Thought Papers

In the assignment described in this essay, students write a two-page paper, on anything they’re thinking about, with the express purpose of reading it aloud to their classmates. As a low-stakes assignment (graded complete/incomplete), thought papers create a space for students to experiment and take risks with voice and subject matter. Valuing the grain of a human voice over the high-gloss finish of AI-generated text, the assignment presents opportunities to think further about the role of voice in one’s own writing, as well as the work of listening and attending to others' voices.