by Dylan Henderson
Many freshmen—quite understandably—do not know how college essays differ from high-school essays. Citations, in particular, are baffling to many. They need examples, models that they can emulate. Of course, an instructor could provide them with sample essays written by other students, but these may not meet the high standards the instructor wishes to set. Even if they did, students can only learn so much by looking at someone else’s finished work. This flexible activity not only provides them with a model essay but also demonstrates, step by step, how that essay was created.
To begin, select a short poem, one that can be read in, say, less than five minutes. You could also select a painting, a scene from a film, or even a musical recording. If you typically employ one medium, consider choosing another for this exercise: your students will appreciate the change. I chose Emily Dickinson’s “I Heard a Fly Buzz—When I Died.” What matters is that the chosen work 1) can be interpreted in multiple ways, 2) can be read, watched, or heard in a few minutes, and 3) has generated some form of written criticism.
After selecting a text of some kind, select a critical interpretation of that text. You will want something short and accessible. I chose the first three paragraphs of an overview in Mary Ruby’s Poetry for Students (accessed via Gale Literary Sources). If you choose a poem, I recommend searching Gale for the corresponding work of criticism. It offers a plethora of concise critical essays and overviews that students will find revealing—as opposed to intimidating.
Once you’ve selected your primary and secondary sources, write a brief, two-paragraph essay. The first paragraph (the “They Say”) should summarize the argument contained in the critical essay; the second paragraph (the “I Say”) should be your response to that argument. I included a third paragraph to illustrate how to incorporate a “naysayer” into a text. I realize that this step may seem like a lengthy one. It need not be. If you choose a work you are familiar with, the essay should not take long to write.
- When composing this essay, keep in mind that you are creating a simplified version of a college essay, one that highlights certain academic conventions. I chose to focus on citations, for example.
Because I wanted to focus on citations, I spent the first twenty minutes of class introducing the subject. Specifically, I went over the different ways one source can be cited in a paper:
1. The murder rate peaked in the 1990s during the crack epidemic (Greene 107).
2. According to Greene, the murder rate peaked in the 1990s during the crack epidemic (107).
3. Greene contends that crack cocaine was responsible for the rise in murders witnessed in the early 1990s (107).
4. “The scourge of the inner cities, the widespread use of crack cocaine contributed to a skyrocketing murder rate, which began to rise in the late 1980s and reached its zenith in 1994” (Greene 107).
5. Greene claims that crack cocaine, the “scourge of the inner cities,” caused the murder rate to rise during the late 1980s and early 1990s (107).
6. In his book-length study of American crime, Greene claims that crack cocaine, the “scourge of the inner cities,” caused the murder rate to rise during the late 1980s and early 1990s (107).
7. Greene, who specializes in the history of crime, claims that crack cocaine, the “scourge of the inner cities,” caused the murder rate to rise during the late 1980s and early 1990s (107).
8. Greene, who specializes in the history of crime, blames crack cocaine for the rise in crime: “The scourge of the inner cities, the widespread use of crack cocaine contributed to a skyrocketing murder rate, which began to rise in the late 1980s and reached its zenith in 1994” (107).
I projected a list of examples onto the screen and discussed each one. If you invent the sources and the quotations, you can compile a similar list quite quickly.
Once you’ve finished your introduction, have your students read (or watch or hear) the work you have chosen. If you wish, they may discuss it in pairs or groups or as a class. As I recall, we discussed the poem as a class for about five minutes.
Afterwards, have your students read the critical essay (or selections from a critical essay) you have selected. This should, ideally, explain some aspect of the work that students might have overlooked. I asked for a volunteer to read the poem aloud, but to save time, I read the critical essay aloud to the class.
Once the class has read both the original work and the critical interpretation, you may introduce your own essay. I projected mine on a screen and worked through it line by line, pointing out rhetorical choices, academic conventions, personal preferences, etc. As I mentioned above, I focused on issues related to citations, such as how to incorporate quotations into sentences, when to cite an outside source, how frequently one should cite outside sources, how to introduce scholars and authorities, how to add in-text citations, how to summarize sources accurately, and how to compile a Works Cited page. You will find that when you are discussing your own writing you will not run out of topics to discuss.
Keep in mind that the goal is not to wow your students with rhetorical flourishes but to provide them with a straightforward and simple example of a college essay. With that in mind, you do not need to make your essay particularly complex. It probably should not be. What matters most is that the essay incorporates the rhetorical moves that your students need to learn.
Dylan Henderson has degrees from Oklahoma State University (BA), the University of Oklahoma (MLIS), and the University of Tulsa (BA). He is currently working on a master’s degree at the University of Arkansas. His research interests include H. P. Lovecraft, weird fiction, pulp magazines, and the British ghost story.
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