This is How It Works ...

I required all of my students to submit three drafts of their work. I spent many hours reading and evaluating those drafts. I provided word-processed responses in between rewrites. I required each writer to hand in all previous drafts with their rewrites, but I did not grade first or second drafts. I only graded each student’s entire project after he or she had finished the third draft. I was able to discern what was learned and the amount of effort expended by examining and comparing first, second, and third drafts.

The writing of responses to my students’ drafts took a great deal of time. (Turn to my “Sample Responses” page to check out a few.) I spent anywhere from twenty minutes, on some of the better essays, to ninety minutes or more on difficult cases. Because I was free to limit topics and provide direct instruction, I was able to move fairly quickly from one student essay to the next. My plan is to spend much more time on work submitted online, since direct instruction is not a convenient option, and topics, styles, and purposes will vary widely.

I have helped writers of all sorts, and of course, I will continue to help with the writing of novels, stories, poems, plays, and even research papers and journalistic work. I will always provide initial consultations free. You can decide whether to pay for my continued services after you have seen whether I can be useful to you.

My emphasis and specialty was and is formal essays. It is my firm belief that all writers, no matter what tone or voice they intend to use, must learn how to write formally first. I would advise any serious writer to learn how to write essays well before anything else. Because essay writing emphasizes expression, economy of words, logic, and content above form, procedures, or dramatic development, it best serves the purpose of instruction in the most critical concerns of writing. Mastery of standard American English is the hardest aspect of writing to learn and teach, and I believe I have found ways to deal with the difficulties. Even while teaching creative writing, I found parts of essay instruction useful.

My colleagues did not always share my enthusiasm for these methods. Some of them used small segments of my program, but none of us was ever forced to teach redrafting and editing. However, I still believe that an instructor’s careful reading of multiple drafts, along with co-authoring demonstrations and personal responses, are the most effective ways to impart knowledge about the use and control of language.

I cannot say that I have trained every one of my students to become a proficient writer, but I will maintain that every one of them who has put honest effort into completing my redrafting program has developed valuable skills of expression and learned to examine his or her own work critically.