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Julia Guichard
Short Writing Assignment for Students
2003 Workshop on Improving Student Writing
Center for Writing Excellence
Center for the Enhancement of Learning and Teaching
Dialogue Journal Assignment: Part 1 (take-home assignment)
THE 101 – Fences by August Wilson
Focus and Connection to Course Goals:
This exercise requires you to think specifically and deeply about how your cultural and individual assumptions effect the way you judge the actions of a fictional character. It addresses specifically the following course goals from the syllabus.
- To understand and interpret selected works of literature
- To analyze the themes, structures, characters, settings and language of selected dramatic texts
- To develop close reading skills
Learning Objective
The objective of this assignment is to understand your own values and beliefs about “family” and understand how those assumptions about what constitutes a “good” father affect your response to Troy Maxson in Fences.
Process
- Read Fences carefully
- Make a list of 10 things that Troy does in the play (actions) that illustrate his relationship with his sons (be specific and note page numbers)
- Use these actions to generate a list of 10 adjectives that describe Troy Maxson as a father
- Make a second list of 10 adjectives that describe a your idea of a “good” father
- Write a short one-page statement defending or condemning Troy’s parenting. Compare the two lists and provide examples from each to support your position.
You are writing to persuade a classmate to agree with your position. Your writing does not need to be polished, but should clearly articulate your ideas to engage your classmate in the argument. Please type your response.
Things to ask yourself as you review your work:
- Are the examples of actions appropriately chosen to illustrate the father/son relationships in the play?
- Are the lists of adjectives thoughtful and complete?
- Do you clearly compare the two lists, using examples from both to support your statement?
- Will your writing clearly communicate your ideas and engage your reader?
Your work will be factored into the “Class Assignments” portion of your grade.
Dialogue Journal Assignment: Part 2 (in-class assignment)
THE 101 – Fences by August Wilson
Hand your assignment to the person on your right.
- Identify one idea in your colleague’s writing that causes you to see Troy Maxson in a “new light.” In a paragraph, describe how what you read gave you a new perspective. For example, did you change your mind entirely, modify your position, consider a new explanation for Troy’s actions, discover something you missed entirely?
Follow-up Discussion: Questions for me to address in class following the writing assignment
- What kinds of differences/similarities did you find in the “good” father list
- Do we judge what a character’s actions mean in terms of what they would mean to us? Can a single action lead to various adjectives? (i.e. does Troy forbidding his son to play football mean he doesn’t want his son to succeed or that Troy is trying to protect his son from disappointment and humiliation)
- Can we label Troy as “good” or “bad”; is it that simple? Does the judgment prevent understanding?
- How can we understand character actions in terms of cultural context and values
- What role do our assumptions play in our judgment of plays
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