Effects of Intra-Genre Compositional Studies on Inter-Genre Writing Outcomes  

Introduction Studied and engaged reading practices can be a springboard for effective writing. Knowing how to read specifically as a writer can help to identify features and forms of new genres, to implement those features in writing, and to ultimately be a self-directed, adaptive, and successful writer of new genres. I believe that using reading […]

Reading is a fun thing we can do

Questions: Since I saw the syllabus in Comp Camp, I’ve been thinking about how I can add more reading into the curriculum. As we’ve gone along, I’ve refined my ideas significantly. At first, it was just a vague desire to assign/read/talk about useful and interesting writing. I wondered: where was the place for literature in […]

blog [blawg] n., 1. a website containing a writer’s own opinions

*Belief [bih-leef] n., 1. an opinion or conviction 2. confidence in the truth or existence of something not immediately susceptible to rigorous proof 3. confidence; faith; trust Are my students’ ideas about writing opinions? Convictions? Impressionable notions of truth that are susceptible to the influence of material proofs? Confidences that could be reinforced or shaken, faith […]

Teaching Writing in a New Way: Unlearning the Rigid Rules

Many of my students undoubtedly consider themselves to be bad writers. They have little to no confidence in their writing abilities and second-guess every sentence they create. As Mike Rose puts it, they have “a growing distrust of their abilities and an aversion toward the composing process itself” (389). Thus, alongside their small confidence levels, my students […]

Who Offers You the “Writer” Identity?

The myth of genius authorship pervades, always. From the moment students are taught the basics of writing—the standard structures in which to say something in their writing—they are faced with a kind of unconscious model to mimic. Be that example essays of “ideal” scholarship or the supplementary literature they are given to think about and […]

“Questions of Intent: Communication Disorder, Transfer, and Writing Pedagogy.”

Vallis, Gina L. “Questions of Intent: Communication Disorder, Transfer, and Writing Pedagogy.” Pedagogy: Critical Approaches to Teaching Literature, Language, Composition, and Culture 15.3 (2015): 441-457. Web Summary This article examines communicative intent in the writing classroom through applying lessons from both personal reflections and studies of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The author discusses problem-solving from a […]

“Conversations with Texts: Reading in the Teaching of Composition” Mariolina Salvatori

Salvatori, Mariolina. “Conversations with Texts: Reading in the Teaching of Composition” College English 58:4: 4401-454. Web. Summary In this article, Mariolina Salvatori addresses the tendency of introductory college composition courses to minimize traditional literary readings and to focus on writing practices, and posits several alternative reading practices that she believes can do specific service to […]