We’re all in the middle of end-of-semester busyness here at George Mason University, so what else would I write about for my SleuthSayers post this week?
Actually, rather than simply focus on the burden of grading, I chat about an assignment that has helped make final projects both more fun to write and (yes) more interesting to grade. Here’s a glimpse at my post:
One thing I’ve tried to do to boost enthusiasm at end-of-semester in my lit classes: Give students the opportunity to write some fiction themselves. While many students still choose to write a more traditional analytical essay—thesis, textual evidence, etc.—others welcome the chance to, in this case, write their own Sherlock Holmes pastiche or parody. We’ve read a number of Sherlock stories by writers other than Conan Doyle in The Big Book of Sherlock Holmes Stories, and I’ve been grateful to have a couple of writers Skype into the class to talk about their own stories reworking the characters and these elements, including Dan Stashower and Dana Cameron. And several of the students have been pursuing terrific ideas….