0. CREATIVE WRITING

ALL assignments dealing with written expression need to be "creative" in nature, – not just consist of arbitrarily "writing things down", whether they constitute a writing component practicing one of the five basic skills as part of the lesson plan of a regular class, journal writing, the Written Expression section of a unit test, or a formal composition.

Always encourage your students to practice writing, whether the content of their writing be true or all made-up! This is the chance for them to embellish all they want! Encourage them to be creative. The purpose of any writing activity should always be communication, that is, the student is expected to "communicate" his/her personal thoughts about a given topic.

Learning to write, to be really communicating a message, requires a consciously directed effort and the deliberate choice of language. While in the SPAN 1 Series, and especially in SPAN 1A, it may be enough to be writing, that is, practicing the transcription of the material itself, in SPAN 1B and above, we should be striving more for composing, that is, to include all of the processes that lead to the writing of something: reflection about the topic, gathering information, taking notes, working on a (series of) draft(s), revising, etc.

1. JOURNAL WRITING

Research shows that a dialogue journal is the one form of free writing that is particularly appropriate for beginning students. It provides a means for students and instructors to carry on a written conversation with one another, at the same time that it provides an ideal avenue for continuous feedback. Students may write about topics of interest to them, using the full range of functions, like questions, promises, apologies, complaints, etc., that might be used in a face-to-face conversation. Dialogue journals also provide students with an opportunity to work on and develop fluency without constantly worrying about form or making mistakes.

1.1. SPAN 1 SERIES

In the SPAN 1 Series, it is particularly important to get students used to writing in Spanish early, and, since journals are not graded, they provide the perfect way for the student to practice communicating in written Spanish. Students can be assigned guided topics, contextualized within the current chapter studied, or free journal entries. Instructors should always treat the journal as a vehicle for dialogue, thus responding to questions, asking questions, and giving extensive, appropriate and meaningful feedback. As with all journals, you should not correct their Spanish, unless the student specifically asks you to do so. If, however, you notice some serious mistakes or grammatical errors actually leading to misunderstandings in their journals, you might want to point out some of those inaccuracies in class, always keeping the students’ anonymity in mind.

1.2. SPAN 2NS

Since SPAN 2NS is a course for (near-)native speakers, you can, obviously, expect more coherent and to-the-point journal entries. You can suggest a particular, maybe even more controversial topic and ask them to give their personal opinions about it. Just make sure that you’re not expressing any kind of bias for or against any minority (or, majority) opinion. Again, since journals are not graded, students should feel free to express their thoughts in writing without having to worry about being constantly corrected. Here, too, you may want to make a list of common errors and then point them out in class, instead of having to make the same, or very similar comments in everyone’s Bluebook.

2. IN-CLASS WRITING

Writing is to be practiced daily, at all levels, as part of the five basic skills, and it should always be task-oriented, communicative, contextualized within the topic(s) of the current chapter(s), and personalized whenever meaningful and appropriate. The types of writing, obviously, need to be different and increasingly more elaborate from level to level.

2.1. SPAN 1 SERIES

In a SPAN 1A class, especially at the very beginning of the course, writing may include simple lists of vocabulary words, descriptive adjectives about the student’s family, daily routine, clothes they’re wearing today, things they like or dislike, reactions, preferences, simple dialogues, etc. Additional ideas for a writing activity might be something like a) simple descriptions from visuals, b) sentence builders, c) dictation, d) filling-in of forms, e) Cinquain poetry, etc.

2.2. SPAN 2 SERIES

In a SPAN 2 Series class, the types of in-class writing may include, for example, argumentative writing, the re-writing of a story or reading passage, and writing about current events; it might include personal opinions as well as defending a particular point of view. Additional ideas for a writing activity might be something like a) telegraphic sentences, b) dehydrated, slash sentences, c) partial translation, d) sentence combining, e) paragraph completion based on a visual, etc.

 

2.3. SPAN 3 SERIES

In the SPAN 3 Series, we strive for a more formal focus on composition writing;  that is, specific types of writing are introduced and practiced, like description, narration, report, essay, etc.  The textbook offers a multitude and a variety of exercises that involve creativity, completion, substitution, and matching.  It also takes into consideration the special needs of the heritage speakers.  Spelling and the placement of accent marks are also stressed.

3. WRITTEN EXPRESSION on UNIT TESTS

In an attempt to keep our lower-division language program as communicative as feasible, even when it comes to testing, all the SPAN 1 Series unit tests need to include a section on Written Expression. This Written Expression section should aim to elicit a well-contextualized and personalized response to a given situation and specific questions about it (see underlined items below). It might look something like this:

V. EXPRESIÓN ESCRITA (15 PUNTOS)

Imagine that you are going out on a "dream date". Describe how you are dressed for the occasion. What is your date wearing? What kind of activities have you planned to do on your date? Write AT LEAST 75 words using the vocabulary you have learned in this chapter.

The purpose for stating the situation, the three personal questions, the reference to the vocabulary "learned in this chapter", and the minimum number of words required is not only to provide the students with a possible outline for their writing, but it also to lets the students know what is expected of them, and what will constitute the basis for their grade.

Keep in mind, though, that in this section of the unit test, we are not really that much concerned with grammatical accuracy, but rather with how well our students communicate their ideas and/or feelings in written Spanish. The grade of the Written Expression section of a unit test, thus, should be based mainly on communication and not on grammar, –provided, of course, that the paragraph is not that poorly written so as to not allow any communication of the intended message.

In the SPAN 1 Series, the number of words is to be approximately 75. The task should be appropriate for the level, and the instructions should point to what they have learned so far with respect to topic, vocabulary, and grammar.

3.1. EVALUATION and GRADING

In the Written Expression section we are more concerned with communication than with grammatical accuracy.  Therefore, grading of this section should also reflect this idea, that is, do not evaluate this section on grammar alone, unless it is so lacking that communication is not really taking place.

What we can evaluate here objectively is how well the student communicates ideas based on the instructions given. First, did the student write the number of words required? More? Less? Then, there are the specific situational questions. Did the student respond appropriately to ALL of them, as asked? Did the student make use of the vocabulary they "have learned in this chapter"?, etc.

In other words, evaluating the Written Expression section of a unit test should be somewhat more holistic than analytical, –given the stated conditions. It is strongly suggested that you use the proposed rubric here, especially when it comes to assigning the actual grade.

4. FORMAL COMPOSITIONS (SPAN 2 & 3 Series)

Formal compositions should reflect planning and organizing, re-scanning and revising. They should have a stated thesis, an obvious internal structure, as well as organized arguments. A well-written composition should be relatively free of grammatical mistakes hindering flow.

4.1. IN-CLASS COMPOSITION (ICC)

There are several good reasons for requiring an ICC as part of the evaluation process in the SPAN 2 and 3 Series, not the least of which being that it affords you, the instructor, a glimpse of what the students are capable of producing on their very own, –the only in-class "help" allowed being a dictionary and a reference grammar.

4.1.1 Procedure

Students are given a choice of three topics; they are not given to the students until the actual day scheduled for that composition in the day-by-day program. Students are allowed the full class period to write, revise, and finish their composition. It should be written in a Bluebook and have a final length of 250-350 words, depending on level. The use of a dictionary and a reference grammar are always encouraged.

4.1.2. Grading

Since this is a "one-shot" assignment in what eventually may develop into a series of three drafts (the ICC, and two AHC drafts, depending on level), without the advantage of the careful deliberation future drafts will provide, you will need to grade the ICC somewhat holistically, considering all four evaluation criteria at once: Content (25%), internal Organization (25%), Flow (25%), and Grammar (25%), assigning individual percentages to each of the criteria in the Bluebook.  For example:

4.2.2. Grading

The grading of an AHC follows, in principle, the same criteria as outlined above under grading an ICC. However, in the case of the at-home versions, you’re dealing with two individual grading periods, that of the First Version and that of the Second Version.

Both AHC versions will be graded on all four components as outlined in the "grade box", with each component being worth 25%. On the First Version, you will also need to comment extensively on each one of the criteria, pointing out to the student how s/he might improve on them. Comments need to be constructive and guide the student to knowing what improvements you are looking for in the Second Version.

On the Second Version, then, you will again consider all four components as outlined above in the "grade box", with each component, again, being worth 25%. You then average the total grades for the two versions and note the final grade for that composition in your GradeBook under the corresponding AHC column.

4.2.3. Cheating and plagiarism

Any type of written expression must be the student’s own work! As concerns cheating or outright plagiarism, remember that you should have a pretty good idea of what the student, in principle, is capable of producing from the copy you made of the student’s ICC. Always, briefly compare the ICC with the First Version of the AHC, and then compare the student’s First Version with the Second Version of the composition. While we don’t condemn, but rather encourage getting help from an outside source, –there are limits! Getting outside help can be very beneficial for the student, provided the student really learns from the experience. This is a very subjective and somewhat grey area. If, on the other hand, however, you suspect that the student must have gotten help from an outside source, or even committed plagiarism, the first step would be to talk to the student.  Ask the student to orally "recount" the composition to you.  Or, you might ask questions like:  "Did you get outside help on this composition?", "Did you learn from it?", "What?", or, in the case of suspected plagiarism, "Did you consult outside sources?", "The internet?", "Why aren’t these sources appropriately cited?", etc.

Immediately after your conversation with the student, you will need to send an e-mail to the Language Curriculum Director (the official instructor-on-record), outlining all of the facts, as well as the student’s responses. In personal consultation with the Language Curriculum Director, you will then propose what action to pursue, based on the possibilities outlined in the UCI Policy on Academic Honesty available at: http://www.editor.uci.edu/catalogue/appx/appx.2.htm. The Language Curriculum Director will then initiate the agreed-upon corresponding action. Remember to document each and every action related to the case, and make copies of all relevant materials and give them to the Language Curriculum Director who will keep them in a file specifically created for that purpose.