Background: I my composition classes we cover three basic modes of writing: narrative, journalism, and academic. Journalism tends to be my favorite as I was once a journalism student, and it instills in students that they must verify what they are writing. I decided to add a sub unit on testimonial literature here because it shifts the journalistic paradigm – these works are journalistic, but also narrative, and sometimes take liberties with facts. We read Rigoberta Menchú and discuss some of the controversy that followed her, and I have students express opinions on if that controversy should matter.
Assignment: In groups of three, students produce their own “testimonies.” Their group mates interview them about their story, collecting enough material to produce a 500 word story each. The goal here is to represent the facts, but also produce a highly readable text. Essentially, students put themselves in the shoes of the “other” to see how well they are able to represent their story.
After writing (and I grade for grammar), students receive both versions of their own story. They grade them for veracity based on the follow simplified rubric:
5: Reflects your experience really well, even if it exaggerates a few details. You would put this in your autobiography without changes.
4: One or two details made you flinch. Not exactly your experience. Could almost go in your bio unchanged.
3: 5-6 details that made you flinch. Has the basis of your experience, but you would make revisions to it before it could go in your bio.
2: Many details that made you flinch. Would need significant revisions before it could go in your bio.
1: What is this, the unauthorized bio of my life as seen on E!? The base event is there, but I don’t recognize much else about it. Lies! It’s all lies!
0: This has nothing to do with me at all.
Through this assignment, I want students to question what they read, and how an event, filtered through two different lenses, can be seen in distinct ways. Although the “facts” of the event may be there, how well does the author gauge emotional impact? Stories can be embellished, of course, but how much is too much?
Outcome: Generally, this has been a successful assignment that builds on both writing and critical thinking skills. Students enjoy that others are writing about *them* – turning their story into literature.
Reflection: I decided to have each student receive two versions of their own story after a group of three misunderstood the assignment and wrote about just one member of the group. The divergence in story outcomes was fascinating, and I wanted to play on that with the whole class.