The Most Generic Blog Title Ever

It was the summer of 1989, I wasn’t even born yet, but I’m going to tell you a sentimental yet mildly funny story about a relative I only met once. Insert an overkill of description on the setting of the scene that is completely irrelevant and

That

Spans

For

Five

Paragraphs.

Finally I include a memory about the recipe you actually came here to see. But wait, there’s more. Two more paragraphs later, with countless speling and grammar error’s I include the recipe.

It wasn’t even that good.

The Generic Format of Student Writing

We all know, and have written, generic texts. Whether it be an email, essay, or blog post, we can smell the phony overused thesaurus words from a mile away. However, we, as educators, have generally come to recognize that phony, BS-ed writing is not as eloquent and life changing as the author may believe.

So many students have a misconstrued idea of what constitutes a well composed essay, and as such we have been forced to read the words: “Since the beginning of time…”, since the beginning of time. Because of this, it is up to English teachers to call out generic writing in order for students to redevelop their writing skills to produce more succinct and refined writing that says more than nothing in 500 words.

McSweeny’s published an article in 2014, drastically calling out fluffy essay writing in students in a comical way. Beside being thoroughly amusing, the author, Jon Wu, clearly defined the weakest parts of student writing in a way that is clearly identifiable for self reflection. This faux essay is an incredible mentor text to present to students before beginning a unit on essays and can have an impact on student writing.

Before the actual writing process begins, set student’s up with their prompt and the expectations that are to come. Spend time encouraging and aiding in their research for the assignment (whether it be a singular fictional text or multiple scholarly sources). Once students are prepared to, but haven’t started, writing, the fun begins.

Begin by having students read the McSweeny’s article and define, in their own words, the flaws of the essay (This can be done individually, in groups, or as a class). Once they have a concept of what NOT to do, let them do exactly that. Have students form small groups and set them loose in competition to create the worst essay ever. Allow them to use the same prompt and research, but explicitly state that the job is to write using every faux pas they can imagine.

By allowing students to intentionally create errors, they will be more aware of themselves doing so later when writing the “real” essay. The McSweeny’s article in an awesome mentor text for students to use as a non example and as a way to recognize and learn from their typical essay “mistakes”.

A Generic College Paper by Jon Wu