1. Genre Variety in a Service-Learning Unit
Mike Springston
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
4 December 2012

2. Abstract
This paper focuses on a service-learning project conducted at Chester High School in
Chester, Illinois. Students in the senior Language Arts class participated in an electronics
recycling collection event at the school and analyzed the experience in a reflection paper. The
unit also included lessons on non-academic writing assignments related to the project, such as
the composition of e-mails, news articles, and letters to the editor. The two classes were
comprised of 42 students, with 13 participating in the Saturday recycling event. Students unable
to participate in the recycling collection were given alternative projects related to the assignment.
Student reflections were used to assess the effectiveness of the unit. Previous research on
service-learning projects offers considerable analysis about implementing such units, although
much of that literature focuses on how to incorporate this content into college composition
courses. While many of the students participating in this project are not college-bound, their
experiences with this unit mirrored their college counterparts.
Keywords: Service-learning, non-academic writing, electronic recycling

3. Service-learning projects fulfill many roles in composition classrooms and this semester a
unit was developed at Chester High School in Chester, Illinois, that embraced this form of
pedagogy. Students in the rural school’s two senior Language Arts classes participated in an
electronics recycling collection event at the school and analyzed the experience in a reflection
paper. The unit also included lessons on non-academic writing assignments related to the project,
such as the composition of e-mails, news articles, and letters to the editor. Previous research on
service-learning projects offers considerable analysis about implementing such units, although
much of that literature focuses on how to incorporate this content into college composition
courses. While many of the students participating in this project are not college-bound, their
experiences with this unit mirrored their college counterparts.
The two classes were comprised of forty-two students, with thirteen voluntarily
participating in the Saturday recycling event. Students unable to participate in the recycling
collection were given alternative projects related to the assignment. Student reflections were
used to assess the effectiveness of the unit. In his article “Shifting Locations, Genres, and
Motives: An Activity Theory Analysis of Service-Learning Writing Pedagogies,” Tom Deans
described service learning as “a pressurized situation in which different activity systems are
combined to form a new one” (294). Deans noted a contradiction occurs when teachers engaged
in service-learning units expose students to non-academic genres. The discourse community of
the university does school students in academic writing directed toward a teacher audience for a
grade. In service-learning writing, Deans said students often write for, or with, the community,
“producing or coproducing documents in nonacademic genre that circulate beyond the
classroom” (290). Other than the reflection paper, the writing assignments given to the Chester
seniors were specifically developed for public consumption.

4. The first writing assignment consisted of composing e-mails in a business setting.
Students were shown a thread of e-mails exchanged between the teacher, who was the organizer
for the electronic waste (e-waste) collection event, and his contact at 5R Processors, the
commercial entity providing the recycling service. After viewing the electronic correspondence
that was actually used to organize the event, students were instructed to compose e-mails asking
area businesses to loan a forklift needed for the collection. The forklift was an actual need for
this project, so the assignment had a problem-solving component as students identified real
community resources that could assist with this project. Students exchanged their e-mail
compositions with classmates and then composed responses.
Less successful was the assignment that most closely resembled traditional academic
writing. The teacher introduced the “letter to the editor” lesson by comparing this genre to the
persuasive essay. Guidelines for writing persuasive essays were distributed to the students, as
were newspaper editorial pages that contained actual letters to the editor. In her article
"Community Service Writing: Problems, Challenges, Questions," Nora Bacon stated that
students writing in community settings are exposed to a variety of writing genres, “the degree to
which the forms, processes and purposes of writing are embedded in particular contexts” (53).
Although this writing style was the one to which students were most familiar, they were also less
engaged with this assignment. One problem with this assignment was that students were still
learning about the collection event project and did not have strong views on the topic of e-waste.
Writing a letter to the editor is an act of passion for the writer, but effective persuasion also
needs to be well-supported. According to Harry W. Stonecipher, the late Southern Illinois
University Carbondale journalism professor, it is important that such writing shows “the factual
basis of the problem and the reasons underlying the views expressed if it is to be persuasive”

5. (73). One class period was devoted to showing students video clips about electronic recycling.
Several of the videos related to the mechanics of converting e-waste into usable products,
although students also watched the “60 Minutes” segment “The Electronic Wasteland.” That
program featured a community in China where electronic waste by-products collected in the
United States have been recklessly disposed, creating a toxic environment for residents. The
program displayed the environmental hazards of e-waste, but it also showed a spotlight on
disreputable collection companies who do not safely recycle unusable electronics. While the
videos were designed to provide students with evidence they could use to support their views,
these writers still felt ill-equipped to argue their opinions with conviction.
Along with the limitations students faced in framing persuasive arguments, the
composition of the classes leaned toward students who were not college-bound. The difficulty in
motivating many of these students to engage in writing projects was itself a stimulus for
developing this particular unit. Many of the assignments, such as writing news articles, e-mails
and resumes, focused on genres students would need to master even if they did not pursue post-
secondary education. These assignments were process-oriented with instructor feedback
emphasis on identifying deficiencies rather than assessment concerns. In the article “Basic
Writing and Service Learners,” Don J. Kraemer wrote that “teachers who subscribe to this
pedagogy see, as I did, service learning as a meaningful frame for competence building” (98).
One value of a reflection essay in a service-learning curriculum is that it offered students a
chance to feel “heroic” about their efforts (Kraemer 104). With the Chester class, the reflection
essay also offered the teacher a product to assign a grade for students who actually participated
in the service project.

6. The thirteen students who physically participated in the recycling collection were
assigned a one-page reflection essay to describe their experiences. The essay was graded on a
100-point scale, with 50 points automatically awarded for the service work. The remainder of the
grade was assigned for content (40 points) and spelling/sentence structure (10 points). In the
reflection, students evaluated the writing projects they performed during the class. They were
also prompted to describe what they learned about their community and fellow students. Students
offered suggestions for improving the unit and future service projects. They also elaborated on
what they learned about e-waste and how their views on recycling were affected. Students who
did not participate in the collection event were assigned an alternative essay assignment to
discuss electronic recycling or any service projects they also performed. They were also asked to
evaluate the unit and offer their views on recycling.
While the thirteen students who physically took part in the electronic recycling collection
were motivated by a graded project, the event itself filled a need in the Chester community. On
Jan. 1, 2012, Illinois enacted a law that prohibited the disposal of electronic waste into landfills
(“Electronic Waste Recycling”). The new law has created a hardship in rural communities, such
as Chester, where permanent collection sites are not conveniently located. In her article “Service
Learning in English Composition: A Case Study,” Maria Mikolchak writes that it is important
for service-learning projects to address community needs: “For any service learning project to
make sense it has to be oriented not only towards the students and their learning goals, but first
and foremost, towards the needs of the community” (94). The four-hour recycling event in
Chester collected over six tons of electronic waste, providing local residents with a means for
complying with the new Illinois law.

7. The connection of the high school students to their community was also evident in this
project. The student volunteers at the recycling drive knew many of the residents who brought e-
waste to the collection. These relationships reflected the sense of location Robert Brooks and
Jason McIntosh addressed in their article “Deep Maps: Teaching Rhetorical Engagement through
Place-Conscious Education.” The authors discuss how relationships “to a place” not only result
in projects “for a place,” but reinforce deeper connections:
“The idea of psychological location is simple: instead of thinking of your “space”
as something literally geographical, think of yourself as located psychologically
in a “space” composed of generative issues in your life, of people who live in
certain places who “represent” those issues to you, and of the actual physical
places where you experience those places most directly.” (141)
Not only did the students draw on their interaction with the community, many of the residents
who participated in this event were themselves graduates of Chester High School and had a
connection to an activity held on the school parking lot.
While students displayed adolescent cynicism toward a project a few jokingly referred to
as “saving the planet,” the community connection was made by those who physically
participated in the recycling event. Although several were motivated by the prospect of writing a
shorter reflection paper than the essay assigned to classmates who did not partake in the service
project experience, these students turned in reflections that touched on their sense of community.
In her reflection, Holly discussed how the unit had broadened her knowledge about recycling,
although she had helped with a similar collection that a classmate had organized the previous
year. She found the videos and teacher lectures informative, but drew more benefit from the
collection activity itself: Holly wrote that the teacher “made this unit fun by letting us get hands-

8. on activity with the electronic recycling. Hands-on activities are always fun. Getting the students
involved is also a way to help students understand responsibilities and gain respect. I have
learned that if you do not dispose of your electronic waste correctly, you could be killing the
environment.” Holly found some of the personal activities concerning writing e-mails and
preparing job applications and resumes useful, but she was not as enthusiastic about writing
letters to the editor and news articles.
Samatha had a similar assessment of the classroom projects. The assignments geared
toward applying for a job were helpful, but she did not see an immediate need for preparing e-
mails and newspaper articles: “I don’t need to know how to do those just yet. When I do need it,
then the experience I have with writing will hopefully come in handy.” She felt the collection
itself was fun and expressed surprise toward some of the classmates who turned out to help with
the project. The project also gave her a sense of purpose: “Doing things like this makes me feel
better as a person and it makes me feel like I’m making a difference.” Such reactions are not
uncommon for students participating in service-learning projects.
Students who took part in the service-learning project Mikolchak developed for her
Composition 191 class at St. Cloud State University in Minnesota also expressed satisfaction
from performing an act of altruism. Mikolchak said her students approached the project for
personal reasons, but soon shifted their focus to the community the project served: “[W]e can see
a movement from egoism to altruism (acting with the ultimate goal of helping others) as a result
of a continued involvement with the project” (97). The experience of the high school students did
differ from those of community-service projects in university settings. In the article “The Public
Intellectual, Service Learning, and Activist Research,” Ellen Cushman wrote that some
university students might assume a “savior” role with the community they serve: “One limitation

9. of service learning courses can be students’ perception of themselves as imparting to the poor
and uneducated their greater knowledge and skills” (513). With the high school students,
assuming a more prominent role was actually encouraged. The comments by Holly and Samatha
did display an understanding of the scope of the unit and an appreciation that the involved
students had become partners in this project whose viewpoints were valued in assessing the
success of not only the recycling collection, but the service-learning unit itself.
Both offered suggestions for future service-learning projects that reached other
community members. Holly suggested developing a project to help children. Samatha suggested
something benefiting those serving with the U.S. armed forces. In their article “Using a ‘Small
Moments’ Writing Strategy to Help Undergraduate Students Reflect on Their Service-Learning
Experiences,” Robert E. Bleicher and Manuel G. Correia discussed this correlation: “As students
deepen their insights and apply them to practical situations, their confidence increases through
their service-learning experience” (48). Bleicher and Correia also state that focusing on “small
moments” helps students find a focus for writing about their service-learning experiences (28).
While this strategy was not a component of the original unit design, several of the reflection
essays written by the Chester students touched on small incidents related to the project. Steven
and Patrick both mentioned the pizza the students shared at the event. Steven said this was the
first major service project he had done since moving to Chester and described his tasks at the
event. The students in this project also approached this unit differently than the college
composition freshmen studied in other articles on service-learning.
The participation rate in the actual recycling collection was 25 percent of the total
number of students enrolled in Language Arts classes. As the collection was held on a Saturday,
participation was voluntary. For many of the college-based service-learning projects,

10. participation would be a requisite. In the article “Community-Service Pedagogy,” Laura Julier
wrote that such projects are often viewed as values-based: “Others see in service learning the
appropriate pedagogical complement to educating for civic virtue and democratic citizenship”
(134). Julier stressed the educational benefits are always a priority. While the students who took
part in the recycling event addressed specific incidents in their writings, the twenty-nine students
who did not take part submitted generic essays on electronic recycling that contained few
personal connections to the subject. Most of the students were engaged by classroom writing
assignments in the unit that required personal expression, such as resumes, cover letters and
sample job applications. The Chester students, even those involved in the collection, viewed the
project unit primarily as a classroom function: “Service learning is not national service,
community service, or volunteer service or volunteerism, nor is it the same as an academic
internship or field placement” (Julier 134). Since the collection event was designed through the
school, 5R Processors and the industry providing the forklift were the only outside agencies
involved and they had no input into the writing assignments connected with this unit. The
Chester instructor did not face the challenge discovered by Julier, who said one of her difficulties
with the project she described was adopting a means to assess tasks defined by the agency served
by her service project. She also expressed discomfort at some of the writing tasks her students
performed: “Students in this course, for instance, could write brochures about STDs for the
public health clinic without ever setting foot inside the clinic or without ever having to talk to
any of the clients” (143). Julier also said some of the concerns for the student writers focused on
non-writing functions, such creating brochures and graphic design. Although the Chester student
volunteers did interact with 5R Processors staff, all of their assessed writing projects were
developed solely by the teacher and limited to the classroom.

11. Several of the students who did not take part in the collection event did engage in
alternative writing projects that were part of the overall unit. Three students wrote newspaper
articles for the student newspaper, covering a sporting event, use of iPads in math classrooms
and the collection event itself. These alternative writing projects were an outgrowth of the unit
lesson devoted to writing newspaper articles. All of the students also wrote advance articles to
publicize the event, with the news release sent out to local media a composite the teacher
fashioned from the student writing samples. Julier felt a drawback of her service-learning
experience was that her students rarely connected their work on this unit “with academic
discourses, or about ways their work might be socially transformative in the community” (139).
The secondary students, by contrast, accepted the unit as a form of academic discourse.
However, secondary students would not be cognizant of the rigorous demands of academic
discourse at a collegiate level.
These differences do expose the dissimilar academic expectations of a college curriculum
and a secondary school unit. Much of the writing at Chester High School was purposely low
stakes, designed to expose students to more public forms of genre. Alterations with this unit
would place a greater focus on writing. The major writing assignment for the Chester unit was
the reflection paper. More emphasis will be placed on writing for community readers,
particularly those geared toward publications. The instructor is a former journalist who worked
over thirty years as an editor for rural newspapers. The lesson on writing newspaper articles
covered such conventions as the inverted pyramid and the “Five W’s.” Newspaper articles are
structured to place the most important information at the beginning of the story, replacing the
topic sentence with one that identifies the who, what, when, where and why elements of a story.
Since Chester High School utilizes a block schedule with 87-minute class periods, the lesson on

12. writing newspaper articles was covered in one class. A more extensive lesson could be
developed. That material could also establish a connection to the letter to the editor project. In
future service-learning units, the instructor does intend to devote more class time to persuasive
writing as a means toward introducing this particular project. A review lesson on writing
persuasive essays would be included and more of a distinction would be made on the different
genres involving argumentative writing: letters to the editor, editorials and persuasive essays.
Another impediment with that particular lesson occurred when the teacher had to take off two
days for a family illness. Those were the days the classes viewed the video materials on
electronic recycling. Scheduling video viewing on a day a substitute teacher is in a classroom is
standard practice in secondary schools, but the instructional component would probably have
been better delivered in a college classroom. Secondary students do not view videos watched
when a substitute teacher is conducting classes as essential material. Students would have
benefited if more context had been applied to this background information, particularly the
“Electronic Wasteland” investigative piece which challenged the predominantly positive image
of recycling. That video probably generated conflicted views when the assignment called for
more passionate commitment to the project.
More emphasis on the role of rhetorical abilities in community betterment would
certainly benefit future service-learning projects. In “The Rhetorician as Agent of Social
Change,” Ellen Cushman writes that that the practice of rhetoric has historically served the
community: “I believe modern rhetoric and composition scholars can be agents of change
outside the university” (7). The letters to the editor project would certainly be a genre that gives
students a voice identifying their roles as involved community members. Several students

13. communicated their newfound sense of community in their reflection papers, but extending that
aspect of the project into a public forum would enhance the service-learning experience.
The predominantly positive reactions expressed in the reflection essays by the students
who participated in the collection event itself was consistent with much of the literature related
to service-learning projects in college writing courses. The Chester High School unit did make
some adjustments that reflected the different academic goals and composition of college and
secondary classrooms. Participation in the service-learning project itself was voluntary and the
engagement of the students who took part in that event was much greater than the experience of
non-participants. In a college course, such a divide would not occur as participation would have
been a requisite. Using the unit to introduce the students to genres not always associated with
academic discourse -- such as e-mails, newspaper articles and job search materials – was
effective pedagogy. That aspect of the unit did provide another constructive facet when service-
learning is utilized in a writing classroom.
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