![\"sarahsthefox\"](\"http:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/english\/files\/2016\/09\/SarahSTheFox.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nTired of Writing Essays for your English Classes?<\/p>\n
A creative option might be possible.<\/p>\n
It seems, sometimes, that the only way to respond to topics and assignments in your English classes is with the time-worn reality of an essay.\u00a0 And I don\u2019t want to suggest you should abandon the essay, but exploring creative options might give you more room to communicate your ideas.<\/p>\n
For example, when I am teaching English 280 \u2013 Children\u2019s Literature I give students the option to write a children\u2019s short story for their take-home exam.\u00a0 A student in my English 207 \u2013 Victorian and Early 20th<\/sup> C Literature class painted an image of the three heroines she discussed in her paper.\u00a0 The painting remains on display in my office. Not every professor will encourage such responses, but it never hurts to ask.<\/p>\n Sarah Sovereign, a recent graduate, combined her work as a photographer with her love of literature in my English 333 class.\u00a0 About the process she writes,<\/p>\n I have always approached assignments artistically \u2013 in elementary school, instead of submitting a report, I created a complicated (and not entirely winnable) Elizabeth Simcoe game, with intricately drawn board spaces, carefully chosen symbolic playing pieces and everything I was able to learn through hours spent with the World Book encyclopedia. As I\u2019ve grown as an artist, a therapist, and a student, I\u2019ve realized just how much I love the process of creative learning: of reworking the bare bones of the assignments we are given into pieces of art. This way of learning has always engaged me, helping me to delve into course material passionately and purposefully, and leading me to a deeper understanding of what it is I\u2019m studying.<\/p>\n Taking English classes helped me better define my art practice because I fell in love with so many of the rich characters and themes that I studied. If an instructor is open to it, I think the sky is the limit with how creatively you can interpret an assignment \u2013 in the past I\u2019ve used textile arts, stop motion, filmmaking, bookmaking and painting in a variety of ways. I\u2019m incredibly lucky that I have a really supportive collaborative community around me and wouldn\u2019t have been able to create so much without their efforts as well.<\/p>\n I also can\u2019t conclude without making mention of how important English 333 was for me. I deeply appreciated getting to know the complex characters within the novels that we studied, and I\u2019ve continued to borrow inspiration from those books over the past year.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n