“Combining the narrative mode with a purposeful assignment and incorporating some AI might be an answer to writers who lack confidence, instructors who are suspicious of the value of narrative writing, and educators who distrust the use of AI for writing essays.”
Professor Elizabeth Cobb
If we want our teaching to take hold, to matter to our students, we all know our lessons must point to the real world. To accomplish this from the starting line, I have relied on beginning each semester with narrative writing. Over the years, I have listened to colleagues’ criticisms of this mode of writing. Many of them argue that it is not academic enough. With the advent of AI usage in our composition classes, though, I have observed this attitude come full circle.
Whenever a big change in education occurs, we find ourselves reassessing our objectives, our goals, and our assignments, and this is why I think more writing teachers are willing to take a second look at narrative writing as a bona fide and worthwhile endeavor. Indeed, partly to discourage the heavy AI copy-and-paste strategy of many reluctant writers, I decided to reimagine my narrative essay assignment in my developmental reading and writing course. But I also wanted my students’ stories to contain a real-world application, so I put a new spin on their first essay which spawned my “narrative business letter” assignment.
The prompt for the assignment is:
“You will be writing about yourself but for the specific purpose of introducing yourself and ‘selling yourself’ for admission into an academic program OR for applying for a specific job. Essay writing can take different forms, but that isn’t always obvious to students. I wanted you to have a real-world experience with writing on this essay with a specific audience in mind and a specific purpose for telling your story.”
I jumpstart the assignment with some pre-writing activities as taught in Hawkes’ Foundations of English, Chapter 7.3 “Choosing Topic and Scope for a Longer Text.”
I jumpstart the assignment with some pre-writing activities as taught in Hawkes’ Foundations of English, Chapter 7.3 “Choosing Topic and Scope for a Longer Text. In particular, students can use “free-writing,” writing non-stop on their essay ideas for a set length of time (I suggest five minutes) to generate initial thoughts. Then, they can use “grouping” as taught in the chapter to begin organizing what they wrote. This strategy could even take a graphic form such as a mind map or cluster wherein the writer groups ideas from their free-write into categories for their narrative business letter. Their groups might consist of “personal anecdote,” “experience,” “practical skills,” and “soft skills.”
After the idea-generation phase, students can begin to form a working “purpose statement” as taught in Chapter 7.4: “Writing a Thesis or Purpose Statement.” For the narrative business letter piece, they will need to express what they are applying for and how they are qualified for the endeavor. Completing this step will allow students to move on to organize their main ideas into an outline form which is covered in Chapter 7.5, “Organizing and Outlining a Longer Paper.” The “Working Outlines” section of this chapter does a particularly good job of explaining how the pre-writing activities of free-writing, grouping, and thesis development can naturally lead to outlining their essay.
On my assignment sheet I offer guidance on what should be included in each paragraph as can be seen below:
Introductory Paragraph
“In a friendly, professional manner, introduce briefly who you are and why you are writing. Try to do this in a creative, attention-getting way.”
What a student wrote: “Understanding. Time consuming. Perspective changing. Motivating. Leadership. Relationship building. Change. Flexibility … I know that if I were accepted into the Elementary Education program at FGC, I would be an example of what patience looks like and how to use it in everyday classrooms. With multiple experiences, I feel I am qualified to be a part of this program not just to learn more, but to be an example.”
Body Paragraph #1
“Lead into a condensed biography of yourself to give your reader an idea of who you are and a bit about your background. Choose your details wisely to fit the purpose of your letter.”
What a student wrote: I grew up in Iloilo, a small city in the Philippines, and I was surrounded by people with gentle hands, people who love and care for each other all the time. As a child, I was a dreamer… when I was in third grade, my teacher asked us what we wanted to be when we grew up. I confidently raised my right hand and answered, ‘I want to be a nurse when I grow up.’ I heard, “ohhhs” from my classmates and it made me feel like a celebrity, which then inspired me further to pursue that dream.” The student goes on to trace the development of her interest in the nursing field.
Body Paragraph #2
“Transition from your more general biography to sharing one anecdote [brief story] of something important that happened in your life that would somehow be related to your chosen academic program or job. If, for example, you plan to apply to the EMT program at FGC, you might choose to share the time you witnessed your neighbor’s fire and assisted the EMS team in ensuring all the people got out of their house. Obviously, this experience could influence a person’s decision to become a firefighter or a paramedic.”
What a student wrote: “Interestingly, I noticed that I have a unique bond with children as I can make them stop crying, or I can make them laugh easily. One time, my one-year-old cousin was throwing tantrums and wouldn’t stop crying. It was around ten minutes of non-stop wailing to the point that she was turning blue. I saw how her mother panicked…” [The writer finished the story and explained how she has developed some nursing skills naturally.]
Body Paragraph #3
“From the story you shared in the previous paragraph, segue into an explanation of the knowledge and skills you can bring to the program or job in which you are interested.”
What a student wrote: “Although I am only in the beginning of my teaching career and still have so much to learn, I believe I would be a great attribute to the Elementary Education program at FGC.”
[the student goes on to discuss several soft skills she has developed.]
Conclusion
“Without sounding too repetitious, wrap up your letter by reminding your readers of what it is about you that sets you apart, and that will show them what you can and desire to contribute to their program/organization. You can refer to something in your bio or your anecdote as well. This is your last chance to make your mark.”
What a student wrote: “Being dedicated, hardworking, flexible, willing, and patient will only help me succeed in the Elementary Education program and future. I will always have a desire to learn more and improve myself in any way possible. I hope you have felt my passion and love for teaching and will accept me to be a part of this program.”
To support my teaching of this specific organization pattern, I find that Chapter 7.8 “Using Paragraphs Effectively” closely matches the composition skills I am trying to foster in my students: hooking the readers’ interest in the introduction followed by a clearly articulated thesis; using anecdotes, descriptions, examples, and reflections in the body paragraphs; and sharing the writer’s overall takeaway on the subject in the conclusion with a call for the reader [the employer or college administrator] to take action in considering their application.
A couple of other important aspects of the project’s process are the peer review element and the review of a business letter format. Students submit their rough drafts to a peer review assignment in Canvas. This feature in Canvas allows me to set up anonymous peer reviews, which are assigned by Canvas. This gives them a chance to see how another student handled the assignment, and when they provide feedback, I think the assignment encourages critical thinking about the task at hand. Additionally, I provide a simple lesson on how to set up a business letter, and there are plenty of resources available from a quick Google search as well.
Making assignments meaningful is a step in the right direction in demonstrating to students that writing can be useful and purposeful. An assignment such as this could provide them with a positive experience and help them gain confidence in writing, which might discourage copying and pasting from AI. However, there are places in the process where I could introduce responsible use of AI technologies, such as the idea generation phase, perhaps in researching what kinds of soft skills a person can possess or soliciting some ideas on what employers look for in an application letter. It would also be helpful to look up letter formats using AI. I will move toward integrating some of these strategies in the future. Combining the narrative mode with a purposeful assignment and incorporating some AI might be an answer to writers who lack confidence, instructors who are suspicious of the value of narrative writing, and educators who distrust the use of AI for writing essays.
References:
Foundations of English. Hawkes Learning, 2023.
To learn more about Hawkes’ Foundations of English textbook and request a preview, please click here.
Meet the Writer
Professor Cobb holds a master’s degree in English and boasts an impressive 25-year career in teaching across various educational settings, including high schools, universities, and community colleges. Currently, she dedicates her expertise to a small, rural community college in Northeast Florida, where she has been an integral part of the academic community for 15 years.
In her current role, Professor Cobb passionately teaches developmental reading and writing, freshman composition, and a survey course in literature. The diversity of her student population in this beautiful, wooded part of the country brings her immense joy and fulfillment.
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