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
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
prepares a report indicating where in the text plagiarism has been detected. Writing submitted to Turnitin is maintained in the database for comparison against future submissions by other students. Scholars and teachers in the field of Rhetoric and Composition, as well as other academics, have discouraged the use of plagiarism detection services. We recommend that before using this service, faculty members consider several important issues raised by the use of Turnitin. Turnitin Discourages Good Pedagogical
The Place of Strategic Dialogue in Collaborative Learning The tutorial interaction in writing centers provides beginning writers with an essential element not found in other types of student-helper interaction. Unlike the usual colloquium that occurs in most classrooms, tutoring offers a one-on-one setting whereby a student can directly consult with, discuss, and turn to an experienced peer for help with as many steps of the writing process as possible. This unique setting offers a chance for
Entering English Comp one, I had fears of what the class would be like. I realized that I had many weaknesses, but it was not till the end of the class that I learned my strengths. When I first entered Comp one I was very nervous. Everyone had told me that Mrs. Garth was a really tough teacher, therefore; that kinda made me second guess my opinion to take the class. When we started writing I learned that my main weakness was getting my point across while staying on topic. I have always struggled
Studying English was one of the most important and challenging tasks for me during the high school. Some of the teachers I meet were easy graders, however, others were very difficult. When I first came to the Drexel University, my language skills were not as good as they are today. The English 101 teacher helped me to improve my skills by showing the perspectives of learning and using English in everyday life. A few months later, by working hard on the major projects and informal writings, I have
As a very nervous first year student at Westfield State, I went into English 101 lacking confidence in my writing. I Knew I would have struggles and there would be bumps in the road with my writing but I am very eager to learn and become the best writer I can be to help my academic success and become a higher level thinker, what I took from English 101 one was expressing my voice was very key and sentence structure can give your essay a much better feel, knowing what I do know about research aspect
Intro Essay Many things are factors when it comes to making a good piece of writing, some of the things may seem easy, anyone can do them but other things are more complicated than you think. My style of writing is way different from the style of writing of my peers, some of us may be confident writers and others of us not as much. When it comes to being a student writer we should see progress in our writing as we move forward in this class. We should grow together but also as individual writers
“We all need people who will give us feedback, that’s how we improve”-Bill Gates. Writing 101 was a course I gained knowledge of every class. It might have been a bit challenging at the beginning, but I think the atmosphere that was inside the class made it easier to handle and understand everything. I would say the class activities, group work and peer reviews were the factors that helped me the most as they made me exchange ideas and think productively, than I did before. We were assigned different
I've always considered myself a good writer, but I realize now, I always room for improvement. I look back at my work from last semester and I noticed that my writing has improved a lot. The skills I have gained gave me an understanding of knowing what I am doing. The main objective in English 1010 was to become a better writer than you were previously and I believe I achieved this course's goal. When I began this class, I thought that I knew a lot about writing. However, as I progressed through
Although you might not know me yet, I can tell you that in these past few years of writing essays and papers, I have learned a lot about who I am as a writer and know that you will appreciate my work in the future. My previous English teachers have taught me many techniques about writing a good essay and ways I could improve my work. They have given me lots of advice, but also told me things that I’ve disagreed with. Even though I’m not a big fan of writing essays, I truly believe that since I started