The Super Secret Formula: Still Super If Not So Secret

[barclay_barrios]

When I think back on all of the little class activities I've developed in my time as a teacher I don't think any have spread or persisted as much as the Super Secret Formula.  It's on my mind because one of our former teachers (now in Georgia pursuing her PhD) mentioned using it with success in a recent e-mail.  That same week the waiter at my favorite breakfast place (who also happens to be a freshman at school) also mentioned loving it. So what is the Super Secret Formula?  Well, simply, it's

C_l > I > Q₁ > E > T > Q₂ > C_e

Students start their paragraphs with "Cl," a sentence that states the claim of the paragraph.  Then with "I," they introduce a quotation from the first author, adding a sentenced that explains it ("E").  The next sentence makes a transition ("T") to a quotation from a different author, "Q2."  Finally, students take a sentence or two to explain the connection between the two quotations ("Ce") and how it supports the argument they're making in the paper. The concrete structure of a "formula" provides a good scaffolding for students to build a solid paragraph that works with quotation use but the risk is, of course, that all their paragraphs will becomes (literally) formulaic.  When using this exercise, I start by having groups use the formula to make a sample paragraph.  Then I challenge groups to come up with other formulas for working with quotations. This is my Golden Tool of my Lore Bag---it always seems to work and students love it.  I think of course they love having a concrete pattern and set of instructions to learn how to think connectively and thus to synthesize while working with quotations.  But I always find that taking the writing class out of the writing classroom has some near magic effect.  There's something about a scientific-looking formula that taps into some other region of students' brains and bypasses any anxiety they may have about writing. So, still super if not so secret. (If you'd like to see more ideas for working with quotations, read my older post "5 ways I help students to work with quotations.")