Honestly, I'm still not quite sure what to make of these readings. Two of the same essay, only viewed differently. Clearly the essay itself is fabricated, a caricature of itself. The real critique, then, seems to be on how the essay is graded.
I'm having trouble taking this seriously, mainly because I'm still trying to get past how fabricated the essay is. Somehow, the A-graded comments are almost too gushy. They exaggerate how well the formula was followed, and completly ignore content. The more critical comments on the other version of the essay much better reflect what is actually happening in this "essay."
I thought it was interesting that the title of the "essay" was "how schools suppress creativity in students." I was trying to figure out if maybe the two ways the essay was graded are there to demonstrate the suppression of creativity. Following a formula of writing doesn't always allow room for creativity, if the writer isn't confident in her abilities to begin with. The "essay" doesn't really say much at all, and what is said is repeated over and over again. And yet, it follows the formula. The grammar and punctuation are good. So, one "teacher" gives it an A and actually compares this writer to John Grisham and Danielle Steele (I cringed when I saw those names dropped in this context). The other "teacher," I think, gave the "essay" a much more realistic reading.
But, that might just be because I'm looking at content, and so maybe that's what my standards are. So, I'm still not sure what I was supposed to learn from reading these texts, but I can certainly say I was made aware of what I value in an essay.
No comments:
Post a Comment