Using creative writing to enhance close-reading and passage inference skills in

literary analysis

Kellie Palmblad

Research Question- How does imaginative writing practice,

specifically internal monologue, help reveal students’ close-reading skills?

Additional Questions How do these outcomes

compare to analysis

practice in revealing students’

close-reading and inference

skills?

What are students’

preferences between

either creative

writing or analysis

practice?

3 Writing Sessions 1 Analysis

1 Creative Write 1 Choice of either creative

or analysis writing

Two Prompts, Same Targets

Analytical

Creative Writing

TELLDiscuss how Fitzgerald uses Nick’s perspective

of Gatsby in this scene to communicate a message

about Gatsby’s character.

- How is Gatsby’s reaction to Tom

described? -What does this

disappearance imply about Gatsby’s

character? -What could Fitzgerald

have meant by including this moment?

SHOWWhat would Gatsby say if

we could hear his thoughts immediately

after meeting Tom? Where does he go when

he disappears? Include:

- Gatsby’s internal reaction and unseen moments after the

introduction to Tom - Gatsby’s own

explanation of why he disappeared

Creative Writing

Practice

Knowledge of

Author’s Purpose

Details Revealing Close-reading

Originalityof

Arrangement

Analysis Writing

Practice

Use of Literar

y Device

s

Both Practices Show Close Scores

Creative Writing • - 4 moments

showing author’s purpose

• - 3 motifs (time, seasons, and character duality)

• - 2 original personifications

• - 1original simile • - Character voice• - Close-reading

Student Choice Shows Close Scores

Student Surveys 50% of students chose creative

writing

73% Reported creative writing was more helpful to close-reading than

analysis

78% Reported creative writing was an engaging practice

43% Reported Analysis was an engaging practice

Question FindingsHow does

imaginative writing

practice, specifically

internal monologue, help reveal students’

close-reading skills?

Creative writing can reveal

close-reading and inference

skills as well as analysis when

specific learning

targets are identified in instruction.

•Clear and measurable learning targets

• Focused prompts leading writing to targeted outcomes

•Specified task rubric

How?Simple.

Design creative writing prompts to lead to what you

want students to be able to do or know.

It offers students a personal and imaginative

experience in close-reading.

Creative writing practice is simply another tool in differentiation. It offers possibilities to expand into new views on content.

Brief Bibliography by TopicTopics in Prompts• Dobie, A. (2002). Theory into Practice: An Introduction to

Literary Criticism. Boston, MA: Heinle. • Garikov, R. (2010). The Socratic Method: Teaching by Asking

Instead of by Telling [Online Essay] http://www.garlikov.com/Soc_Meth.html.

• King, N. (2007). Developing Imagination, Creativity, and Literacy through Collaborative Storymaking: A Way of Knowing. Harvard Educational Review (Vol. 77 No. 2. 204-227).

• Stern, J. (1991). Making Shapely Fiction. New York: Dell PublishingTopics in Design• Knoeller, C. (2003). Imaginative Response: Teaching Literature

through Creative Writing. English Journal (Pg. 42-48). • Bangert-Drowns, R., Hurley, M., & Wilkinson, B., (2004). The

effects of School-Based Writing-to-Learn Interventions on Academic Achievement: A Meta Analysis. American Educational Research Association, 74(1), 29-58. doi: 10.3102/00346543074001029