Tori Rutigliano

ENGL388V

Final Synthesis Essay

12/11/2020

Having the opportunity to become a UTA has forced me to grow as both a student and a

teacher. Before starting this role, my confidence in my ability to write was high; I had performed

well in my ENGL391 course and have always loved to write. However, loving to write and

teaching a person to write are two completely different beasts. Therefore, while I was excited to

start, I was also very nervous. Was I going to let my professor down? Were my students going to

respect me? I’m happy to say that these nervous thoughts were muted once ENGL388V started.

Being able to discuss concerns with my fellow UTAs taught me to become more confident and I

learned many lessons that I will bring with me as I continue my role next semester.

One of the lessons that stuck with me the most was language diversity in the classroom. I

have only taken one writing course here at Maryland which left most of my writing education to

high school. To be frank, there was little language diversity present in those classes. My

education in these courses revolved around Standard Written English (SWE) and my writing, as

a result, rarely deviated from that practice. I got so used to using the cut and dry rules of

grammar and found myself applying those rules to my students’ papers. However, after reading

Curzan’s piece, Says Who? Teaching and Questioning the Rules of Grammar, my mindset on

said rules and language diversity have changed.

In her journal, Curzan stresses the importance of challenging the rules of SWE and that

students should be encouraged to do this in their courses. The quote that resonated with me is, “I
am saying that it is unfair to encourage our students to critically question everything except the

very conventions in which they are asked to write.” (Curzan 871). Curzan is right, if we do not

push boundaries it could lead us to consistently use the same practices, producing a relatively

mundane way of writing. Encouraging this mindset in the classroom is one of the biggest lessons

I learned this semester. Students need to be supported and encouraged to test these boundaries.

Curzan’s mentality can also be applied to ESL writers who may struggle with the

stereotypical rules of SWE. Personally, I think it is unreasonable to hold ESL writers to the same

standard as a native English speaker. To continuously penalize these students for not following

the rules of SWE does not seem like an effective way to teach them to write. I personally did not

have any experience this semester with an ESL student, however my mindset on how I would

grade changed due to this lesson. Instead of penalizing the student for grammar or spelling

mistakes, I would instead make note of the issues throughout and then monitor the student’s

assignments to see if they are implementing my feedback. By doing this, it allows them to learn

in terms of what was expected for the class while not having to be penalized for English not

being their first language. This change in grading aligns with one of the key lessons taught in our

class, analyzing classroom applications so that the classroom is more inclusive. By discussing

this topic, I am more aware of inclusivity in the classroom which I plan to implement next

semester as a returning UTA.

The other lesson I found to be very helpful was responding to student’s writing. Before

stepping into this role, the only experience I had with responding to writing was peer reviews

and the occasional editing favor for a friend. I was concerned that my feedback would not be

helpful for my students, therefore I found myself making an even greater effort to pick out

everything that I thought was incorrect so that they could write a better paper. While the
intention was there, I realized that this editing process was not as helpful or as sustainable as I

thought it would be. I struggled with finding a good balance up until I read the article, How to

Respond to Student Writing: 10 Ways to Give Feedback that Sticks. In this article, the author

goes over ten different ways to give student feedback that is beneficial for both the student and

the instructor. The tip that resonated with me the most was asking questions instead of using

statements (Kruse 1). Implementing questions into my editing forced the student to reflect on

their writing which is far more beneficial than just having a statement saying, “this is a run-on

sentence, add a comma here”. After using this technique, I found that my students were truly

learning from my editing notes rather than just implementing them to get a better grade. Learning

to respond to student’s writing is crucial for a successful classroom experience. If the instructor

or UTA cannot provide relevant and helpful responses to their students’ writing, the overall

learning environment is compromised.

The last topic I found interesting as a UTA was grading. As a student, I can honestly say

that my motivation for my classes is fueled by the grade I will receive at the end of the semester,

rather than the overall learning experience. I do not believe that this should be how education is

perceived, however I understand how difficult changing the grading system could be. Jesse

Stommel in, Why I Don’t Grade, shares similar sentiments on the topic. He talks about how in

his classroom his students reflect on their own performance for a “grade” rather than him giving

an overall grade at the end of the year (Stommel 1). By doing this, it takes the pressure away

from the students which ultimately creates a stress free and educational experience. While fully

implementing this practice would be hard, I do think that student reflection is important. This

reflection helps them to see how they have improved which is a skill that can be used in other

classes, as well as the professional world.

 The lessons I’ve learned this semester will not only benefit me next semester but will also

help me in my career. While I did learn a lot of lessons on how to create a successful and

inclusive classroom experience, I also learned how to manage my time and communicate

effectively with my professor and students. Both of those skills will be crucial in my professional

development, and I am grateful I could work on them through my role as a UTA. I thoroughly

enjoyed my experience this semester and am looking forward to Spring 2021!

 Works Cited

Curzan, Anne. “Says Who? Teaching and Questioning the Rules of

Grammar.” PMLA/Publications of the Modern Language Association of America, vol. 124,

no. 3, 2009, pp. 870–879., doi:10.1632/pmla.2009.124.3.870. 

Kruse, Melissa. “How to Respond to Student Writing: 10 Ways to Give Feedback That

Sticks.” Reading and Writing Haven, 30 Jan. 2020,

www.readingandwritinghaven.com/responding-to-writing-10-ways-to-give-feedback-thats-

sensitive-to-students-internal-dialogue/. 

Stommel, Jesse. “Why I Don't Grade.” Jesse Stommel, Jesse Stommel, 4 Mar. 2020,

www.jessestommel.com/why-i-dont-grade/.