Rorschach Inkblots

*Header image is one Rorschach’s original inkblots.

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Descriptive Writing Work

In this lesson, you will write in your first mode of discourse. The lecture that precedes this work — read it here — uses artwork and optical illusions to demonstrate how your brain processes information and creates meaning. This process is at the root of everything you learn, from the way you compile grade abatement evidence to the way you relate to a literary character to the way you make a three-dimensional cube flatten into a diamond-like shape.

Now we will look at descriptive writing, for which we will use another kind of visual: Rorschach inkblots, which will be the subject of your first writing assignment.

Click here to load the Flickr set of all ten original ink blot plates. As you look at these, you should consider more than what you initially see; consider also how best to describe the image to a stranger looking at the same ink blot. Description is the first mode of discourse you will practice this year, and while it is the simplest, it is also a chance to practice word choice and basic sentence construction.

Our in-class discussions will center around the variety of interpretations that are possible for each of these—and, perhaps most importantly, the way you can shift your peers’ understanding with effective description. This kind of thinking, also called divergent thinking, asks you to solve a problem in as many different ways as possible.

Your assignment: For each inkblot, write a paragraph describing what you see. You should write at least 5-6 sentences, but you can obviously write more. Start this writing by hand, so that we can continue to balance digital instruction with pen-and-paper work.

When you have a paragraph written for all ten images, you can type them in a Google Doc, share them through Google+, be metacognitive about your word choices, and so on. Don’t worry if you haven’t done that before. You will go slowly through the process with us before moving into the actual writing. Look to Google Classroom for the formal assignment.

For now, focus on writing the most descriptive paragraphs you can. We will do the rest together over the next few days.

The ink blots can also be loaded below. Use this if the earlier link does not work.