Author Mentors: Yuri Herrara and Structure

English in the 21st century is a strange beast. For older generations, there will be an awareness that the current subject of English taught in Australia is not the English that was taught 50 (or even 25) years ago. The rise of the new version of English in 1960s and '70s academia, with its focus on culture, contextual elements, and new media, would really only truly be felt in the NSW syllabus circa 2000. 

As someone who finished school in 1997 and then didn't come to teaching until 2010, this shift in the English discipline was a bit of a shock. The English essays I had written in Years 11 and 12 were decidedly formalist - focused on the structural purposes of the text, with the idea that the text was 'closed' and that everything you needed to know could be found within the text alone. Come 2010, The History teacher and Postmodernist in me loved that English had developed into something much more wild - that we can trace contextual elements and examine their impact on the text and audience, and that we can also look at the endless ways in which the same text can be read, or the ways in which the reader brings themselves to the text and reads it differently to their peers. 

But, that said, the English of the 20th century hasn't been replaced by this newer English. The two Englishes live alongside one another in our syllabus; you can see elements of both within the outcomes. You can also see them both within the diverse teaching methods of a powerful workforce of English teachers with their own myriad experience and wisdom. Some English teachers thrive on the idea of alternative readings and context, others prefer examining how a text is constructed and what this means. If you're teaching the bulk of the secondary English syllabus you'd be hard-pressed to completely avoid one side in favour of the other. 

Anyway, my point is that, while Part 1 of this series focused on the author and the role of context in shaping a text, today's entry (Part 2) focuses on the structure of the text. I think it's important that we teach students (without necessarily using fancy words like postmodernism and formalism) that reading and writing is a complex process with different 'ways in'. It works as a form of differentiated practice because some students will react better to a contextual study, whereas others will prefer looking at structural elements.

Structure

The author used for this structure lesson is Yuri Herrera, a really interesting Mexican writer who gained some attention in the 2010s for his novellas. Before looking at an extract from his Romeo & Juliet-inspired text The Transmigration of Bodies, it's useful to prime students by giving them an overview of some of the structures we use when writing. This can be done by checking for understanding with the following activities:

Mechanics. Write a bad example of each of the following:

• Punctuation
• Grammar
• Spelling
• Sentence Structure
• Paragraphs

Techniques. Also called 'literary devices', these are figurative, persuasive, and sound-based techniques used to make an impact on the treader.

• List some examples.

Conventions. The motifs or recurring elements that help the reader identify the type or genre of text.

• Give an example.

Writing Choices. Pick one below and discuss why it's important.

• Word Choice
• Point of View
• Tense
• Themes
• Being conscious of controlling how the reader sees your text

Editing. Pick one of your previous answers and re-write it using one of the methods below.

• Re-reading
• Drafting
• Sharing for feedback
• Using criteria
• Polishing

After these opening activities, have students read an extract from The Transmigration of Bodies and then consider some of the elements that have been used. In particular, ask students to look at its 'mechanics' and techniques by answering the following:

1. Find and highlight the following punctuation: comma, dash, colon, capitalisation of a proper noun. 
2. What reason is each one used for?
3. Explain the impact of the following techniques used by the writer:
1. Repetition of the word 'everyday' three times in one sentence.
2. The irony/dark humour of the line "Occasionally, his teeth fell out."
3. The metaphor "Eyeing (...) with venom."

Authors also used various conventions when writing in their chosen genre. A reader's familiarity with these conventions (also called motifs) allows them to better understand the ideas or style of the story. Have students make notes on three of the motifs featured in the extract (a depressing setting, blood, and a less-than-heroic lead character) and then ask them to identify which of the following genres the text fits into:

• Comedy
• Crime
• Romance
• Science Fiction

The lesson then focuses on writing choices. Herrera has a talent for using verbs in fascinating and memorable ways - ask students to locate the following verbs in the extract:

• Trickled, scamper, cricked, dreaming, managed, fell, buzzing, tethering, attempting, rammed, leaned, sucking, blew. 

Students can then answer the following questions. Some of these break away from a strictly formalist approach but we'll keep that to ourselves.

1. What is the impact of using particular verbs?
2. Whose point of view is the text written from?
3. How does the writer want the reader to think of the main character?
4. How does the writer want the reader to think of the setting?
5. What would you change if you wanted to introduce some more drama in the first paragraph?

The above lesson can be found here in these resources:

• PowerPoint on Structure (this walks students through the lesson step by step).
• Suggested extract.

Acknowledgement: The following material has been adapted and modified specifically for this blog. I would like to acknowledge some of my colleagues - Ashleigh Galea, Lauren Hage, Amra Winter - who also developed some additional material not included here