|
|
Article: A picture's worth a thousand words: using models to demystify secondary social studies writing.
- Article from:
- The Social Studies
- Article date:
- May 1, 1994
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1994 Heldref Publications. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
For many students, writing an essay is a task that ranks just below public speaking on their horror scale. Students can waste hours waiting for the magical moment when the right words will spring onto the page. In fact, in students' minds, the ability to write is more a matter of genetics, like one's height, than a skill to be developed, like bicycle riding.
Too often, instructors contribute to this illusion of writing-as-mystery. We demand creative and concise writing, but, when asked how to achieve it, we reply cryptically that the student should "think more deeply" about the question or get in touch with his or her "muse." When pressed for ways to break writer's ...