THE CEA FORUM - Winter/Spring 2013 - Beyond the Narrative Mode in the Composition Classroom

Oct 15, 2026

Upload by pop out

Winter/Spring 2013 issue of THE CEA FORUM presents Hayley Mitchell Haugen’s argument for moving beyond narrative-mode composition toward a personal essay approach. The author reflects on becoming a teacher who favors thesis-driven, conventions-focused assignments that may feel satisfying to students while limiting genuine discovery and joy. Drawing on scholars such as Knoblauch and Brannon, and on ancient rhetoric, Haugen invokes Montaigne and frameworks of wondering, vulnerability, and creative ambiguity to reshape classroom writing practices.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryLiterature

FormatPDF

Pages22

Reading Time34 min

AccessFree to download

Beyond the Narrative Mode in the Composition Classroom

Embracing a Return to the Personal Essay

Narrative vs. Personal Essay Approaches

Ancient Rhetoric and the Art of Wondering

Creativity, Ambiguity, and Classroom Space

THE CEA FORUM Winter/Spring 2013 Beyond the Narrative Mode in the Composition Classroom: Embracing a Return to the Personal Essay Hayley Mitchell Haugen Ohio University Southern Campus There is no idea so frivolous or odd which does not appear to me to be fittingly produced by the mind of man. --Montaigne As spring finally takes a tentative hold of the newly green landscape of northeastern Kentucky, Iam sitting comfortably in my living room, grading one last batch of student essays before the semester ends. The deer emerge confidently from the hillside for their usual evening snack of whatever it is they find to eat on my front lawn, and I watch them quietly as I reflect on the term now behind me. I am happy in the reminiscence that I organized my Freshman Composition course so thoroughly that I was able to keep my students on track throughout the term. My course evaluations will reflect that my course was a success, as students invariably agree that I am well organized, that I offer specific writing assignments, and that I am “easy to relate to” and always “there” for them when they need me. What they do not know, however, is that I have cheated them. Like the deer that tread confidently into my front yard because they know it is safe there, I have once again stepped lightly into the classroom, treating it as a safe space with my standard stock of tried and true thesis-driven essay assignments. Among other tasks, these assignments teach inductive and deductive reasoning, definition claims, and how to construct airtight, fallacy-free arguments with healthy doses of logos, ethos, THE CEA FORUM Winter/Spring 2013 and pathos on the side. I have convinced myself they are the kinds of assignments that will ensure my students’ success in future classes outside of the English department, but in my heart, that space where my poet-self still resides, I know these assignments do not encourage my students to be writers in any real sense. My students may leave my classroom feeling as though they have gotten their money’s worth, but I know they are shortchanged in the fact that I have not truly allowed them to discover any real joy in writing. The truth is, incrementally, almost imperceptibly, I have become one of those teachers who C. H. Knoblauch and Lil Brannon say seem to believe that “what students say matters less than how they say it, that learning to manipulate strategies and genres is more important than thinking well in language or discovering personal stances and values”(47) . While I know there is a better way, I have begun to place “emphasis on conventions instead of meaning,” implying that the “conventions matter more than anything else, that manipulating audiences through technical virtuosity is the ultimate purpose of learning to write”(47) . Knoblauch and Brannon might suggest I pry loose the grip that ancient rhetorical tradition has on my modern classroom, but I’m not convinced I can so easily abandon the ancient rhetoricians. Learning to embrace the different, more creative, and less frequently acknowledged elements of this tradition may be the way for me to go instead. The ancient art of rhetoric recognizes and celebrates the ambiguity of language; rhetoric speculates about the world and invites others to make their own speculations. The essays we assign our students to write, such asthe narrative essay, however, discourage ambiguity and speculation. They force students to write about what they already know about their lives or the world around them. Composition instructors should turn, instead, to the personal essay via the father of the form, Michel de THE CEA FORUM Winter/Spring 2013 Montaigne. Montaigne’s example encourages students to explore their lives and only attempt to make sense of them. Unlike the stiff narrative essay encouraged by modes-based readers, the personal essay is invigorated by creativity, spontaneity, and personal discovery. If we yearn for our students to expe

FAQs

Which influences support the call for a return to personal writing and wondering?

The essay draws on Michel de Montaigne and references ancient rhetorical tradition, emphasizing Aristotle’s “art of wondering” and Plato’s ideas as encouragement for vulnerability, contradictions, and unresolved exploration. It also cites William A. Covino on rhetoric’s historical denial and later “return” to ambiguity.

Oct 15, 2026

Upload by pop out