From the Germ of an Idea to A Notable Gem: Sparking Creativity in the Writing Classroom
Abstract: The typical first-term composition student often enters class with trepidation and dread for writing. Using creative reading as a bridge, the writing instructor has to find ways to light the creative spark in students. While there may be only a handful of rhetorical strategies known to humans, these can be combined and conjoined in a multitude of creative ways to produce fresh, interesting writing that exhibits thinking “outside the box,” and is non-stereotypical, strained, or shy. This is writing that is willing to take risks, to cross boundaries, to use metaphor daringly, and to exploit the tools of language to fashion essays that are inventive, playful, and that spark the audience’s imagination. Strategies for the different stages of invention, exploration, drafting, and revision are explored, as are the techniques of informal and formal assessment to further nurture the creative process. Other strategies to tap creativity are also discussed. See References in attachment.