Lesson Tag: Essay

Workshop Procedures

Our goals in the workshop are to be honest, constructive and open to taking risks so to improve our crafts. This will require time, patience, thought and courage. What you say and how you say it are both important. How you receive constructive criticism is important. The writer who is merely looking for confirmation of craft will find the group workshop portions of this course to be of little benefit.

When responding to peer work, read/view/listen to each piece at least twice. Type brief marginal comments using MS Word Track Changes or if the work is primarily visual, type your feedback in a new MS Word Document. Discuss at least three things that are working in the piece and three things that could be improved. You may address more than three things if you wish. Be specific, detailed. “Your language is really nice” or “This visual element doesn’t work” are too general. Give detailed examples as to why you had the reactions you did. Remember this is a Reader’s/Viewer’s response. You are one reader. There are many aesthetics, styles and reader preferences just as valuable as your own. Our goal as critical readers is to be “authentically curious”—i.e., what do you want to know more about the piece?

FOR INSTANCE

Too general: “The characterization in this piece made me think more on my own characterizations.”

A good detailed reaction: “The writer gave vivid details about the protagonist. Instead of the usual hair and eye color, the writer focused on the protagonist’s hands, the length of the fingers, the lines and a scar. This gave me a more intimate view of the character and made me think the hands would be important later in the narrative, which was exactly the case. I will be more sensitive to finding intimate and active details when describing my characters in the future.”

 

Guidelines