My College Comp students worked hard to craft their essays to 1,000 words. I answered repeated questions about how to flesh things out to that length. So it was with a great deal of pride that students turned in their multi-page essays.
Then I dropped the bombshell on them (conveniently, it was at the very start of class when I was about to leave for a football game) - "Okay, take your 1,000 word draft and develop it into a second draft focusing on the most intense moment of your personal essay. The second draft must be exactly 50 words. Have a good day." And with that I walked out and let my sub handle it.
To say that my phone lit up with angry texts and texts asking if I was serious is an understatement.
I wanted my writers to work on first developing a personal narrative and fleshing it out in details and imagery and dialogue and all that good stuff. But ultimately I wanted them to whittle their first draft down to focus on the key moment of the entire narrative.
Here is one of my favorite final pieces --
Shot of a Lifetime
The buck stopped broadside down the trail. I swiftly pointed my rifle through the
cracked window. Cheek on the stock, I focused on the cross hairs. Making one last
adjustment, I feathered the trigger with confidence. The .308 round cuts the silence and
meets its target.
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