Academics versus Writing Centered Classes

Writing is examined in the first chapter of “Writing about Writing”, a textbook by Elizabeth Wardle and Doug Downs. Not only does it examine articulate writing, but specifically the threshold Concepts of writing: “ideas that change the way you think, write, and understand a subject,” (Wardle, Downs 2011). Terms are used to educate readers, these terms are essential for the writer to better understand how to write, and for the reader to better understand composition. Three terms seem to do this; construct, contingency, and rhetoric.

Basic literacy is the ability to read and write, my literacy skills began to develop while I was a small child. It all started with the bedtime stories my mother would read to be. It wasn’t until I got to school that it developed even more as teachers began to teach me how to read and write. I feel that in order to be successful you need to learn how to read and right, that’s why I took pride in learning it. I’m glad that I learned that at a very early age. I notice that to get a good grade on my writings I had to write how my teachers wanted me to write things. In the long run it did pay off because I got good grades on my papers. Obviously you can see that I had to

Writing is a powerful tool for communication and connection. As an extension and expression of the mind, writing is as much about the mental processes of the author as it is about the final marks laid to paper. As we write, we hold in mind our own thoughts on the work, anticipate the reader’s thoughts, and think both in concrete and abstract ways in order to accomplish the task at hand. Whether an academic research paper, a novel, or text message to friends, writing seeks to engage, persuade, or impress concepts upon an audience. Like language and other art forms in general, the practice of writing is ever-evolving and is subject to cultural and contextual influence, expectations, and conventions. Each writer holds a theory

The Author Reid, E Shelley states the importance of writing, and the tools that college students have in order to create a well-organized, legible and informative essay. The article “Ten Ways to Think about Writing: Metaphoric Musings for College Writing Students” is divided in ten general principles of writing, showing clear examples of each principle through the work, She perfectly explains how reasoning and creativity could work together as a tutorial for college students essay writing.

Teaching the process of a five-paragraph essay seems to be a popular strategy when it comes to teaching new writers; however, not everyone agrees that five-paragraph essays are the best way to go about introducing the writing process. John Warner, author of “Kill the 5-Paragraph Essay” believes the process gives writers little freedom and is a “tool for the worst of teachers to hide amongst the good.” On the other hand, Kerri Smith, author of “In the Defense of the Five-Paragraph Essay” claims “students who know the five-paragraph essay intimately are more prepared to take on the challenge of college-level writing.” Both first-year composition professors make great arguments; however, Warner’s article seems to argue his point effectively.

My English Literature major has helped me to achieve an outstanding level of appreciation, enjoyment, and knowledge of both American and British Literature. As a high school AP English student, I struggled through great works like Hamlet and To the Lighthouse. My teacher’s daily lectures (there was no such thing as class discussion) taught me merely to interpret the works as critics had in the past. I did not enjoy the reading or writing process. As a freshman at Loras, I was enrolled in the Critical Writing: Poetry class. For the first time since grade school, my writing ability was praised and the sharing of my ideas was encouraged by an enthusiastic and nurturing professor. Despite the difficulty of poetry, I enjoyed reading it.

Thomas C. Foster in ‘How to Read Literature like a Professor’, references the different literary devices that authors use in literature, in order to enhance the reader’s ability to critically analyze literature from any time period. Foster expands the reader’s understanding of literature by exploring the profound impact of symbols and common themes on literature.

Arguably, there are situations where the tone in the text betrays the author’s insistent perspective concerning writing. For instance, the author argues that a student can pass through the writing process successfully if the teacher chooses to shut up and allow the student to write. In reviewing this particular text, one may argue about the choice of words, however, the tonne also elucidates the author’s viewpoint on the involvement of teachers in the writing process. One of the questions the author has prompted but not answered is how the education system as a whole can be transformed to embrace the concept of writing being a process rather than a product. While the idea is sensible and well thought, its applicability in the education system is a challenge, which the author has not highlighted despite writing being under the umbrella of

In literary education, from childhood to maturity, individuals are taught how to write not to improve themselves as critical thinkers, but to fulfill the requirements given to them in a prompt. Whether to analyze or argue, this form of writing has led to a cease of literary improvement in students today, making many question the effectiveness of writing classes. Mike Bunns, in his article “To Read like a Writer”, explores this topic and stresses the necessity for young readers to critically examine the author’s choices in order to improve their own pieces of work. Bunns effectively argues to his audience of college students that improved comprehension comes from focusing on the rhetorical choices authors decide to make in their compositions by tying personal narratives with repetitive questioning throughout his article.

The essay ‘Composition as a Write of Passage’ by Nathalie Singh-Corcoran points out the importance of writing beyond the bounds of the first year of universities. The author attempts to emphasize that first year composition (FYC) requirements has much importance not only for academic purpose but also for other fields of work. Too often students are overjoyed in the idea that once they have completed their FYC requirements they never have to write again. Corcoran tries to relate her own personal experiences with the present students. According to the author the overarching mission of FYC is to accustom students with college level reading and writing.

Over the past month, we have been studying the concept of reading and writing in different communities. To assess this, we have read two different texts. Richard Rodriguez’s the achievement of desire”, from his autobiography “Hunger of Memory”; and Lucille McCarthy’s “A Stranger in Strange Lands: A College Student Writing across the Curriculum” from “Research in the Teaching of English”. Both answer key questions regarding what it takes to become a great reader and writer, however, from the reading that I have done, each one only answers one part of the question. Rodriguez’s main focus is in the aspect of reading, whereas McCarthy mainly focuses on the writing portion. Both do a decent job of analyzing and putting forth a view of how they believe a person can best perform in these environments. This then allows us to use their concepts and create our own version, based on their points of view. But why should we care? Most people at this level of academia will have developed a system of writing that works for them, and will have a difficult time breaking from it if they’re process doesn’t meet the criteria that Rodriguez, and McCarthy put forth. The reason it’s so important is because of implications these ideas have. Both authors put forth concepts that are indirectly related to one another and that are highly beneficial to all who will apply them. They will force you to conform to new environments in order to succeed, this in turn will make you more

Holistic evaluations are too global to indicate specific strengths and weaknesses in student compositions. We think that it is not enough for either research or instructional practice to evaluate the general quality of compositions, but specific information is needed about the linguistic and rhetorical characteristics that give rise to such judgement (Connor, Ulla & Lauer,

When making curricular decisions in any educational institution, most educators must consider which texts will best serve the needs of their students in attaining specific curricular requirements, whether those be state-imposed standards, or departmental requirements. Determining which texts will stay on their syllabus often becomes a struggle between tradition and cultural relevance. As author William Bennett once suggested, we continue to teach the canon because “the highest purpose of reading is to be in the company of great souls” (Bennett, qtd. in Bolter 150). What makes a text or author

The contrary side may infer that all students of high school English must read particular texts, such as literary canon books because they are most genuine, preeminent and beneficial. This is quite erroneous, though. According to George P. Landow’s article, “The Literary Canon,” “To enter the canon, or more properly, to be entered into the canon is to gain certain obvious privileges” (Source A). Landow, in essence, states that to become part of a “canon,” a literary work must transcend certain criteria. For example, dramatic works, such as “To Kill Mockingbird” and “Romeo and Juliet,” have been inaugurated into a canon, known as the “literary canon,” due to their profound, cohesive and well-accepted form of writing. Consequently, the opposition desires for all students of

Quite often, narratives will inspire various interpretations in the minds of the students and the teachers a like—though the author may have had a specific purpose in mind when shaping his or her literary work. Though an objective analysis can be done, regarding the interpretation of literary works, a teacher’s worldview will likely, in some ways, be expressed through his or her opinions of the work. Flannery O’Connor, a Christian novelist, in her essay named “Novelist and Believer,” writes, “The good novelist not only finds a symbol for feeling, he finds a symbol and a way of lodging it which tells the intelligent reader whether this feeling is adequate or inadequate, whether it is moral or immoral, whether it is good or evil” (564). If English teachers must analyze works and, furthermore, impart the skill of analysis to their students then teachers will be influencing their students, whether they realize it or not, with their worldview, since it’s difficult for people to interpret a work without drawing from their own perspectives—their worldview.