Teaching a Writing Class is not always easy. If you have ever taught a writing class before, or if you have a lot of experience teaching college and writing classes, you know that there are a lot of unexpected things that you will have to get used to doing. For instance, students who have never written anything in their lives will be incredibly excited when they get to your room to start writing. However, you will also have to be prepared for the fact that most of them will quickly go back to their personal life or whatever they are doing to occupy their time. Here are some tips on teaching a writing class.
One thing you should do as a teacher is to introduce a bit of levity into the class. This will take away some of the pressure that the students feel and will allow you to get into the heart of the matter of writing. Try to include some good jokes or funny quotations in your lecture to break up the tension between the writing and the study of it. Another way to get some humor into the class is to use some of the old school “proverbs” that were used to teach the proverbs in the first place.
The easiest way for a writer to get better at his or her writing is to keep writing and practicing. The more you write, the better you will get. As the writer, you need to be disciplined enough to stick with your writing assignments and the writing lessons. For most writers, the best and most effective help they can get in this area of their writing comes from those who have already accomplished it.
It is a good idea to ask your students to read some of your assignments before they start. In fact, most writing classes will encourage this and many students will want to know what you are reading and what you are getting from it. After reading the assignment, you can then answer questions about the writing process and your thoughts about how the writing process works. In the class discussion you can talk about ways you can improve your writing, share your own writing experiences and why you think the writing should be fun. You can also share what you learned from your writing class.
When teaching writing to a class, you can show the student some of your writing work and ask the student to comment. This allows you to get a closer look at what the student has written and how he or she felt about the writing. Sometimes a student has more of an opinion about the writing than you do which can cause you to rethink the direction you are taking the writing. Another great way to get a student to comment is to take the student aside and show him or her one of your writing assignments and ask him or her to tell you why he or she liked it. Once you have heard this response, you know that the student really enjoyed the assignment and it was worth sharing.
Finally, the most successful writers have always been able to enjoy and learn from their writing. Keep in mind that learning is only half of the battle when it comes to writing. You still have to practice and keep writing! It is no use getting frustrated over a seemingly hopeless situation if you never go into the next challenge with the same vigor and confidence as you entered the first one. If you keep on practicing and learning throughout your writing career you will soon find out that your writing has improved dramatically. You will be surprise at yourself as you see your work start to come together and you will have gained valuable insight from your students as well.
My name is Amy and i’ve been a passionate blogger about life, love and travel for many years. I first started blogging in 1997 and it’s been quite a journey since then. I keep my blog up-to-date on a weekly basis and you can also follow me on my Twitter account here: Hello