Each Flipped Learning Module (FLM) is a set of short videos and online activities that can be used (in whole or in part) to free up class time from content delivery for greater student interaction. At the end of the module, students are asked to fill out a brief survey, in which we adopt the minute paper strategy. In this approach, students are asked to submit their response to two brief questions regarding their knowledge of the module.
In this FLM, students are asked to complete a fill-in-the-blank outline which accompanies all three videos, covering the topics of writer-based vs. reader-based prose. The completed outline will enhance the students’ note-taking skills and will serve as a summary of the FLM that they may refer to in the future.
Key Terms
writer-based vs reader-based prose, composition process, revising strategies, shared language and context, reverse outline
Module Overview
- What is Reader-Based Prose?
- Composition Theory
- Writer-Based Prose vs. Reader-Based Prose
- Signs of Writer-Based Prose
- Personal Narrative of Discovery
- Vague Language
- Revising for Reader-Based Prose
- Revising Strategies
- Signs of Reader-Based Prose
Download Video Transcripts
Worksheet: Creating Reader-Based Prose Module Outline
Please fill out the following outline while you are watching the videos, and bring a copy to class.
- Writer-Based Prose is when: __________________________________________________
- In order for Writer-based prose to effectively communicate with a reader, it needs to be transformed
from private thought into: __________________________________________________
- Examples of Writer-based Prose are:
- (Example 1)__________________________________________________
- (Example 2)__________________________________________________
- (Example 3)__________________________________________________
- Reader-Based Prose is when: __________________________________________________
- Two signs of Reader-based Prose are:
- (Sign 1)__________________________________________________
- (Sign 2)__________________________________________________
- Three strategies for creating reader-based prose are:
- (Strategy 1)__________________________________________________
- (Strategy 2)__________________________________________________
- (Strategy 3)__________________________________________________
Download Outline
Video 1: What is Reader-Based Prose?
Creating Reader-based Prose Online Activity 1
Write one paragraph in a “forced writing” exercise, which means you will set a timer and begin writing when the timer starts, without pausing to think or plan ahead. Do not stop writing until the timer goes off. For five minutes, respond freely to the following prompt:
What is good writing?
Write down everything you can think of. You may free-associate, use the first person, include personal feelings, and write in lists or bullet points. This paragraph is just for you, not someone else, and the idea is to get down everything that you’re thinking as quickly as possible.
Submit your response to your instructor.
Video 2: Signs of Writer-Based Prose
Creating Reader-based Prose Online Activity 2
Look at the list of the elements in your “forced writing” paragraph you created while watching the previous video. How might these elements prevent you from communicating effectively with a reader?
In order to transform Writer-Based Prose into Reader-Based Prose, the first thing you need is to have an idea of the audience you want to communicate with. Imagine a new reader for a paragraph about good writing, such as a classmate in your writing class.
In a couple of specific sentences, describe them and what they might hope to find out. Submit your response to your instructor.
Video 3: Revising for Reader-Based Prose
Creating Reader-based Prose Online Activity 3
Take what you wrote for your “forced writing” prompt about good writing in the first online activity, and rewrite it for the reader you imagined in the second online activity.
Revise according to the principles of Reader-Based Prose outlined in the videos. This time, instead of trying to include everything you can think of, you’re trying to communicate specific, useful information to someone else. Don’t try to include everything you wrote in the first paragraph; some of it may not be relevant. In other cases, you will need to explain more about what you meant to say.
Submit your response to your instructor.
Creating Reader-based Prose Survey
Please answer the following two questions, and submit the responses to your instructor.
- What was the one most important thing you learned from this module?
- Do you have any unanswered questions for me?
Creating Reader-based Prose In-Class Activity
Share your revised paragraphs with classmates in small groups, identifying moments in your peers’ writing when they do or do not communicate effectively. Discuss how your paragraphs could be even further improved using the principles of Reader-Based Prose. With the help of your classmates, create a list of the elements of Reader-Based Prose, and compare it to the lists of elements of Writer-Based Prose that you created earlier.
Download Worksheet
Download Digital Implementation of the Activity
