Write With Uncertainty!

Over the last year, I have been questioning much of what I thought I knew about teaching, especially when it comes to teaching writing. This is truly exciting.  But it is also truly disconcerting. Sixteen years ago, while teaching my first writing assignment, had I been asked to predict what I would be like as a veteran writing instructor, I'm sure a few words would have come to mind: consistent, accomplished, assured.

Now that I have arrived in the future, about all I am assured of is how consistently I find my writing instruction lacking.

So here's one question, "Why must the majority of writing students complete be thesis-driven?"  I'm not even thinking about the 5-paragraph format, which seems hopelessly limiting.  Instead, I am wondering about the more complex, albeit thesis-driven, writing I ask my students to attempt.  Sure, there is a need for this type of writing.  Students should understand how to articulate and support an argument. However, when I do an inventory of my assignments, the majority belong in this category.  What problem do I have with the emphasis on thesis-driven essay?  It does not represent the way people think about and attempt to answer the important questions in their lives. The question could be about happiness, about success, about love, identity, or values. Whatever it is, a vibrant discussion is happening, and what is required of a writer is to first be a reader and listener open to ideas.

When a person wonders about a significant question, particularly one that has ramifications for her as a human being, usually she doesn't settle on an answer and then go about finding evidence to support it. But this is the typical way students are taught to write.  In reality, if a person arrives at an answer, it usually results from trying out many possibilities, playing them off of each other, exploring the tensions, moving forward, and maybe even doubling back to older ideas.

Asking a student to produce a thesis statement at the outset shuts down the process before it gets rolling. Indeed, once a student determines the thesis, the next step is to find support, while possibly disregarding contrary perspectives.  The final step?  Write with absolute certainty. Where is the space for exploration in this routine?  For ambiguity and uncertainty?  Nowhere.  And that concerns me deeply if my goal is to help develop thoughtful, probing thinkers.