About 6 million words |
What could be more exciting than learning about the causes of the Great Depression? This is a question our best historians and economists are still pondering. It is an important question because today’s economy is edging closer to several of the tipping points that caused the Great Depression.
The original questioner then asked, “So does that mean about 500 words?” There were groans from many classmates. My response was, “If you are doing a good job, you will not be able to stop at 500 words.”
The word count person is one of my students who has learned to believe that meeting a minimum word count should result in an “A” paper. It is the same student that can’t understand how a hundred or so extra words will not automatically result in an “A” paper, especially when a neighboring student got an “A” for a shorter essay. This is one of my students who has difficulty distinguishing quality from quantity. This same student thinks all paragraphs must be five sentences long and that a two page response to a question does not require paragraphs so long as it is answering the question with however many claims are included.
I must admit that I still often provide minimum word counts. I would like to get away from it, but, when I do, students like the one above want me to explain why I believe their 150 words did not fully answer a question like, “What were the causes of the Great Depression?” This is something I really do not have time to debate. It does make me ask, however, why so many students are focused on quantity rather than quality.
Is this a problem for anyone else? Have you found solutions? Have you found ways, like using the word “robust,” to make the quality v quantity differentiation stick?
I think the word count is a guide for them to get a feel for what you are looking for. On a topic like the causes of the great depression — robust would be a Ph.D. Giving a word count envelope lets a student know where you brain is at
Mitch,
I give me seniors word counts in Explorations in Writing, while I don't give word counts to my juniors. For my juniors, I tell them how many sentences (in a paragraph for example) a "robust" literary analysis response for a close-reading passage should be.
However, with a heavy focus on writing and writing often for my seniors, I provide words counts on all assignments in narrative, argumentative, and informational/synthesis writing units. I agree with Elizabeth that it serves as a good guide for students. Do I check word count on minor or major assessments? Rarely. Rather, I figure out in my head how long a piece should be and then translate to word count so students have an idea of how much they need to write to develop a "robust" piece of writing. Is this a perfect system? No. And, yes, I have had students like the one you describe. But, if I know in my mind what it will take to develop a strong piece of writing (yes, word count and length does matter) it helps the students when I do give a word count. I never grade a word count (not on my rubrics) but I can talk to a student when reviewing his or her work and then get into the bigger questions: Did you meet all of the requirements of said writing assessment? Or could you have developed this idea more/this character more/etc.?
So, for Explorations in Writing, I find that word count is a great gage for students. However, I shy away from word counts in my English 3 classes and focus more on number of pages or paragraphs and that seems to work well also.
yes that makes sense to me… and I agree with you, Jeff, I don't think I would include word count in my grading… I think that if something breaks word count protocol wildly, either the grade will reflect that because if it is too short they won't be able to cover everything… if it is widely over count, the feedback would also impact as the feedback would be connected to being more "efficient" in how they something… or it is just fabulous and then my paranoid mind wonders if I am not getting something that is recycled…
I have enough students who "get it," that it makes me hope that others are within reach. i won't be abandoning word counts or paragraph counts or number of references counts anytime soon. I will also not abandon my goal of helping students recognize good work without my help. Quality is my goal and the word "robust" captures students' attention so much better that the word "quality."
Thanks for your replies. I know both of you are right. But wouldn't it be nice…
I have always been a writer that struggles with word counts or page counts. I appreciate them as a guide though. We almost always assign sentence count to assignments in Frosh Wellness in order to emphasize that we want expanded thoughts and details. "Robust" is a lovely word to use for the future for our classes.