Central Michigan University
CCCC 2001
Creative
Nonfiction in the Freshman Composition Classroom:
Research Meets
the Caption Essay
“it didn’t matter how much immersion in text and language we provided; it didn’t matter how riveting, compelling, exciting, or motivating our demonstrations were; if students didn’t engage with language, no learning could occur”
—Brian Cambourne
“‘organization’ does not have to be an arbitrarily-imposed mechanical structure but can instead consist of more imaginative or creative methods of patterning material”
—H.F. Dowling Jr.
“This paper was fun to write, one of the better ones. Once I was in the mood to write, I couldn’t stop. I liked how we could relate our own personal stories to research we found”
—student journal entry about Draft #3--Collage
A.
Integrates
both personal and academic writing
B.
Motivates/Engages
students in writing
C.
Makes
research writing easier
D.
Research
questions
III.
Methodology
A.
Introduction
of Assignment
B.
Draft
#1—Personal reflection
C.
Draft
#2—Traditional research
D.
Draft
#3—Collage of Drafts #1 and #2
E.
Revision—Choice
of Draft #2 or #3
IV.
Results
and Discussion
A.
Improved
attitudes
B.
Student
reactions
C.
Revision
choices and reasons
D.
Preparedness
of students
V.
Changes
for future
A.
Introduce
research ideas sooner
B.
Use
student samples as models
C.
Change
in assignment sequence
D.
Questions
left to be answered
Assignment Model:Career Research and Reflection
Draft #1:
Personal Reflection Length: 2-3 pages Purpose: Share
memories and reflection about why and how student came to choose his/her
particular career—emphasis on qualities that would make the student
successful within the career. Tone:
Personal/Reflective Draft #2: Career
Research Length: 4-7 pages Purpose: Use
primary (interviews, observations) and secondary (books, periodicals,
Internet, pamphlets, etc.) sources to prove the characteristics necessary
for success within the career. Tone:
Academic/Credible
Draft #4: Choice
of Revision Length: 6-10 pages Purpose: Choose
either Draft #2 (traditional research) or Draft #3 (collage) for the
revision and editing process.
Follow the assessment criteria guidelines for the particular draft
choice (see handout). Tone: Depends on
draft choice Draft #3:
Collage Length: 5-8 pages Purpose: Mix
together the information from Drafts #2 and #3 to create some sort of
picture with the overall implied thesis that the student will be successful
within the career. The piece should
be patterned around some sort of metaphor or connection between ideas or
segments. Tone:
Informed/Reflective