Introducing Students to Interdisciplinary Genres

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Learning how to write in the correct discipline is a necessity for any student wishing to successfully advance within their career. Patricia Linton, Robert Madigan, and Susan Johnson, professors at the University of Alaska, Anchorage, in their essay “Introducing Students to Disciplinary Genres: The Role of the General Composition Course” (1994), argues that undergraduate students who are enrolled in English classes that explore different disciplinary genres benefit more than students who are enrolled in classes with a general approach. The authors develop their point by explaining the unique characteristics of the different genres, and then narrating the loss in writing that is had by students who are uninformed of the separate characteristics that act to communicate an author's point with clarity. The authors' purpose is to describe the different components of each genre in order to inform the reader about the benefits of a multidisciplinary English curriculum. Linton, Madigan, and Johnson effectively display the importance of an undergraduate multi-disciplinary english course by acknowledging opposing arguments, presenting evidence of cross-disciplinary differences, and explaining the benefits of having experience in different genres of writing.

To start the essay, Linton, Madigan, and Johnson address multiple arguments opposing the need for the multi-disciplinary english course, which helps them establish an even stronger counter-argument. This provides various reasons why the course is unnecessary for their audience, so that the rest of the authors’ analysis can address and disprove each doubt in the audience’s mind. For example, one of the opposing arguments include, “Furthermore, it may be the case that even within the dis...

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... formulate their argument by first explaining the differences between the genres and acknowledging the opposing arguments. The author does this to answer any general questions the reader may have about such an english class and also provides the benefits. The author’s purpose to writing this piece was to persuade people that the way english classes are taught needs to be changed from covering general english subjects to introduction to different types of writing. The author believes students would benefit more from these classes and prepares them better for future classes and also writing in their professional careers.

Works Cited

Linton, Patricia, Robert, Madigan, and Johnson, Susan. “Introducing Students to Interdisciplinary Genres: The Role of the General Composition Course.” Language and Learning Across the Disciplines 1.2 (1994): 63-78. Print.

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