Comics as mentor texts? Yes! Anything can be (and should be) an inspiration or guide for writing. Students need to see the many ways that they can discover how to be better writers through what they read.

Graphic novels aren’t afraid to bend the rules and reshape genre. This is especially important since the Common Core standards have created a bit of a problem for us when it comes to writing. Three text types were selected to be highlighted in the standards–argument, informative/explanatory, and narrative. Unfortunately, these text types have been interpreted too narrowly and are often defined as genres rather than unique writing structures. They are then taught as separate kinds of writing, but it would be so much more beneficial if our students saw that most writing in the real world is a mixture of these text types.

If you don’t believe me, watch the following video. (Warning: Get the tissues ready!)

So, what is the text type in this video?

• Argument? For sure! It’s a commercial to get us to buy life insurance. I’m not sure that any parent could resist the emotional appeal of this advertisement.
• Informative/Explanatory? Definitely! The entire commercial is basically a list created by the daughter that enumerates the qualities of the father.
• Narrative? Absolutely! No one can deny that this commercial is a powerful story of the relationship between a father and daughter.

Students need to understand that real-world writing mixes and blends text types, and that readers appreciate it when they do. I recently finished the graphic novel Trashed by Derf Backderf (the same guy who wrote My Friend Dahmer). It reads like a memoir, and many of the stories are based on Backderf’s experiences though he fictionalized a number of the details. Even so, woven into his gritty but humorous retelling of the lives of garbage collectors is an argument that examines the wastefulness of Americans.

While students will get caught up in the story of these characters, it will be hard for them to miss the powerful message about our garbage. No one who reads this will look at their trash the same, and I guarantee that it will change your trash habits (or at least prick your conscience every time you toss something into the trash).

This is our opportunity as teachers. We need to help students see that presenting an argument does not need to be a stifling, bland, prescribed, inauthentic piece of writing. Instead, argument–even well-researched arguments that use statistics and facts to advance the argument–can be powerfully embedded in the stories we tell.

Here are a couple examples of how Backderf did it in Trashed:

By the time you get to these panels, Backderf’s story has repeatedly presented different versions of the curbside experience. Piles of trash come in many forms (the foreclosure pile, the pet waste pile, the large appliances pile, etc). So, readers are probably forming a counter argument in their mind: I recycle; I’m better than those other people.

Wait? Recycling isn’t doing all that much good? (By the way, did you notice the play on words? The results are MIXED. The sentence is even placed next the recycling bin for added emphasis. I love this kind of humor!)

Backderf presents a powerful claim (and really it’s the thesis for his whole graphic novel). While recycling may be doing some good, it is hardly doing enough. The solution to our trash problem is to realize that we are wasteful consumers and that if we simply used less stuff in the first place, trash would be significantly reduced. (The Story of Stuff and The Story of Stuff Project would be nice companion pieces to this graphic novel.)

As a mentor text, Backderf’s graphic novel can show students that an argument can start with narrative. In fact, that might be a good place to start with their own writing. Write a compelling story of an experience that has changed your perspective or given you a different understanding or caused you to reflect on your life. We all have stories to tell that shape what we believe to be true. It’s the stories (powerfully and vividly told) that help define the argument. Then, when research and statistics are added, we, like Backderf, can use the combination of narrative and informative/explanatory writing to shape an argument that is authentic, purposeful, and meaningful to a real-world audience.