The Book of Us by Dr. Patton's 2015 Humanities Class
In The Book of Us Project, every one of us 52 students from Team Run DMC wrote a non fiction piece about something that mattered to us. Whether it was an activity that was part of our identity, an experience that helped shape us into who we are today, or an informative piece on a topic we are passionate about, the compiled pieces literally created a book about us.
The process began with our individual exploration of potential topics that we could write about. To help us in our exploration, we used two documents that helped guide our work. The fist document was our "Real World writing purposes field guide," which outlined the main types on non fiction writing that are used by real world authors (you can see this document below). The other key document that helped manifest our ideas into a piece worthy of reading was the 1 Topic = 18 Topics, where we chose 1 broad topic, and then came up with 18 less broad topics about that 1 broader topic (with the help of our "Real World writing purposes field guide"). The example that we used in our class was with Harry Potter as the broad topic, and then 18 less broad topics like "Why is it frowned upon for adults to also read Harry Potter?", "My Experience with Harry Potter" and "What makes Harry Potter so great."
Then, we had an entire day where the entire class was just dedicated to free writes. We took 5 minutes on each of our less broad topics from our 1 Topic = 18 Topics worksheet, and simply wrote, expanding on the idea that originally made us put that topic onto the list. Once we had written for at least 5 minutes on each topic, we had a clear sense about which topics we would actually be interested in writing about, and which pieces were not feasible for writing a piece about.
Finally, we chose our favorite free write from the 18 short ones that we wrote, and expanded on it. What we wrote in the original 5 minutes was just the outline for the final piece we would be producing. After several critiques and revisions, my final piece was not even remotely similar to my original free write. The two pieces were not even on the same topics, or even the same type of writing purpose (my original was inform and explain, but my final piece was about personal growth).
The process began with our individual exploration of potential topics that we could write about. To help us in our exploration, we used two documents that helped guide our work. The fist document was our "Real World writing purposes field guide," which outlined the main types on non fiction writing that are used by real world authors (you can see this document below). The other key document that helped manifest our ideas into a piece worthy of reading was the 1 Topic = 18 Topics, where we chose 1 broad topic, and then came up with 18 less broad topics about that 1 broader topic (with the help of our "Real World writing purposes field guide"). The example that we used in our class was with Harry Potter as the broad topic, and then 18 less broad topics like "Why is it frowned upon for adults to also read Harry Potter?", "My Experience with Harry Potter" and "What makes Harry Potter so great."
Then, we had an entire day where the entire class was just dedicated to free writes. We took 5 minutes on each of our less broad topics from our 1 Topic = 18 Topics worksheet, and simply wrote, expanding on the idea that originally made us put that topic onto the list. Once we had written for at least 5 minutes on each topic, we had a clear sense about which topics we would actually be interested in writing about, and which pieces were not feasible for writing a piece about.
Finally, we chose our favorite free write from the 18 short ones that we wrote, and expanded on it. What we wrote in the original 5 minutes was just the outline for the final piece we would be producing. After several critiques and revisions, my final piece was not even remotely similar to my original free write. The two pieces were not even on the same topics, or even the same type of writing purpose (my original was inform and explain, but my final piece was about personal growth).
Down Draft
Final Draft
Exhibition!!
1 Topic = 18 Topics
Some of the Free Writes Based on My 1 Topic = 18 Topics Graphic Organizer
Real World Writing Purposes Field Guide
Journey to the Final Draft
As I began to explain earlier, my journey to my final draft was one with many twists and turns. Originally, I had been writing about Los 43, the 43 students in Mexico who were kidnapped and presumably executed by their local government in partnership with one of the country's most powerful drug cartels. This subject is one that is very personal to me and is something that I am incredibly passionate about, and when I was writing it, I felt proud, and dedicated, but something was missing. I read an article that Dr. P recommended to me, and it explained everything I wanted to explain in my piece, but in much more detail. I had chosen that topic because, more than anything, I wanted to raise awareness about Los 43, and to bring some sense of responsibility to the illusion that is the Mexican government. But the article that Dr. P showed me showed me that my piece would be just another in a vast collection of pieces calling for change that would never be read by anyone. To be clear, I still want to raise awareness about Los 43 and try to stay involved, but I concluded that bringing awareness to the issue would require something original, not another informative writing piece to be lost in the pile of thousands of articles that have been written about the corruption of the Mexican government since the start of the millennium.
On top of that, one week into the project I went through an experience that I know I will never forget (which you can read all about in my piece above). The event happened on a Friday of a four day weekend, and Tuesday when I came into class, I knew that writing about the experience would produce a more readable piece. The Book of Us was not the proper place for me to make my opinions known.
The feedback I received on my first drafts was very positive, and during one of the critique sessions, my partner suggested that I change the places of three paragraphs, and after reading them in the arrangement she suggested, I realized her advice had made my piece 5 times better, and greatly improved the flow of the writing. The critiques also helped me shorten the length of my piece, as there were 2 entire paragraphs that were completely unnecessary for the story.
I really liked how this project taught me to find the categories within the broader subject. As in the case of the 1 Topic = 18 Topics, I really liked how it forced me to focus in on a specific aspect of whatever it is I am writing about, instead of just taking the topic head on. That type of organization and brainstorming is definitely something that I plan to use when writing in the future.
As it is, I think I am proud of the final piece I produced. If I could edit it now, I would change some of the repetitiveness that occurs in the middle of the writing, as well as finding better word choices for some of the weaker vocabulary I use in the writing.
On top of that, one week into the project I went through an experience that I know I will never forget (which you can read all about in my piece above). The event happened on a Friday of a four day weekend, and Tuesday when I came into class, I knew that writing about the experience would produce a more readable piece. The Book of Us was not the proper place for me to make my opinions known.
The feedback I received on my first drafts was very positive, and during one of the critique sessions, my partner suggested that I change the places of three paragraphs, and after reading them in the arrangement she suggested, I realized her advice had made my piece 5 times better, and greatly improved the flow of the writing. The critiques also helped me shorten the length of my piece, as there were 2 entire paragraphs that were completely unnecessary for the story.
I really liked how this project taught me to find the categories within the broader subject. As in the case of the 1 Topic = 18 Topics, I really liked how it forced me to focus in on a specific aspect of whatever it is I am writing about, instead of just taking the topic head on. That type of organization and brainstorming is definitely something that I plan to use when writing in the future.
As it is, I think I am proud of the final piece I produced. If I could edit it now, I would change some of the repetitiveness that occurs in the middle of the writing, as well as finding better word choices for some of the weaker vocabulary I use in the writing.