Drafts? (why does my teacher insist on my keeping them?)

Do what your Language teacher says when you're submitting to her. That's her personal request.

Otherwise, if you're doing your own writing, you can free to do whatever you're comfortable with

I think the idea of having drafts isn't a bad one, as you can look back and check that your story is changing in a way you want it to with each one, and can go back to an earlier version if something hasn't worked. Saving them to your computer with different version numbers and entering a brief description of the changes you've made into the file properties (if you use Word) might be all you need. Printing them out does seem very wasteful unless you need to see things on paper! Could you explain your point of view to her? She's probably giving you the advice as it's been helpful to her, but might be open to you only printing out every third draft or something, if for you having the different versions on the computer is enough.

You might also ask if for these intermediate drafts if you can temporarily set your line spacing to single and maybe even use a smaller text size. That would at least save some paper.

It's a way to tell if you're progressing as planned, I guess.

As long as you're not paying for the paper and ink!

-Derek

In academia, it is. As Derek said, the instructor has to be able to see the progression. Otherwise, why pay for the class? Maybe you're better focused on growing plants or nuclear engineering.

In real life, no. I'd agree that whatever you decide to turn into the publisher is your head on the choppng block; the difference between lights on/off/ heat on/off, rent paid/not paid. So, draft all you like, but, ultimately, something's got to reach the publisher's chair that puts food in your mouth.

A single average tree produces about 100,000 sheets of paper. Go plant a tree and print your head off.

Does the teacher make editing comments/marks on the drafts and give them back to you? Does the teacher have to keep some form of documentation of progress/grading for each student to justify assignment of grades? Is this some kind of formal writing requirement that comes as a school district directive or as a state lesson plan? Teachers don't usually give assignments arbitrarily or just to mess with students. It would be nice if edits could me made on a computer file, and you might want to suggest this, but I know from experience that having to sit at a computer screen while correcting/editing a classroom worth of writing assignments is not preferable to sitting in a recliner chair and doing the same work on hardcopies. If you have constructive criticism for the teacher, offer it as such. But if you go to her with the attitude that she is the enemy just giving out work to spite you, you may want to re-think your approach.

And please don't turn this into another teachers are just jerks who live to piss students off thread. [I'm saying this because of your last comment in post #5.] There are many people here at AW who either are teachers, have been teachers, or have relatives/friends who are teachers, so they are familiar with the view from the other side of the desk.

I'm pretty sure she's had more headaches from sighing students.

SaraAnn said:

I thought of that too, but she she 'specifically' said "All work must be double spaced on the paper, and 12 point font." >.>

*Sigh* sometimes I just wish I could be done with her. She gives me a headache. xD

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A draft doesn't have to be hard copy (or does she want it that way?) A friend of mine saves every draft she works on, but she just saves the file as a new name. Or adds v2.1 after it to tell them apart.

But if the teacher asks for this for her class, you do it, even if you don't do it for anyone else. Consider it good practice for following submission guidelines

Everything is a draft until you can buy it in a bookshop (or online through a reputable publisher).

jj

Who is supplying the paper? If the teacher is expecting you to print the drafts at home, using your paper, perhaps you can approach her politely and ask her if you could use the school's printer and paper. If enough students did that, it will affect the school budget and then people will re-think using all that paper.

RJK said:

Who is supplying the paper? If the teacher is expecting you to print the drafts at home, using your paper, perhaps you can approach her politely and ask her if you could use the school's printer and paper. If enough students did that, it will affect the school budget and then people will re-think using all that paper.

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Assuming there is a curriculum-based reason for doing the assignments this way (which is likely, and possibly not just the teacher's whim), cutting into the curriculum by further restricting financial support for education (more than is currently being done) should have one important consequence. It should stop those people who impose these financial restrictions from complaining about how the school system is failing to educate our students. Financial matters are cutting the curricula to the bone as it is. Now people want bone tissue as well? Fine. Don't complain when the students can't stand up (academically).

I always had to buy my own binder paper for class assignments, my own pencils, my own pens and erasers. I had to buy my own protractors and slide rules (this was back in the 50s, 60s and 70s). Education is a partnership, and guess who is an important part of that partnership? The student. I get tired of the attitude that all students are obliged to do is show up to class. They don't have to supply anything for the endeavor--no materials, no effort, or originality, no thinking. They shouldn't have to do anything but just sit there while the teacher tries to find some way of hammering knowledge through their skulls, frequently using materials the teacher has to buy using his/her personal funds (from that whopping salary they get). And when that hammering doesn't happen as well as expected, it's that damn teacher's fault.

Sorry for the partial derail and vent. Just about every school I know of recycles paper products. And if there ever was a good reason to waste part of a tree, it is the education of our children. Let's cut in other areas while concentrating on finding the very best ways to educate our children, even if it costs us a tree per student, and even if that student's parents have to pay for part of that tree. I think it's a good investment. And we can always plant a few trees in exchange.

NOTE: A different interpretation is warranted if the teacher in question doesn't have a good curricular or philosophical reason for requiring multiple hard-copy drafts.

SaraAnn said:

Okay, well my Language Arts teacher seems to think it's absolutely imperative we have drafts for all of our writing all the time (mostly I think because she needs to check it, but alllright x]). For people like me who write on the computer, we have to print allllllll of our work (and for ME thats at least 50 pages....every time I print it....for every draft).

What I was wondering is, do you think that is absolutely unnecassary as well? Anyone else think I'm killing trees too much? xD

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What kind of 50-page assignments are you doing in language arts??? Overachievers, sheesh .

Your teacher is probably just trying to teach you HOW to draft, a tool you can use later and usually want to use in professional writing scenarios. If I didn't draft my news stories I'd have a few more angry emails each day.

But sometimes you don't need to draft to have something polished enough for an academic setting. When I had to draft I would just dumb down my final, already written draft with mistakes and turn that in. Then when I turned in the one I wrote in the first place it seemed polished.

I remember resisting my teachers when they told me to write and revise (ie. make drafts.) I was *SO* good a writer, *I* didn't need to revise like my foolish classmates did.

*cough*

Well. Yeah. I was an ego-tripping dunce. I was barely a mediocre writer (which, granted as a high schooler, I was better than most of my classmates.) But I should have taken the time to learn how to write and revise instead of getting wrapped up in my ego and the fact that I was better than others. I should have realized that even a good writer can get better.

And can I ask, SaraAnn, what on EARTH are you writing that is 50+ pages for language arts? If you were in my class, I would have limited you to a much smaller number.

Whoa, whoa, whoa. You asked her for extra help, she was nice enough to give it AND you're complaining how she gave it?

If I've misunderstood, excuse me. If I haven't, this is ridiculous.

SaraAnn said:

...in this case I thought this would be something to ask professional writers.

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Or you could have asked her what the reasoning was? Or perhaps professional teachers/educators?

She most likely needs proof for portfolios and assessment of growth in your writing skills. It seems that you are an exception to the others in your language arts class by working on such a long piece, but the rule still applies. Perhaps, you can work with her to narrow your class assignment to a smaller portion of your WIP?

I hate to think how many "drafts" I have, in dated archived files. Luckily I never have to print, because it would be a ream+ each. No teachers around here But it's good to keep the oldies -- saves my brain to be able to go back to find some bit I should have kept in.

And I can see how much some of it sucked

I'm not all that far out of school, but I remember always passing in one or two drafts for each paper (of course, these were not normally 50 page things...) in certain classes, particularly in middle school and high school. I can't quite see what the issue is since you've said she's helped you a lot. I took teachers' comments on my drafts to make a better final paper (or piece of writing) and ultimately get a better grade.

Also, if this is something you've been working on all year, doesn't it make sense that she'd want to see proof now and then that you are, in fact, writing something?

I guess I never questioned my teachers' motives while in school because I always knew they were trying to help me learn and grow, and that's really the important thing.

I'm not sure I understood what the problem was. I thought the OP was required to submit multiple printed drafts, 50 pages long. If that's the case, I still don't see the need. If the OP is only turning in one or two printed drafts, then this is a mute point.

@ Neurofizz - I served on my local school board for 5 years. I totally agree with you, but there are students who simply have no money for school supplies. There are also teachers out there who have no regard for the hardships they put their students through.

SaraAnn said:

Okay, well my Language Arts teacher seems to think it's absolutely imperative we have drafts for all of our writing all the time (mostly I think because she needs to check it, but alllright x]).

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Ask your teacher what benefit she sees in doing that.

Dale