why: i provide context for the first major project of the school year

I teach English courses, and apart from the occasional research paper, group project, or final exam, the essay is the largest assignment we have during the year. Here is how I scaffolded the first essay of the fall semester, by:

• Providing a reading
• Attempting to lower students' level of concern by asking for a first impression in writing (e.g., a comment about the text that indicates they at least skimmed it long enough to find something with which they agreed, or disagreed, or something that led to a question)
• Creating a video about the text
• Asking for a paragraph that develops a perspective on the topic
  
• Discussing the text and their comments
• Recording our online conversation and making it available for student review
• Providing a prompt and the basic structure of an essay

Then I decided that wasn't enough. Although many students appear to be thriving this semester, there are also many who have not attended Zoom meetings, or communicated with me, or produced work that I can see online.  

Rather than make assumptions about their capacity or motivation, or focus on accountability and grading, I slowed down and shared what I've learned from students about writing in school. I segued into a talk about Montaigne, the original definition of the essay, and a way to approach our first assignment. Because the emphasis was on making the attempt, I guaranteed students who published their essays on time a minimum grade of A- (everyone rightly observed that they'd never get a better deal).

I told the students that: (a) I have a reason for everything we do, and I'm happy to discuss my reasoning with them at any time; and (b) I won't ever ask them to do anything that I couldn't/wouldn't do myself. In that spirit, I modeled what it looked like to do the work in our course. I sat down, answered the prompt, and wrote an essay for the students to read, comment on, and grade.

Finally, I pointed out that writing activates a different part of our brain than typing, and I acknowledged that writers sometimes prefer putting pen to paper rather than typing. In order to give students the choice, I posted a way for students to scan and publish their handwritten work so that it would show up well on their blogs.