In the 1940’s, Academy-award winning actress Katharine Hepburn caused a scandal when she walked through a hotel lobby because she was wearing slacks. Seven decades later, women’s scandal-causing fashions are not news. Hems reach higher, necklines lower, fabrics more sheer than plain air. Women’s acceptable fashions have changed, but what do the fashions reveal? Have women been liberated by their fashion choices, showing off bodies of every size and shape, or are current fashions just a 21st century form of objectification?
The compare/contrast essay is more than just a tennis match of back and forth points of comparison. There has to be a larger purpose to the comparing; in other words, what does the comparison reveal? For Basic Writing, students must simply show a larger purpose for the comparison. For Composition I, students must show a relationship to culture. Setting up the several points of comparison is the easy part. Finding out that “so what” answer is the key to the assignment and not a key that is easily located. What is the student writing about? What point does the student want to make? What has the student noticed while comparing? Asking lots of questions to get students to locate their “so what” is one way to help.
I love the blog images! most of the students I've worked with on compare/contrast essays, have been "black & white" thinkers. The more obvious differences/similarities are discussed while the deeper details are missing. Asking questions can help students think more about the topic and gain new perceptions. Questions about good/bad impact, success/failure, and the 5 Ws (who/what/where/when and why) to hopefully generate conversation and information exchange, have worked for me.
ReplyDelete