Composition and Rhetoric (a.k.a. Writing Studies): A Flexible Field In his essay, "Teach Writing as a Process not a Product," Donald Murray outlines the major difference between the traditional pedagogy that directed the teaching of writing in the past and his newly hailed model. Traditionally, Murray explains, English teachers were taught to teach and evaluate students' writing as if it was a finished product of literature when, as he has discovered, students learn better if they're taught that
Times, “What Should Colleges Teach?” and Maxine Hairston wrote in College Composition and Communication, “Diversity, Ideology, and Teaching Writing.” Within both of these articles, Hairston and Fish agree with each other and my High School experience that Composition classes are not focusing on the right things. Classrooms have shifted focus within the past couple of years, and Stanley Fish decided to see what exactly composition courses have been teaching. Subsequently, he asked to see the lesson plans
responding to student writing, the end notes, the marginalia, is hugely influential to student writing, but largely ignored. John Swales might identify this kind of text as an “occluded” genres—texts that are produced on a very regular basis in a composition class (including syllabus, assignment prompts, etc), but are largely ignored or viewed as inconsequential. The result of this kind of ignored text is that responses to student writing vary greatly and, when scrutinized, generally demonstrate very
Few would argue with the statement that writing skills are in state of decline. It is readily apparent that something needs to be done to resolve the issues that are preventing students from grasping the fundamentals of composition. However, there is a divergence of opinion when it comes to determining the cause of the nation’s writing ails. Many blame technology, giving cell phones and television particular attention. Others give technology a more indirect blame, claiming that email, instant messaging
Writing Teacher’s Sourcebook. Eds. Gary Tate and Corbett. New York, NY: Oxford UP: 1988. 238-247. Yancey, Kathleen Blake, & Spooner, Michael. “Collaborative/Social Process Theory.” in Theorizing Composition: A Critical Sourcebook of Theory and Scholarship in Contemporary Composition Studies. Ed. Mary Kennedy. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1995. 37-41. Zeni, Jane. “Oral Collaboration, Computers, and Revision.” in Writing With: New Directions in Collaborative Teaching, Learning, and Research
I was majoring in Nursing so English Composition courses are a required prerequisite for the program. It was my second semester and I had received great grades and couldn’t wait to finish the spring semester so I could apply for the nursing program. It was the first week of taking English Comp
I’ve chosen to emphasize on the “Writing Process” as the subject for this reflective introduction, using my literacy narrative paper, “Mother Knows Best,” as an example on how significant this learning outcome has been to my growth in this course and as a writer. I chose this learning outcome because as I look back I remember that I had the same thought process with each project that was given to us. After much deliberation, the writing process is an essential part of making a good paper, and will
Style Analysis of Blog Writings What is “style” in writing? After reading Strunk and White’s The elements of Style and Joseph William’s Style: Toward Clarity and Grace, I have come to understand what style is: I always thought of “style” as being your own, but through these books I learned that that’s not entirely true. “Style” is a mixture of many things and individualism only being one part, but for me the most important. Style is a way of writing clear, cohesive, grammatically correct and true
the many rules to writing are used when composing a piece. In Strunk, White and Williams’ attempts to educate formal writers on how to write stylish, understandably, and within the rules, they give great examples of the usage of correct grammar, composition, and words and expressions. The authors of both books agree that there are rules to follow when writing a good or stylish paper and that most or all of the rules need to be followed in order for your piece to be a success. I do believe that
To those who are going to take English 112: This year, I learned a lot in College Writing 112. This class is different from any other classes. You cannot learn to write by only going to class and listening to the lectures. It is something that you can only learn it by yourself; the professors can only guide you through the difficulties. The only way to improve writing is to practice. The more you write, the better you will become. Once you learn it, it will become part of you—you will never forget
It has been many years since I have taken a writing class in a college setting. Before English 43, I would’ve described my writing skills as novice, but I feel that this class has given me the tools to successfully advance and excel in English 49. Given the fact that I have gained the tools, experience, and confidence in my writing through English 43, I am without a doubt primed for the English 49 curriculum. The tools I have accumulated in English 43 have set me up for success in future English
The question of the day is how was Barbara Bileks English composition class and how it helped me better myself as a writer. The class overall was a very informative experience and I feel as I learned a lot. Whenever the class started I considered myself a mediocre at best writer and thought that I would never improve. However, Ms. Bilek taught me to become a better writer by using many techniques that I did not know existed. In high school, we were not taught how to write academically because to
When I started Creative Writing I had little to no goals for writing. I was taking this class because it is an English credit that will help me graduate. I did think that Creative Writing would be more fun then most English classes and it was. In this class there is a lot more writing involved, writing notebooks, discussions, and assignments. I think this repetition helped gain more skills in writing, which is something I’ve always felt I lacked. In other English classes it would change each unit
Writing has never been a specialty of mine-- not because I do not enjoy it—rather because I am not great at portraying my ideas in a clear way. Thus, beginning this semester I was really worried that I was going to flunk out of college because I would not be able to keep up in my classes—the class I worried about the most was Comp. I worried about Comp because I struggle in certain areas such as using correct mechanics, keeping my writing from becoming choppy and redundant, and remembering to stay
I’m not gonna lie— I’ve never been to our writing center. Not because I think my papers turn out perfect (very very far from it), but because I think it takes a lot of nerve to share writing. Research papers, memoirs, poems, reviews— anything with words. I definitely have a hard time with criticism and even as harmless as getting comments on papers whether its by students or professors. One of the reasons I wanted to work at the writing center was to get more comfortable with collaborating, vocally
As an 8th grader, activities were predictable like turning in our vocabulary charts every tuesday. As a result, writing skills weren’t honed. During the first semester of my freshman year, I was struggling. Writing had always been one of my weaknesses, but writing activities were continuous. Activities like the Romeo and Juliet essay, Odysseus comparison essay, etc. pushed me to exceed my limits. As a result, improvement in writing was achieved and writing skills were taken to the next level. This
As a student who is normally drawn to the areas of science and math, I didn't really know what to expect in regards to my English 101 class. I used to not value the power of the written and spoken word, but over the past couple years I have definitely gained more respect for the ability to communicate effectively. After having this change in perspective I really wanted to improve my own communication skills, specifically in the areas of writing and interpreting what I read. I have never considered
Mind set for English 1301 As an incoming freshman in an enrolled in a writing course, but still in high school, I believe there are many aspects for me to learn from this course. Learning to become a better writer, achieving higher quality, and improvement of a great flow is what I want to achieve from this class in my future writing career. Being a high school student, I acknowledge that I am filled with more weaknesses rather than strength, but the knowledge that I had been educated for this
At the beginning of English 101 I would say I was not the best writer. I didn’t always place my punctuations in the right places or even use them at all when need and sometimes used overused words because I didn’t have the best word choice. Therefore, I would say throughout this class I definitely have improved with my writings. I learned how to summarize my essays well, use better grammar, how to document my texts, and much more. I have worked on my punctuation usage and word choice and that showed
I have learned a lot so far in English 1101, about myself and about writing. I have discovered that it is sometimes difficult for me to find topics to write about, but once I get an idea it is very easy for me to start writing. English has always been one of the subjects that I tend to struggle with, but this class has helped me realize that I actually enjoy writing. I have never really been able to write a lot about topics of my choice in the past. I am more accustomed to writing papers related