Student text

When I read the first few paragraphs of Bannon and Knoblauch's essay, I couldn't help nodding in agreement, remembering some of the texts I've had to read in English class over the years. When they say that "we will tolerate writing from an author which appears to be unusually difficult, even obscure or downright confusing" I thought about Faulkner and some of the other writers I've had trouble reading. Of course, writers like that have their reputations established, so of course I can't really compare them to a first-year comp student. But it's something to think about. What, except practice and some life experience, makes Faulkner's writing any better than Jimmy Doe's?
I like where this essay goes, showing teachers how to help students with their writing. It's so true that we all have our own ideal texts for what we think an assignment or piece of writing should look like. And because 18-year-olds have little or no authority, we can be very quick to dismiss some of the choices they make. I think the methods described strike a good balance between giving both students and teachers authority over the text. Teachers should be a guide to help students write better, and in the end it's up to the students how they are going to say what they want to say. No matter what the assignment is, it's the student who is producing the work. Therefore, it makes a lot of sense to work with what the student is producing, instead of what we think he should be producing. This would also help the student become more confident in his writing, which will make it better.