Judgement Call

Lester Faigley’s article “Judging Writing, Judging Selves” analyzes responses by teachers to student writing, and some of the reasons for them. The fundamental assumption of his article is that instructors respond to their students’ writing based primarily on their personal biases – intentionally or subconsciously. Faigley writes about the historical biases inherent in evaluation, from the elitist assumptions of the college entrance exam in Examining the Examination in English to the preference of modern English language professionals for autobiographical student writing. There is allegedly more “truth” in a piece written by a student about his or her own personal experiences, a “voice” more effectively expressed. Faigley sees those preferences as just another illustration of the personal biases and internalized points of view that evaluators bring to the process, but he does think authentic student voice is important. The question remains how to find it.  Faigley suggests that it lies somewhere at intersection of rational constructs of identity and experiences. Empowerment and the written expression thereof is not something students can be taught, says Faigley, rather it is an analysis of the various cultural definitions of self and how it is created through discourse, and how to use those to advantage in communication.

Muriel Harris, in her article “Evaluation: The Process for Revision,” shifts the evaluative paradigm from the personal biases of the evaluator to a cooperative coaching process that teaches students how to critique their own and their peers’ work on the way to becoming better writers. The writing process shifts from product to process, and from teacher-grader-god to collaborative assistant, as writers learn to analyze and revise their work at every phase – from prewriting to final draft. Harris provides some specific means to accomplish this, describing peer-editing opportunities that take place from the earliest phases of the writing process on out.  She even provides some examples of questions to ask the students in various phases of the writing process to facilitate critiques. The writer, the class, and eventually the instructor work together to discover audience and aptness of the writing techniques on the way to developing writers who are attuned and proactive through all phases of the writing process.