Decoding Writing in the Disciplines1
Joan Middendorf
Special thanks to all the fellows of the Freshman Learning Project and the History Learning Project
fellows for the use of their ideas, and to the Spencer and Teagle Foundations and Indiana University
for their support of this work.
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“Decoding Writing in the Disciplines, ” Loyola Marymount University
Joan Middendorf, Feb. 19, 2014
Handout 2: Step 1-- Student History Writing Sample A
Question: What does Harriet Jacobs’s Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl tell us about the ways
in which mastery (as defined in lecture) shaped the lives of both black and white women in the
Old South? Your response must briefly explain the concept of “mastery” (as defined in lecture).
400-500 words.
According to lecture, mastery was a practice which meant men had complete and total
control of their households, including their wives, children, slaves, and slaves families. Mastery
included everything from what would be served for dinner to how slaves families would run their
households.
Jacob's narrative tells us that the master of the house was responsible for punishing slaves
and family members in order to maintain their rule. For example, in chapter 2 Jacobs describes how
Dr. Flint treats the cook poorly and forces her to eat every bite of any unsatisfactory meal, including
poorly prepared dog food that results in illness.
In chapter 5, Jacobs writes " My master met me at every turn, reminding me that I belonged
to him, and swearing by heaven and earth that he would compel me to submit to him." In this
passage and in the following paragraph, she seems to elude to being raped by her master in order for
him to exert control over her. In this sense he is physically assaulting her, verbally abusing her,
stalking her, and psychologically breaking her down. These practices were common by masters, who
would do anything to prove their control.
The dialogue in chapter 7 between Jacobs and Dr. Flint also proves that mastery was meant
to convey men as the dominant gender. Jacobs is physically abused and tormented by Dr. Flint and
is still unfortunately subject to his cruel treatments. I think this also had an effect on the master's
wives in the sense that they knew not to trust their husbands in any sense, including physically or
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“Decoding Writing in the Disciplines, ” Loyola Marymount University
Joan Middendorf, Feb. 19, 2014
mentally. This served to shape the lives of not only the slaves that the master owned, but the entire
family of the master despite his actions toward his family.
Handout 3: Step 1-- Student History Writing Sample B
What does Harriet Jacobs’s Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl tell us about the ways in which
mastery (as defined in lecture) shaped the lives of both black and white women in the Old
South? Your response must briefly explain the concept of “mastery” (as defined in lecture).
400-500 words.
In Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl (1861), Harriet (Linda) talks about her life from
the very beginning and how she would have never thought she was a slave because she had been
spoiled and given what she wanted by her mother. But it wasn’t until her mother’s death at the
age of six that she had realized she was a slave. And from there her life was never the same, as
she described “living so many unhappy hours.” She is now under her grandmother along with her
new master, who treats not like a slave but yet she does not acknowledge his kind acts. He then
becomes very jealous of her for falling in love with a free-born man. He strikes her for the first
time and she knows not what to do. In lecture the definition of “mastery” is master’s control
over the whole household. In other words, he had the right to control every aspect of everybody’s
life that he was in charge of, or related to.
“Mastery” was also broken down into two dimensions, economic and psychological.
Since the master was in control of everything this means he determined everything for everyone
no matter race. For example, towards the end he built Linda her own cottage just a few miles
away. But she refuses and as a result he strikes her again. Another example in Linda’s case is the
fact that he doesn’t let anyone else punish her not even his wife even though she is his daughter’s
property. As for his wife, she doesn’t like Linda because of the attention Dr. Flint shows her.
Because of his actions his wife starts to show jealousy traits and even though he is being
accused. It doesn’t matter because he is the head of the household so no one will step out of line.
Another part of mastery of course included some aspect of sex. And this was a very big issue in
the “Old South,” because the master would now a day “rape” the female slave and they would
often be more fertile so they would get pregnant but they were not supposed to bring up the
baby’s father whether it is a master. Unlike Graham and White and Todd, the master was the
sexual aggressor. In a way this was more to make help with financial aspects of living. The more
children a slave had the more money a master could bring in his household.
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“Decoding Writing in the Disciplines, ” Loyola Marymount University
Joan Middendorf, Feb. 19, 2014
Handout 4: Steps 1 and 2—Decoding Student Writing
Creating the Rubric
0. Select a targeted assignment. If you have examples of student work on such an
assignment, consider 3 of them--a high, medium, and low example.
1. List 5-7 main mistakes students might make.
2a. Turn them into positive attributes (nouns). See Example 1: History Shopkow
Argument/evidence rubric.
2b. Callibrate each attribute (Exceeds, Meets, Does Not Meet Expectations)
(Step 6-Assessment) Reviewer reflection
1. Now that you’ve evaluated another person’s assignment, what do you see as the strengths and
weaknesses in your own assignment?
2. What will you do to improve your next version?
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“Decoding Writing in the Disciplines, ” Loyola Marymount University
Joan Middendorf, Feb. 19, 2014
Handout 5: Step 4--Example of Student Practice in History (David Pace-Visions of Future)
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“Decoding Writing in the Disciplines, ” Loyola Marymount University
Joan Middendorf, Feb. 19, 2014
Handout 6: Rubric from English L204: Introduction to Fiction (Intensive Writing
class)
Adapted from Laura Plummer, instructor, Indiana University, Essay 1 feedback
Thesis
Structure: organization,
paragraphing, and topic
sentences
Really needs work
Needs considerable
to meet assignment attention in
revision
Good but with
room to improve
Nicely done
no thesis
thesis is an assertion
but could be more
specific to elements of
the text
thesis is an assertion
with enough specificity;
provides “road map.”
disorganized; ¶s may
be too long or too short
no helpful topic
sentences
thesis may be vague or
implied rather than
overt; may appear later
in paper
thesis is unconnected
to rest of the paper
paragraphing may need
additional attention
not all paragraphs are
“on topic”; some ¶s
difficult to follow
transitions needed
Avoiding plot summary;
use of evidence;
development of the
argument
mostly plot summary;
little or no discussion of
evidence.
may demonstrate an
understanding of the
text, but is descriptive
rather than analytical.
has an angle from
which it recounts the
story, but is mostly plot
summary
some evidence present;
gives more description
than analysis
integrated into intro.
overall structure clear;
paragraphs follow main
idea, for most part
provides some topic
sentences, but could be
stronger, or added to
some ¶s
On the right track—but
has some plot summary
that is not related to a
thesis about the
author’s use of plot
has some analysis of
evidence, but could
use more; evidence OK
smooth, engaging intro
and clear paragraphing;
topic sentences for
most every paragraph
may have weak
conclusion
evidence appropriate
ideas; is well integrated
into paragraph; uses
lead-ins; elaborates on
significance of evidence
references to plotting
are in support of the
thesis statement
Mechanics
Sentence-level expression
Conventions of literary analysis
Citations
Work on circled items
Grammar/spelling
punctuation
Introducing works with title/author
Providing in-text citations
Invoking the author in discussion
Formatting in-text
Integrating quotations
Providing works cited
Word choice
Clarity of individual
sentences
Using present tense
TITLE
Referring to author by last name
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Formatting works cited
“Decoding Writing in the Disciplines, ” Loyola Marymount University
Joan Middendorf, Feb. 19, 2014
Handout 7: References http://www.iub.edu/~hlp/
Chi, M.T.H. (2008). Three types of conceptual change: Belief revision, mental model
transformation, and categorical shift. In S. Vosniadou (Ed.), Handbook of research on
conceptual change, 61-82. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Diaz, Arlene, Joan Middendorf, David Pace, and Leah Shopkow, “Making Thinking Explicit:
A History Department Decodes Its Discipline,” National Teaching and Learning Forum,
Vol.16, No.2 (February 2007).
Díaz, Arlene, Joan Middendorf, David Pace, and Leah Shopkow (2008). The history learning
project: A department "decodes" its students. Journal of American History 94(4).
Glenn, David. “A Teaching Experiment Shows Students How to Grasp Big Concepts,” The
Chronicle for Higher Education (Nov.15, 2009)
Meyer, Jan and Land, Ray, eds. (2006) Overcoming Barriers to Student Understanding:
Threshold concepts and troublesome knowledge. London: Routledge.
Middendorf, J., Pace, D., Shopkow, L. & Diaz, A. (2007). Making thinking explicit: Decoding
history teaching. National Teaching and Learning Forum, 16(2). 1-4.
Middendorf, J. and Pace, D. (2007). Easing entry into the scholarship of teaching and
learning through focused assessments: The “Decoding the Disciplines” approach. In D.
Robertson & L. Nilson (Eds.), To Improve the Academy: Resources for faculty,
instructional and organizational development, 26, 53-67. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Middendorf, Joan, and David Pace, "Using just-in-time teaching in history. In S. Simkins & M.
Maier (Eds.), Just-in-Time Teaching Across the Disciplines and Across the Academy
(Sterling, VA: Stylus, 2010), pp. 153-162.
Pace, David “Opening history’s ‘black boxes’: Decoding the disciplinary unconscious of
historians” in Carolin Kreber (Ed.), Teaching and Learning Within and Beyond
disciplinary boundaries (London: Routledge, 2008). pp. 96-104.
Pace, David "Assessment in history: The case for “Decoding” the discipline. Journal of the
Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 11( 3), 2011, 107 – 119.
Pace, D., & Middendorf, J. (Eds.) (2004b). Decoding the disciplines: Helping students learn
disciplinary ways of thinking. New Directions for Teaching and Learning, 98. San
Francisco: Jossey Bass.
Perkins, David (2006). Constructivism and Troublesome Knowledge. In Meyer, Jan and
Land, Ray, eds. (2006) Overcoming Barriers to Student Understanding: Threshold
concepts and troublesome knowledge, 33-47. London: Routledge.
Savion, Leah & Middendorf, Joan (1994). Enhancing Concept Comprehension and
Retention. The National Teaching & Learning Forum 3(4), 6-8.
Shopkow, Leah, "What Decoding the Disciplines Has to Offer Threshold Concepts" in J.H.F.
Meyer, R. Land, & C. Baille (Eds.), Threshold Concepts and Transformational Learning
(Boston: Sense Publishers, 2010), pp. 317-331.
Shopkow, L., Diaz, A., Middendorf, J., & Pace, D. (2013). The History Learning Project
“Decodes” a Discipline: The Marriage of Research and Teaching. In Kathleen McKinney
(ed.) SoTL in and Across the Disciplines. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press.
Shopkow, L. (in press). From Bottlenecks to Epistemology in History: Changing the
Conversation about the Teaching of History in Colleges and Universities. Changing the
Conversation about Higher Education (Robert Thompson, Ed.). Rowman and Littlefield.
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