Writing is like driving a stick-shift car. At first, it seems impossible to coordinate all the things you have to do at the same time. Each part of a writing task initially requires conscious thought, making it a challenge to juggle something coherent and complex.
With practice, however, these skills become second nature.
Students struggle with their writing when they try to combine different stages of the writing process. Many mistake drafting for revising or revising for editing, and the results are frustration and subpar results.
To address this, I’ve decided to take a step back and help students build their skills from the ground up.
For the past couple of years, I’ve assigned a synthesis project to my students. The task involves selecting a contested topic, surveying various perspectives, synthesizing the information, and reflecting on what they’ve learned. Despite the fact that students don’t have to provide their own argument on the topic, it can get overwhelming pretty quickly
Just on the research side, students must:
- Read broadly on their controversy and develop a synoptical understanding of the subject matter. They have to find consensus and contention among experts.
- Curate only the most relevant and representative sources from their research for their paper.
- Summarize and quote sources effectively in a way that provides value to their paper’s reader.
After gathering and processing this information, students face the daunting task of synthesizing it all into a coherent report. The reading part is complex enough to stymie an eager student. The writing process can be downright paralyzing for many.
Recognizing this challenge, I’ve decided to introduce a more fundamental approach to building these skills. We’ll start with a simple exercise: summarizing verses from scripture. For example, I might provide them with the verse John 3:16 and ask for a summary: “God sent Jesus to save people on earth out of love. We receive that salvation by trusting in Jesus.”
Then, I’ll ask students to summarize other verses, such as Romans 5:8: “The greatest sign God loves us is that Jesus died for us while we were still guilty.” As they practice, we’ll work on merging these insights, gradually increasing the complexity of the task.
By adding more verses, like Ephesians 2:8-9, we can delve into richer theological discussions while honing essential writing skills. This approach allows students to build confidence in summarizing, synthesizing, and expressing complex ideas in their own words.
The key takeaway is that I can’t expect students to excel at complex writing tasks without first mastering the fundamental skills. Just as a novice driver needs to practice each aspect of operating a manual transmission before tackling busy streets, writers must develop their abilities incrementally.