Report on a Successful Writing Assignment (If I Do Say So Myself)

I beat ChatGPT this time and you can too

This edition of the newsletter is about teaching and writing and AI, but poke around and you’ll see that I write about a few other topics as well. Please consider subscribing (this isn’t one of those paid subscription Substacks).

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I have very little to add to the discourse about Artificial Intelligence and its impact on writing. It's clear to me that certain writing situations are ripe to be colonized by the algorithmic stringing together of words by computer programs. Many forms of business and technical communication are tailor-made for computers to just go ahead and do the kinds of writing that asks writers to dehumanize themselves. A few examples are HR Policy-language and genres that encourage people to use terms like "operationalize" instead of some form of "do." Let the bots have all that. These forms of writing are already mechanized and are barely recognizable as human anymore anyway.

Anyhow.

As a teacher, I'm mostly concerned with keeping the practice of writing as a way of thinking and as a means of expressing the ideas and experiences of natural human beings.

So it does irritate me that more and more people see algorithmic shortcuts as anything but a lazy way to avoid living a richer, more profound human life. Taking the quick and easy way through life is not really living. It's just fast-forwarding to the end. This is why a person should be careful about using AI writing programs too often. I'm not concerned that students who reflexively grab at the shortcuts are cheating ME. I'm concerned that they are cheating THEMSELVES.

That covers my essential thoughts about AI and college writing. Now on to the main event.

Writing About Horror Movies

This past semester, I experimented a lot with how I incorporated writing in the classroom. I won't bore you with all the activities and assignments I played around with; I just want to share one that worked really well. At the end of this piece, I've provided the assignment prompt if anyone wants to steal, adapt, or ridicule it.

For whatever reason, good or bad, rightly or wrongly, I still feel like I must assign some form of the classic Research Paper in my upper-level English classes.

At my institution, the Gen Ed requires all four-year degree students to take at least one upper-level English class, so I'm not working strictly with English, or even Humanities, students. This past semester, I taught my Horror Film class (an every-other year treat for me). The Research Paper has grown increasingly tricky over the years as more and more students struggle with the genre (which is slippery and archaic, if we’re being honest). I find three essential problems when assigning it:

First, fewer and fewer students find their way out of the Five Paragraph Essay approach that high school has pounded into their brains and has that stifles development as a writer and thinker. This is a topic that Joh Warner writes about frequently and with great clarity. This essay is a good introduction to his insights into the issues at hand.

Second, some students have so fuller internalized the academic writing conventions from the the disciplines of their majors that writing a single English paper late in their academic career seems not only weird, but somehow wrong. "You mean I can use first person?" "Am I allowed to state my opinion in this paper?" These types of students are usually serious enough about their educations that I can help them bridge the gap to writing for an unfamiliar audience.

Finally, there are the report-writers. Students who successfully identify an interesting topic in a film or book but can't quite figure out how to write analytically about how the art-object itself deals with the subject. Here's an example of what I mean: "Abortion is a major subtext of David Cronenberg's The Fly. Now here is a paper about some aspect(s) of the abortion issue." These papers use the books and movies as jumping off points to discuss some other topic. What I'm looking for is an exploration of the texts. Dive in, don't jump off.

My Experiment

So this semester, with the above experiences in mind, along with the threat of ChatGPT, I decided to deconstruct my research paper assignment. I began by asking myself what I was really looking for in these assignments; not the final product, per se, but what processess, activites, and rhetorical moves am I looking for?

Here is a basic list:

1). An active, inquisitive approach to the text.

2). Evidence that the writer has a basic understanding of broader conversations beyond their own opinions or thoughts.

3). Given that it's an English class, I want to see the ability to read a text closely, with attention paid to drawing inferences from precise details.

4). I want them to do research appropriate to the subject and discipline.

5). I want them to integrate their own ideas with those of other writers. They should build on the ideas of others AND challenge opposing views.

6). Write with an academic audience (from the Humanities) in mind, factoring that ideal reader into the rhetorical choices and polish of the final product (this is also kind of a last concern of mind -- I can handle messy writing if the thought behind it is there. This is why I hate ChatGPT papers).

These are the essential activities and outcomes I'm looking for when I assign a research paper. So I thought "who cares if it all happens at once, in a final paper that I grade at the end of the semester?" My experiment was as follows:

I broke the Final Research Paper up into 8 steps (again, I provided the prompt at the bottom of this piece). The process began quite early in the semester and almost every week, a new stage was due. At the beginning of the semester, the stages focused on brainstorming and exploration, where I encouraged students to identify and think about their own interests.

These steps were closely followed by steps in which the students write with increasing detail about their readings of their chosen films.

Then, the stages began incorporating research. Students were required to apply sources from our own course readings to their specific projects, and to find sources through more traditional methods of scouring library databases.

Finally, the stages of the latter half of the semester were focused on drafting and revising more formal pieces of writing -- an assembling of material for the final paper. The final draft of the paper (the traditional Research Paper) was only worth about 10% of the grade for the project -- I wanted to emphasize process over product and incentivize the grade accordingly.

And of course, I was able to provide feedback along the way for each stage, making suggestions and helping students avoid potential trouble (like the desire to write a report rather than an analysis).

The end result (I know this is what you've been waiting for) was stellar. This class provided the most solid batch of research papers I've ever received from a group as a whole. They were able to avoid the pitfalls listed above, and there was (almost) no discernible use of ChatGPT (probably because they did not wait until the end of the semester to write the paper in one last-minute go).

And I also don't want to understate how much time and effort this saved me at the end of the semester. When it came time to read final drafts, it was more of a review of material I'd been following for ten weeks.

I will most definitely employ this project sequence again next semester, tweaking a few minor things. And I'd love any suggestions you might have as well. Feel free to share this widely if you think it will benefit other teachers (or if you think it is terrible and a violation of sound pedagogical theory).

Here is the full assignment prompt, as given to the students:

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EN 381L: The Classic Horror Film

Research Paper

The final project for the class is a 10-12 page research paper. For this paper, students will choose a horror film and apply the knowledge they have acquired this semester by writing an academic research paper about it.

Each student will arrive at a clearly stated argument about their film and support it by applying both the theoretical approaches we have learned this semester and the techniques of formal film analysis we have practiced. 

My best advice is to choose a film that you find compelling as well as challenging. Sometimes finding a movie entertaining is not sufficient for this assignment. Your best thesis will come from the identification of a problem you find in the film. That problem will require both your close attention as well as the discovery and application of outside research. 

I want to emphasize the process of writing with this assignment. Therefore, the project is divided into several stages, each of which being worth a percentage of total points available. I will provide a combination of written and oral feedback for each stage of this process. Missing any deadlines for these stages will result in ZERO points awarded for the missed stage:

1. A 2 page journal entry that introduces the reader to three films the student finds intriguing, explaining why for each. (Due Week 5). 10 points.

2. A 2-3 page formal proposal in which you explain: 1) what film you’ll write about, 2) what specific aspect of the film draws you to it, and 3) what argument you want to organize your final paper around. (Due Week 7). 10 points.

3. A 1-2 page journal entry that focuses on a particular reading from our textbooks that you will apply to your research paper. What concept is useful to you? What specific quotations will you engage with? (Due Week 9). 10 points.

4. A paragraph that performs a close reading of a specific scene from your film. The paragraph must, 1) focus on formal filmmaking techniques or artistic choices and 2) connect those choices to the argument you want to make in the paper. (Due Week 10). 10 points.

5. A bibliography of 3 library sources, 3 essays from our Monster Theory book, and 3 other sources of the student’s choosing. Each source will be annotated with a brief paragraph that 1) explains the main argument and 2) explains the relevance of the essay for your paper. (Due Week 11). 20 points.

6. Two paragraphs. Each will combine a close reading of yours (of two different scenes) with at least one source from your bibliography. Make a claim and back it up with your analysis and your engagement with one of your sources. (Due Week 12). 20 points.

7. An introduction for your paper. The introduction should 1) be engaging, 2 provide context for your argument (what’s the debate/controversy?) and 3) have a clear, specific, argumentative thesis statement. (Due Week 13). 10 points.

8. A final, polished academic research paper with formal tone, style, and diction. (Due Week 15). 10 points.

Successful papers will:

1. Be 10-12 pages long, following the guidelines set forth in the Checklist for Essay Writers.

2. Have a clear, provocative, and guiding thesis statement.

3. Appropriately apply the techniques and terminologies of formal film analysis we have studied and practiced. 

4. Situate the film in the theoretical conversation we studied this semester.

5. Usefully incorporate academic research in support of the argument.

6. Demonstrate style, tone, and organization appropriate to academic conventions.