Looping Strategy

Looping

A term coined by Peter Elbow I Writing with Power (1998), is a useful strategy to help students explore their thinking through writing this strategy enables a student to move from unfocused to focused writing. This strategy enables a student to move from unfocused to focused writing.

Here are Elbow’s steps for looping:

1. Start by having students write their initial thinking on a given topic. Like a character’s particular behavior. Students’ initial writings may wander.
2. Ask students to write nonstop for ten minutes. The key is to begin with the first thing that comes to mind and to not stop writing. If students get stuck, have them rewrite the last sentence. Students must be taught their writing might take them in unforeseen directions. This is a good thing.
3. After ten minutes, have students reread what they have written thus far. As they read, they are searching for a “hot spot” – an emerging theme, a central idea – anything that stands out and creates a spark of thinking.
4. Have students highlight or circle this “hot spot.” Skipping a line or two, have the students rewrite this hot spot into a complete sentence.
5. Beginning with this new sentence, ask students to write again for ten minutes.
6. At the end of ten minutes, tell students to find a new hot spot and again write a summary sentence.
7. Keep looping until a focus or thesis emerges. Sometimes this will occur in a single loop; sometimes it takes a few loops.