The Workshop

Here is some information about what to expect from the workshop process--and what is expected of you.  We will review this information in class on Wednesday, March 2.

The purpose of workshops is to give you the opportunity to exchange ideas about and comment on each other’s drafts. Regular communication with others and exchange of works in progress is an indispensable element of a writer’s work. As a member of the workshop group, you should approach this assignment thoroughly and seriously. Think of yourself not as a critic, or an editor, but as a reader whose task is to provide the author with help and enable better revision.

Over the course of the semester, you will read and respond to one essay by every student in the class.  For each student essay that you read, you will take several steps in providing feedback:

1.       Access the student paper on the student’s blog and print it. (See the workshop schedule posted under Course Content on our Blackboard page for the names of the student(s) being workshopped on any given day. Usually, you will read two essays for each class.)

2.       Read the paper and make notes on the manuscript as appropriate, recording your questions and comments in the margins. 

3.       On the student’s blog, use the Comment function to compose a brief (multi-paragraph) note addressed to the writer that summarizes your response to the essay.  Your comments should contain praise as well as constructive criticism and are intended to prepare you to discuss the essay in class.

4.       Print the comments you made on the blog and staple them to the top of the printed essay.  After the workshop, you will return the manuscript with your comments to the student.

You will receive a single grade for your online workshop comments, worth 15% of your final grade, at the end of the semester.

When commenting on other students’ drafts, follow these principles:

• Your job is not to judge the draft as if it were a finished piece, but to help it become better. Do not pay too much attention to grammar and mechanics—you are not an editor. Instead, advise the writer on the content.

• Tell the writer what you think the draft is saying. Praise the good aspects of the draft and explain why you like what you like. If a writer knows what he or she has done well, chances are that he or she will try to do more of the same next time.

• Make specific comments on specific parts of the paper. Don’t just say “It’s good” or “You need to revise.” Such comments are not very useful.

• Be kind, but don’t be nice. Telling the author that everything in the paper is great when it is lacking something is doing the author a disservice.

• If you are the author, listen carefully to the impressions that your work is making on readers. If they get a meaning out of it which you did not intend, make the necessary changes. You are not obliged to do everything your readers are asking for, but it is your responsibility to consider their comments with an open mind. Each workshop is intended to be an opportunity for you to learn more about your own writing.

Workshops begin on Friday, March 4!