Striving For Authenticity in Class C ELA Writing

Abstract

This professional paper addresses the question of how Class C rural English teachers are uniquely positioned to help their students' writing in ways that goes beyond achieving passing grades and scoring well on standardized testing through implementing a workshop model to 8th, 9th, and 10th grade English classes, using the 6 + 1 Traits of Writing rubric to gauge students' writing improvement from their initial attempts in each genre to their final drafts. In order to gauge their personal comfortability and confidence in each genre, and to determine their motives for putting effort into writing, I administered a survey before and after the workshop. Framing all of this was the Process Writing Theory, which focuses on the importance of the writing process rather than the end product of writing. Results indicate that the personal connection students feel to their Class C teacher combined with the workshop revision process led to improved writing and deeper critical thinking.