The Green caldron - University Library

THE
The Green Caldron as a
Freshman Writing Project
Katherine Hirt
Rhetoric 102, Theine 11
RHETORIC STAFF AT THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS
undoubtedly performs one of the great inspirational acts of its career
when selecting ingredients for The Green Caldron mixture. The
components of this "melting pot" are chosen with thoughtful care.
Unknown to most freshmen, during their first semester's rhetoric ex-
perience, their teachers are clandestinely analyzing all 100, 101, and 102
papers in an effort to claim newly-found genii as the ultimate products of
their teaching method. After selecting three or four outstanding themes
from the semester's journalistic efforts, the more ambitious submit these
gems to The Caldron staff, confident that at least one of this exceptional
array will be published.
Much to Instructor Snodgrass's bewilderment and amazement, however,
the next issue bears no trace of his students' masterpieces. What is wrong
with the judges? Perhaps they are in need of education, sense of humor, or
even glasses. Oh, well—resignedly, he begins to read The Caldron selections
to test their qualities in comparison with his entries. But, alas, he is sadly
disillusioned, for, in his opinion, these themes do not measure up to his
rigorous standards. Discouraged, yet not without a faint vestige of hope, he
prepares a careful plan of action to make certain that one of his students'
chef-d'oeuvres will surely be included in the next issue.
Perhaps the quality of the themes actually is not much above the norm,
or perhaps Professor Snodgrass's standards are too high for freshman writ-
ing. Perhaps, too, he is so interested in promoting his own students that his
objectivity is malfunctioning. Certainly, in light of several past Green Caldron
issues, the infallibility of the judges could be challenged. The writings are
often choppy and incoherent, the author sometimes straying from his thesis.
These digressions usually result in a serious loss of the "punch" as well as
the unity of the papers, thus raising more questions in regard to effective
writing techniques than supplying answers.
On the other hand, the large proportion of Caldron themes are excellent
examples of how well-written papers should be developed, organized, and
executed. However, what actually constitutes a "well written" paper or a
"good" example of effective expression should always be the problem foremost
in the minds of the judges when reviewing the entries. Since human
nature and standards vary so widely, one theme that would rate a "C" from
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