“In my “Political Development of Western Europe” course this semester, which is essentially an extended reflection on the origins of fascism and democracy, students are writing their first papers. The last paragraph of my instructions reads as it has throughout my nearly three decades of teaching at both Harvard and Middlebury: “I am looking for a lucid and thoughtful argument that speaks directly to the issues raised in the question and is supported with historical evidence from the assigned readings or our class discussions. Careful comparative analysis cannot help but make your argument more persuasive.”
“While students must always first demonstrate that they understand an argument on its own terms, I make sure they know that they are free to disagree, both with a particular text and with me. I will grade them on the strength of their argument and the evidence they muster in support of it, not the conclusions they may reach. With these maxims, students not only write better papers, they also learn skills that arm them to fight injustice in all its manifestations.”
Stanger, “Middlebury, My Divided Campus”