write sound

arguments on substantive topics and issues, as this ability is critical to college and career readiness. English and education professor Gerald Graff (2003) writes that “argument literacy” is fundamental to being educated. The university is largely an “argument culture,” Graff contends….He claims that because argument is not standard in most school curricula, only 20 percent of those who enter college are prepared in this respect….When teachers ask students to consider two or more perspectives on a topic or issue, something far beyond surface knowledge is required: students must think critically and deeply, assess the validity of their own thinking, and anticipate counterclaims in opposition to their own assertions.

In recent discussions of___________, a controversial issue has been

whether _____________. On the one hand, some argue that____________.

From this perspective,____________________. On the other hand, however,

others argue that________________. In the words of one of this view’s main

proponents, “______________________.” According to this view,_________.

In sum, then, the issue is whether____________or_____________________.

My own view is that______________________. Though I concede

that_____________, I still maintain that_________________. For

example,_________________________. Though some might object that__

_________________________________, I reply that______________. The issue is

important because___________________________________.

Debate Templates1. Although it is often said________, I argue ____________________. [DISAGREE] 2. X argues __________________, and I agree because _______________. [AGREE] 3. On the surface, this text suggests _________. But a closer analysis shows _____. [COUNTERINTERPRETATION] 4. I used to think that _____. Having read___, however, I now see ____________. [I WAS LOST BUT NOW I’M FOUND] 5. X argues ____, and I have mixed feelings about it. On the one hand, ____. On the other hand, ____. [I’M OF TWO MINDS] 6. X can’t have it both ways. At the same time she says _____, she also says_____. [CONTRADICTION SPOTTER] 7. Researchers have long wondered why____. My research suggests an explanation, namely, that _____. [PROBLEM SOLVING]

Debate Templates Continued8. Debates over ___ have long obscured the far more important issue of _____. [DISPLACE THE DEBATE]

9. Seemingly esoteric theory X actually sheds light on the practical matter of _____. [IT’S CLEARER/MORE RELEVANT THAN YOU THINK] 10. Although fierce debates have raged over _____, the opponents all share a commitment to ____that they may not recognize. [OPPOSITES CONVERGE] 11. Until now I’ve been suggesting/it’s been believed that ____. But it’s more complicated. For one thing, _____. For another, ____. And complicating matters even further, _____. [IT’S MORE COMPLEX] 12. Of course it might be objected that _____. And I concede that ___________. Nevertheless, I would still maintain that _____. [NAYSAYER] 13. We all agree nowadays that___________________. Where the agreement ends, however, is on_________ [WHERE CONTROVERSY BEGINS]

Questions