Posted on by Stephanie McGann

The Art of Writing #3: Language Expression

Copia is an incredible way to teach students how to stretch language. When used with the goal of language expression, students are no longer bound to a particular language pattern. Instead, they take a model and try to rewrite it any way they want—as long as it stays True to the original meaning. 

I begin by selecting a passage from something we read in Literature and providing handouts to the students. Here is an example from the 2002 Dover Thrift Edition of Mark Twain’s Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc.

We sat looking vacantly at each other, and it was easy to see that no one there was comfortable. The longer we sat so, the more deadly still that stillness got to be; and when the wind began to moan around the house presently, it made me sick and miserable, and I wished I had been brave enough to be a coward this time” (131).  

Our first step as a class is to annotate the selection. This requires close reading and analysis to uncover its deeper meaning. We circle, underline, and mark-up the selection in all manner of ways. I always remind students to pay particular attention to words and phrases that have figurative meaning. Students can do this on their own, but I find it more beneficial to guide them through it.  

Once we have a solid understanding of what Twain or some other author is trying to say, we then rewrite it in our own words. It sounds simple, but it’s not at all, namely because students need to try to make their copias more beautiful than the model. 

“Like I can write something better than Twain!” most of them think to begin with.

What’s more, their copia should not be a summary. Rather, it should be written as new text for the story itself. So if the author wrote in the first person, then the student should do so as well. Likewise, if the text is drawn from a historical document, then the student needs to imitate its style. In that way, students really get into the art of writing.

I like having students rewrite the model multiple times in a notebook before they come up with two final versions to submit. One final version is a “short” copia, meaning it has condensed the original ideas. Another final version is a “long” copia, meaning it has fully developed the original ideas.

Here are three short copia examples from students.

EXAMPLE ONE

We gawked awkwardly at each other as the silence grew. I was sick of the wind and of my cowardice.

EXAMPLE TWO

We stared gloomily at each other in the dark, musty, dungeon-like room. Like France afraid once more, we cringed at the wind’s cries, and I was sorry not to be able to show my fear.

EXAMPLE THREE

It was cold, cold and creepy. That place was haunted by death and despair. I wanted to leave. I wanted to go to bed and leave that dreadful room, but I was not brave enough to admit how scared I was. Curse this human pride!

Here are three long copia examples.

EXAMPLE ONE

We, as faithless men, waited for someone else to make a move. It was evident no one was prepared for that awful room. We were all afraid and uncertain of what was to come. Why did we go that place? Our feeling of discomfort grew to regret. I could hear only silence, yet I saw much. I saw once courageous men give up and simply forget their dignity. I regret my torpid state at that time. I wish I had the courage to face reality. I was a coward, and fear shackled me to complete uncertainty. All hope was lost—for us, for France, for Joan. 

EXAMPLE TWO

We stared at each other, emotionless and uneasy. We were afraid, nervous, and uncomfortable because the task of killing the ghost was too hard. The stillness in the room crept up and lurked around us. We were aching from the deadly stillness. The wind that howled all around added to the effect and made us lose more of our bravery. I suffered immensely and regretted not being able to stand up to my fear of the ghost. I was too scared at that time and should have rather given in to being called a coward than stand that unbearable adventure. 

EXAMPLE THREE

There we sat looking at one another with no real intent, yet behind the eyes of each man was a look of fear that only one truly frightened would have. The more we sat there, the more we felt the presence of the ghost. Each man was waiting for something to happen, yet all we could do was listen to the howl of the wind as it blew about the house. All the men had a sick or pale look about them, and they seemed to shake with fear. Each wished he could have been brave enough to admit he was scared of the ghost.

As you can see, students end up with something truly beautiful in the end!

Copia is so powerful because it lets us stand on the shoulders of great authors. We may not be able to come up with the model text, but we can certainly play with it and stretch it. With enough practice, we just may join their league someday.

Posted on by Stephanie McGann

The Art of Writing #2: Language Patterns

A language pattern refers to the way in which the core parts of a sentence are put together. The most basic pattern includes a subject noun and a verb. One of the more complicated includes a subject noun, verb-transitive, direct object, and object noun complement. I know, that’s a lot, but it’s still not all! 

There is a seemingly endless number of potential modifiers in each sentence, including articles, adjectives, adverbs, and prepositional phrases. Plus, with each language pattern, there are a variety of sentence forms, like the simple sentence, compound sentence, complex sentence, and the much dreaded compound-complex sentence.  

But before we get too overwhelmed, let’s take a look at how copia can simplify all of this. As you read in my previous post, copia is the art of expressing the Truth of language in a new way. The Truth that we’re after in this exercise revolves around language patterns.  

To keep things simple, I am going to use a pattern one sentence, which includes a subject noun and a verb as the core parts. You could write your own sentence models, but I find it easier, more engaging, and more instructive to use classic examples, like this one.  

(Incidentally, nursery rhymes are a great choice because they stick in our memory so well. In that way, they help students layer conceptual memory on top of audio memory.) 

Borrowing from the Shurley English method of grammar instruction, I then have my students classify the model. That means they put labels for each word job above the sentence. Notice that word jobs are different than word parts. For example, Humpty Dumpty is the name of a person (or egg, if you rather), so it’s a noun. But, it’s a noun used in the subject, so its job is subject noun.  

The next step is to diagram. This gives a powerful visual for students to see the relationship between the words in the sentence. If diagramming seems too intimidating, take a look at Mary Daly’s Elementary Diagramming Textbook. It provides conversational instructions, wonderful sentence models, and beautifully drawn diagrams.  

Once the model sentence is classified and diagrammed, I then instruct students to write their own copia sentence using the exact same pattern. They can change the words and even the entire idea of the sentence, but the word jobs and word order must be the same. To test that their sentence matches, students classify and diagram it. If done correctly, the labels and lines will match up exactly. It’s a good idea to have students write, classify, and diagram multiple copia sentences. 

Here are a few clever student copias that capture both the language pattern and the idea behind the rhyme, showcasing the downfall of a ruler. 

As the school year progresses, we practice copia with more and more complicated patterns, eventually trying to replicate sentences written by great authors like Shakespeare. If done in a well-ordered progression, the sentence patterns will never feel too intimidating for students. And, they will have a rich understanding of language because they will have learned to write like the greats.   

Posted on by Stephanie McGann

The Art of Writing #1: Introduction to Copia

Writing instruction for middle school students is one of the more difficult challenges for teachers. Not only do they need to ensure students master all sorts of grammatical and spelling rules, but they also need to help students come up with something meaningful to say.  

Many of the writing “programs” out there have devised all sorts of complex methods that walk students through multiple phases of pre-writing, writing, and revision. The names for these phases can vary a lot, but the point is more or less the same. The more time you spend thinking about what you are going to write and then writing and rewriting it, the better the end result. I certainly agree with this.  

Nonetheless, those same programs are often overly tedious and devoid of meaningful content for students to contemplate and develop. Instead, they set up drawn out writing assignments about some fairly absurd topics like favorite foods or hobbies. Not that there is anything wrong with those ideas, but they feel a little empty and almost insulting to students. Like a seventh grader doesn’t have more interesting ideas to offer! 

Even in the world of classical education, there are very few writing programs out there, which by the way, are complete with their own fancy names for the writing phases. Most classical educators are appropriately skeptical of anything prepackaged as they tend to suck the life out an otherwise worthy intellectual endeavor. Instead, classical educators hold fast to a collection of good habits and a handful of tried and true exercises.  

One that I have enjoyed using with great success is copia, which comes from the Latin word for ‘abundance.’ As suggested by its etymology, copia as a writing exercise refers to a deliberate practice of finding the many ways in which one might say something. I like to define it as the art of expressing the Truth of language in a new way.

Desiderius Erasmus developed this exercises in the early 16th century, famously coming up with 150 ways to rewrite the sentence, “Your letter pleased me greatly.” For an example of what this looks like, check out this link. His point is fairly obvious. Even the most basic ideas can be said in a multitude of ways. It is up the writer, then, to choose which way is the best.   

This is an invaluable lesson for the student, not to mention the seasoned writer. I spend a class period early on in the school year presenting the Erasmus challenge. Try as they might, my students fall way short of his 150 examples, but they begin to see how words can be transformed without changing the meaning.  

From there, I introduce the two main ways that I have adapted the exercise in the classroom. The first is using copia to teach language patterns. The second is using copia to teach artistic expression. I will present both styles in subsequent posts.