Responding to Dialect in a Memoir
Mr. Delgado's tenth-grade memoir unit asks students to write about a moment that changed their thinking. One student, Jasmine, submits a 900-word memoir about her grandmother's church. In dialogue, she writes, 'I ain't going back there no more,' and narrates in her own voice using features of African American English. The rubric's conventions category deducts for 'nonstandard grammar' in dialogue and narration. Jasmine's ideas and organization score at the top of the rubric; conventions would drop her overall grade from A to B. Mr. Delgado wants to honor her linguistic background, teach audience awareness, and maintain high expectations. The department's grading policy says conventions must count for 20 percent of the score. Two other students have asked whether they can use dialect in their memoirs. He has a 30-minute conference slot with Jasmine tomorrow.
1. What should Mr. Delgado do in the conference with Jasmine, and how should he handle the rubric?
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He should begin by naming what works: the dialogue sounds authentic, and the narrative voice is consistent. Then he should distinguish between language variation and error. African American English is a rule-governed variety, not a collection of mistakes, so the rubric's blanket deduction for 'nonstandard grammar' is both inaccurate and inequitable. He should revise the conventions criterion to assess control and audience awareness: in dialogue, the question is whether the language characterizes the speaker consistently; in narration, the question is whether the writer makes a deliberate choice and sustains it. Jasmine could add a brief reflective note explaining her language choices, or revise selected passages for a specified audience if the assignment requires standard edited English. The conventions category can still count for 20 percent, but it should measure rhetorical control rather than conformity alone. This maintains high expectations without penalizing her identity.
2. Explain how Mr. Delgado should teach the distinction between conventions in dialogue and conventions in narration, and what he should assess next.
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He should teach that dialogue and narration serve different purposes and have different audiences. Dialogue can preserve a character's dialect to reveal community, background, and relationship; narration often addresses a broader audience and may call for standard edited English, unless the writer deliberately chooses a dialect narrator. A short mini-lesson can compare published mentor texts that use dialect in dialogue and standard narration, asking students to notice what each choice accomplishes. Students then annotate their own drafts, marking places where language is a deliberate choice and places where an error interferes with meaning. For Jasmine, the next assessment should be a revision of two passages for a specified audience, plus a short justification of her choices. That assesses rhetorical flexibility and control, which are stronger learning goals than blanket correction.
3. How should Mr. Delgado respond to the two other students who ask whether they can use dialect in their memoirs?
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He should say yes, provided the dialect is purposeful and consistent. The same rule should apply to all students: language choices in dialogue and narration should serve the memoir's meaning and audience. He should avoid treating Jasmine's language as a special exception, because that would signal that her home language is a problem to be managed. Instead, he can briefly explain that writers choose among language varieties depending on purpose, audience, and voice, and that the rubric will assess whether those choices are controlled and explained. If students use dialect they do not know well, the result can be caricature, so he should ask them to consider authenticity and respect. A short whole-class discussion or a written reflection attached to the draft can make the expectation clear without singling out Jasmine.