Teaching to the Text Message
By ANDY SELSBERG
Published: March 19, 2011
I’VE been teaching college freshmen to write the five-paragraph essay and its bully of a cousin, the research paper, for years. But these forms invite font-size manipulation, plagiarism and clichés. We need to set our sights not lower, but shorter.
I don’t expect all my graduates to go on to Twitter-based careers, but learning how to write concisely, to express one key detail succinctly and eloquently, is an incredibly useful skill, and more in tune with most students’ daily chatter, as well as the world’s conversation. The photo caption has never been more vital.
So a few years ago, I started slipping my classes short writing assignments alongside the required papers. Once, I asked them, “Come up with two lines of copy to sell something you’re wearing now on eBay.” The mix of commerce and fashion stirred interest, and despite having 30 students in each class, I could give everyone serious individual attention. For another project, I asked them to describe the essence of the chalkboard in one or two sentences. One student wrote, “A chalkboard is a lot like memory: often jumbled, unorganized and sloppy. Even after it’s erased, there are traces of everything that’s been written on it.”
This was great, but I want to go shorter. Like many who teach, I keep thinking the perfect syllabus is a semester away — with just a few tweaks, and maybe a total pedagogical overhaul. My ideal composition class would include assignments like “Write coherent and original comments for five YouTube videos, quickly telling us why surprised kittens or unconventional wedding dances resonate with millions,” and “Write Amazon reviews, including a bit of summary, insight and analysis, for three canonical works we read this semester (points off for gratuitous modern argot and emoticons).”
The longest assignment could be a cover letter, and even that might be streamlined to a networking e-mail. I’d rather my students master skills like these than proper style for citations.
A lot can be said with a little — the mundane and the extraordinary. Philosophers like Confucius (“Learning without thought is labor lost. Thought without learning is perilous.”) and Nietzsche were kings of the aphorism.
And short isn’t necessarily a shortcut. When you have only a sentence or two, there’s nowhere to hide. I’m not suggesting that colleges eliminate long writing projects from English courses, but maybe we should save them for the second semester. Rewarding concision first will encourage students to be economical and innovative with language. Who knows, we might even start to leave behind text messages and comment threads that our civilization can be proud of.
So a few years ago, I started slipping my classes short writing assignments alongside the required papers. Once, I asked them, “Come up with two lines of copy to sell something you’re wearing now on eBay.” The mix of commerce and fashion stirred interest, and despite having 30 students in each class, I could give everyone serious individual attention. For another project, I asked them to describe the essence of the chalkboard in one or two sentences. One student wrote, “A chalkboard is a lot like memory: often jumbled, unorganized and sloppy. Even after it’s erased, there are traces of everything that’s been written on it.”
This was great, but I want to go shorter. Like many who teach, I keep thinking the perfect syllabus is a semester away — with just a few tweaks, and maybe a total pedagogical overhaul. My ideal composition class would include assignments like “Write coherent and original comments for five YouTube videos, quickly telling us why surprised kittens or unconventional wedding dances resonate with millions,” and “Write Amazon reviews, including a bit of summary, insight and analysis, for three canonical works we read this semester (points off for gratuitous modern argot and emoticons).”
The longest assignment could be a cover letter, and even that might be streamlined to a networking e-mail. I’d rather my students master skills like these than proper style for citations.
A lot can be said with a little — the mundane and the extraordinary. Philosophers like Confucius (“Learning without thought is labor lost. Thought without learning is perilous.”) and Nietzsche were kings of the aphorism.
And short isn’t necessarily a shortcut. When you have only a sentence or two, there’s nowhere to hide. I’m not suggesting that colleges eliminate long writing projects from English courses, but maybe we should save them for the second semester. Rewarding concision first will encourage students to be economical and innovative with language. Who knows, we might even start to leave behind text messages and comment threads that our civilization can be proud of.
Everybody should get to the point of what they are going to say.Each writing should be sweet, short and never long.
ReplyDeleteI believe that teaching students how to write shorter answers for a task is a good idea. This way we can learn how to get to the point fast.
ReplyDeleteGiving short answers saves a lot of wasted time in essays, especially when trying to understand the stance of an article. Just because a piece of writing is long, doesn't mean its better or more understandable than a shorter piece.
ReplyDeleteAs present generations evolve,writing evolves with them by becoming shorter and faster.
ReplyDeleteI think that the way Andy Selsberg is trying to teach witing is good because we can get to the point faster instead of rambling on and on.
ReplyDeleteWhen writing an essay you don’t want to bore everyone with your extra details. An essay should be quick, short, and to the point. If you put in extra details the person or people evaluating your essay might think you wrote so much just to fill in the spaces.
ReplyDeleteWhen someone is writing, sometimes its good to be short and to the point.
ReplyDeleteSometimes it is better to have shorter responses, just as long as it gets to the point.
ReplyDeleteTeaching students to write brief answers to assignments lets them better articulate their thoughts into writing and abolishes useless data.
ReplyDeleteI think that when one writes the main thing is to get to the point but also to be brief.
ReplyDeleteMajority of people favor a short, to-the-point answer, as opposed to an explanation that goes into unnecessary details.
ReplyDeleteShort writing assignments teach a person how to state their main points in just a few lines. This is an extremely useful skill to learn.
ReplyDeleteAndy Selsburg believes that by writing short, it gets straight to the point, and doesn't allow room for errors.
ReplyDeletePeople like simple, sweet statements. One liner jokes are well-respected. Time is the enemy. Too much of it results in unnecessary rambling.
ReplyDeleteWhat Andy is saying is short,sweet, and to the point is what students need to perfect first before writing extensive sentences.
ReplyDeleteIn the article, teaching to the Text Message by Andy Selsberg, he writes, “A lot can be said with a little-the mundane and the extraordinary.” In many cases, most students are required to write time-consuming and complicated essay to make a stand or point. However, a short response could directly compose a point as an essay would have, but without having a lengthy four to five sentence paragraph structure.
ReplyDeleteSometimes it is better to write a two sentence short response to a prompt rather than writing a whole essay because sometimes people want it simple, short and straight to the point. People need to be ready for even these times.
ReplyDeleteStudents have been taught to always elaborate their thesis. However, sometimes it is better to have shorter, to the point thesis statements.
ReplyDeleteWriting short or concise is the key to writing long or prolix.
ReplyDeleteIt is wiser to be brief and laconic than have a unnecessary detailed essay that explains the same idea.
ReplyDeleteIn the article, Andy Selsberg, teaches his students how to write short responses. This way, writers know how to get straight to the point.
ReplyDeleteYour point could get across using short sentences.
ReplyDeleteNo need to write long essays in order to say what you need to say.
Andy Selsberg makes a point that the best writing doesn’t have to come in a extensive paged essay since thoughts are short worded.
ReplyDeleteWhen explaining a topic of discussion, you should make your responses short, sweet, and to the point. Do not go on and explain a novel in detail, just be brief.
ReplyDeleteThere is no need for long drawn out explanations. An opinion that is to the point will suffice.
ReplyDeleteResponding to essays, novels, quotes, and such is to see that you comprehend it. Length should not imply that the response is better.
ReplyDeleteMost people like to write long big essays when its not necessary. Writing short and simple is the way to go.
ReplyDeleteFormulating ideas can be difficult, but expressing precise and original details can be even more of a struggle. Innovative thinking is key.
ReplyDeleteYay Advisory!
I believe students shouldn't have to write a five paragraph essay to make a point, they should give short answers.
ReplyDeleteThis is Tatymn using Jordan's phone.
ReplyDeleteTatymn says, "Putting your thoughts on paper in less words is helpful in writing and saves."
Thank you for your time.
SORRY MRS. MUSE I COULD NOT GET TO YOU SOONER!
ReplyDeleteI believe that people do not have to write a lot in order to be smart and educated. In some occasions, people are genetically intelligent.
When writing always keep it short and simple. When less, it is understood better and also you’re piece of writing wouldn’t lose it’s flavor.
ReplyDelete