#5 - How to: Writing Coach

Upon hearing that I would be working with student writers this semester, I experienced a mixture of anticipation for what type of assignments I would receive and reflection in regard to my own writing skills. I felt excited to have this opportunity to dive into real student writing from the demographic that I hope to teach one day, but I also began to consider what insights I could offer to these young writers. I may be older and have more experience in writing compared to them, but I had only ever provided informal feedback to peers and friends. Before undertaking this role, it was important for me to take into account how I could effectively recognize the writing skills belonging to an unfamiliar set of students, while also identifying areas where they needed improvement.

I also wondered about whether my students would want to utilize having a writing coach, but after receiving their initial introduction emails and assignments, I immediately noticed how excited they seemed to be able to share their work and get feedback from a new person and someone other than their teacher. I’ve been able to recognize what some of these students enjoy writing about and am impressed by how extensive their imagination and creativity is and how they use those skills within their writing. I’ve received poignant poems and creative short stories that had me on the edge of my seat, thoroughly engaged in the world that a student writer created in just a few pages.

As solid as their work seemed on the surface, I had to consider my role as a writing coach and questioned how I could critique a student’s writing beyond grammar mistakes, punctuation, and organization. After finding some resources about responding to student writing¸ it became evident that the importance of feedback is not to just tell a student what needs to be changed, but to guide them in the right direction through inquiry that encourages them to think deeper about their writing. Students don’t want to hear everything they did wrong, especially without understanding how it could be improved. As someone who dreads feedback, that is extremely discouraging. There needs to be a good balance between praise for what was done well, critique for what could be better, and guiding questions to hopefully steer the writer in the right direction.

The article by Haddix et. al, "Y’all Always Told Me to Stand Up for What I Believe In,” emphasizes the importance of presuming writing competence for youth writers and that they need the opportunity to grow and express themselves (265). Whether it is teacher, peer, or writing coach, I think it is important to be receptive to a student’s writing to keep them feeling motivated and confident. It can take a lot of prodding to make a writer feel comfortable enough to share their work, and the right approach can make all the difference in a student’s perspective when it comes to their writing.