In Downs and Wardle’s article, they argue and identify the flaws in teaching writing in college. Demonstrating the misconceptions that academic writing is universal, but rather specialized in each case. Citing studies and opinions from esteemed professionals, Downs & Wardle state their points and illuminate the problem in today’s many colleges. The opening of the article is a blunt declaration that the course of FYW is not properly taught in a correct way to provide academic success in writing for students. Stating the studies done by Ackerman, Berkenkotter and Huckin, Carter, Diller and Oates, Kaufer and Young, MacDonald, Petraglia, and Russel “Activity theory” which all intern demonstrated the main goal of FYW; that writing can we universally transferred in any field, is false. Downs & Wardle further state that …show more content…
the field of writing has not considered changing the way of writing and have yet to acknowledge the misconceptions that are readily seen. The main problem that Downs & Wardle point out, is the misconception of that when teaching academic writing, writing is universal, or to a further extent as they put it “writing can be considered independent of content; writing consists of syntactic and mechanical concerns, and academic writing skills can be taught in one or two introductory general writing skills courses and transferred easily to other courses.” This misconception has such a strong standing in the public that even those, whose profession is writing, neglect or disregard the content of the writing, but rather teach more on structure and grammar. So how does a student not make these mistake? Well, Downs & Wardle say avoid the misconception that academic writing is cross-disciplinary, but rather that academic writing is a discourse between those in the same field. One has to understand that writing is not universal, therefore one has to pay attention to each fields academic writing style and practices. Most importantly, writing at an academic level requires you to further express your content, thus making your essay as clear, concise, and correct. citing from Keith Hjortshoj’s “A more realistic narrative recognizes that features of good writing vary from one situation to another. These variations depend on for example on the subject of the writing, its purpose, and the reader’s expectation.” Downs & Wardle, make very strong points about writing, providing excellent examples and sources, and their agreement is sound.
However, their critical analysis of FYW and strong points for other teaching methods, one’s takeaway from the article is the question, “why even teach FYW”? It’s evident that content and context are the key points in academic writing, so why then do we even make the FYW a mandatory class? A student doesn’t need a semester to understand what content is, for some they already understand what it is, and for those who don’t they should still be able to learn it, in a week. The misconception of writing being universal is very true, but for a student to improve on one’s writing, the easiest solution is to have him or she participate in that discipline. In a realistic world, the more probable solution to most of the problems Down and Wardle bring up is eliminate the course and replace it with a class that allows a student to see and understand the writing in their field without the repercussion of grades. Thus students get more experience within their field and get to learn firsthand what academic writing in their discipline consist
of.
“Unteaching the Five Paragraph Essay” by Marie Foley demonstrates how a five paragraph essay formula disturbs the thought process of the students and limits what they can write. A five paragraph essay is an introduction with the main idea, with three supporting topics showing the relationship to the main idea, and a conclusion summarizing the entire essay. Foley argues that this formula forces students to fill in the blank and meet a certain a word limit. She noted that this formula was intended for teachers in the education system to teach an overcrowded class how to write. While it is beneficial for the first-time students learning how to write. In the long run, this standard destroys any free style writing, new connections between a topic,
According to Runciman, there are many plausible reasons that students and other people don’t enjoy writing. Evidence, assumptions, and language and tone are the basis for which Runciman makes his argument. Overall, this argument is effective because reliable and well known sources are used in a logical fashion. Also, the assumptions made about the audience are accurate and believable. Runciman used his assumptions wisely when writing his claim and in turn created a compelling, attention capturing argument. The article was written so that students and teachers at any level could understand and easily read it. This argument is interesting, captivating, relevant through its age, and can relate to students and teachers at almost every academic level.
In Patricia Limerick’s article “Dancing with Professors”, she argues the problems that college students must face in the present regarding writing. Essays are daunting to most college students, and given the typical lengths of college papers, students are not motivated to write the assigned essays. One of the major arguments in Limerick’s article is how “It is, in truth, difficult to persuade students to write well when they find so few good examples in their assigned reading.” To college students, this argument is true with most of their ...
In Donald M. Murrays’s essay “What is Practical Education” he explains his reasoning behind why he allowed his students to write badly. He shares his own experience with police-like teachers who drove him to hate writing. In hopes of helping his students find their voice he allows his students to write the words down as they come, no matter how awkward they sound. Often times they find out that they have more to say then they thought. Rhetorical devices are used to help the readers relate to his point of view on writing.
Several people have trouble writing college level essays and believe that they are unable to improve their writing skills. In “the Inspired Writer vs. The Real Writer,” Sarah Allen argues how no one is born naturally good at writing. Sarah Allen also states how even professional writers have trouble with the task of writing. Others, such as Lennie Irvin, agree. In Irvin’s article “What is ‘Academic’ Writing?” states how there are misconceptions about writing. Furthermore, Mike Bunn’s article “How to Read Like a Writer” shows ways on how one can improve their writing skills. Allen, Bunn, and Irvin are correct to say how no one is born naturally good writers. Now that we know this, we should find ways to help improve our writing skills, and
Graff, G., Birkenstein, C., & Durst, R. K. (2009). The Growing College Gap. "They say/I say": the moves that matter in academic writing : with readings (p. 379). New York: W.W. Norton & Co.
The purpose of Baker’s essay and its placement in The Prentice Hall Guide for College Writers is to encourage young writers to realize that writing truly is a privilege. It is also placed in the book to show college English students that writing does not have to be a grim task and that thinking of it in that manner will only make the student average.
In her essay, “The New Literacy: Stanford Study Finds Richness and Complexity in Students’ Writing,” Cynthia Haven claims that writing, for the modern college student, has changed due to recent technology, specifically the internet. To prove this claim, the author turns to a study that began in 2001 at Stanford. This study’s goal was to analyze the writing habits of college students; however, the results yielded more than just that. The study found that students are writing much more than was expected, and much of what they write is not for a grade. So, these students write almost as much for their personal gain as they do for an academic one. Due to this, students are able to understand and utilize higher-level writing techniques, such as epistemic writing. Furthermore, they have
Most of us write in some form every day, so you would expect that most of us would be well practiced and pretty good at writing. I read and write all the time; I have been taken several college courses and nearly all of them require write of some form. However, before taking this class not only was I not a good writer, I knew I wasn’t a good writer. Now I am not saying that I am ready to write my first novel, but I certainly more confident in turning in my college papers. The content of this course and the style of teaching was incredibly beneficial to me. Throughout this course we had multiple assignments that were aimed to improve us as writers. I am sure that everyone took something different from this course, and I am sure that each student took more from some areas than others; however for me there were three major things that I saw that I benefited from most. Our weekly craft lessons, grammar plan, but most of all, observational learning.
Bizzell, Patricia. “What Happens When Basic Writers Come to College?” Landmark Essays on Basic Writing. Eds. Kay Halasek and Nels P. Highberg. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum, 2001. Print.
The course has a clear transition and link between writing and concepts of the discourse community. Students being members of a writing discourse community can learn about the discourse groups that they will join in the future. As Gee Swales suggest that one can belong to different discourse groups at one time, the concept of transferring skills from one context to another is the most significant section of the curriculum. The essay will give a reflection of the course, explore the link between writing and discourse community and give a recommendation that can be used to enhance the objectivity of the course curriculum.
Every animal on the planet is capable of communicating, be it verbally, physically, or possibly by some means yet discovered. Writing on the other hand is a form of communication exclusive to human beings (and maybe the occasional ape). Children are taught to read and write almost as soon as they can speak. Writing becomes a part of everyday life, and because of this it is easy to forget that writing "is a means of "communication [one] must consciously learn" (Heffernan and Lincoln 3). For this reason writing in college can be a challenge for even the most skilled of writers. While the basics of academic writing may seem like common knowledge, knowing them and understanding them can prove to be quite different. In the writing center it is our job to help writers take what they know about writing, and begin to understand it. Understanding is the basis for ...
Writing is an important part of everyone’s life, whether we use it in school, in the workplace, as a hobby or in personal communication. It is important to have this skill because it helps us as writers to express feelings and thoughts to other people in a reasonably permanent form. Formal writing forms like essays, research papers, and articles stimulates critically thinking. This helps the writer to learn how to interpret the world around him/her in a meaningful way. In college, professors motivate students to write in a formal, coherent manner, without losing their own voice in the process. Improving your writing skills is important, in every English class that’s the main teaching point; to help students improve their writing skills. Throughout my college experience I have acknowledge that
My third and final source is by Downs and Wardle, “Teaching about writing, righting misconceptions”. The main point of the article Teaching about Writing, Righting Misconceptions:(Re) Envisioning “First-Year Composition” as “Introduction to Writing Studies” is to inform the readers what FYC (first year composition) is, and all the changes needed to be placed in this pedagogy, or teaching to actually be effective in a student’s college life and even after graduation. The FYC has been using the same method of teaching for decades, and most of the professors teaching through this system do not even know half of what they’re supposed to know. Through the FYC, we as students are supposed to learn the basics of writing, but yet there are still issues
College courses have evolved over the course of history, adapting to the ever changing ways students learn, speak, and write. But focusing on the writing aspect of education, do teachers/professors really grade fairly? The university is diverse and students come from so many different backgrounds, and writings cannot always be done exactly how an instructor desires it to be, or in the correct voice. Correct voice means that a student uses words that professors wants to see and construct their essay the way that they like to read. A student’s voice, the tone and form his/her essay is written in, is shaped by their culture, society, and factors outside the professor’s wishes. In this essay, I will address the problems that arise from the ways professors, mostly in the English discipline, grade or evaluate students’ writing. Instructors evaluate student’s writing with extremely high expectations, and need to change their grading style to help students today.