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Teaching College Writing

Outline. Why teach writing? The habits of successful writers Assignments Expectations at the college level Grading. Why teach writing?. More than 90% of mid-career professionals cited the need to write effectively' as a skill of great importance' in their day-to-day work."Light, Richard. M

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Teaching College Writing

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    1. Teaching College Writing Sue Mendelsohn SLU Writing Center Coordinator

    2. Outline Why teach writing? The habits of successful writers Assignments Expectations at the college level Grading

    3. Why teach writing? “More than 90% of mid-career professionals cited the ‘need to write effectively’ as a skill ‘of great importance’ in their day-to-day work.” Light, Richard. Making the Most of College. Cambridge, MA: Harvard UP, 2001. 3.

    4. Why teach writing? “More than 50% of 1st-year college students are unable to produce papers relatively free of language errors. Analyzing arguments and synthesizing information are also beyond the scope of most 1st-year students.” National Commission on Writing. “The Neglected ‘R’: The Need for a Writing Revolution.” April 2003. 17.

    5. Why teach writing? The National Commission on Writing recommends that 1) teachers double the amount of writing they assign students and 2) universities train all faculty to teach writing. National Commission on Writing. “The Neglected ‘R’: The Need for a Writing Revolution.” April 2003. 3.

    6. The habits of successful writers Inexperienced: Writing is a one-time performance Experienced: Writing is an evolving practice Inexperienced: Revision is rewording Experienced: Revision is rethinking Inexperienced: A solitary activity Experienced: A social process

    7. The habits of successful writers Inexperienced: Focus on rules, correctness, formula Experienced: Focus on argument, reader, dissonance Inexperienced: Prioritize stylistic concerns Experienced: Prioritize ideas & structure earlier in the revising process and stylistic concerns later Sommers, Nancy. “Revision Strategies of Student Writers and Experienced Adult Writers.” Landmark Essays on Writing Process. Ed. Sondra Perl. CA: Hermagoras Press, 1994. 75-84.

    8. Assignments Build-in a process Make it social Make it problem-based & authentic when possible Connect assignments Create an assignment sheet

    9. Expectations Complex arguments conveyed with clarity A structure that compliments the argument Some engagement with major voices in the discipline Responsible use of outside sources

    10. Grading The research suggests that paper comments work best when they… put the student back in control treat the writing as in-progress rather than a fixed product

    11. Grading: Respond as a reader Nancy Sommers: “Most students find it difficult to imagine a reader’s response in advance, and to use such responses as a guide in composing. Thus, we comment on student writing to dramatize the presence of a reader, to help your student to become that questioning reader themselves, because, ultimately, we believe that becoming such a reader will help them to evaluate what they have written and develop control over their writing.” I-statements. Avoid equating writing simply with grammar.

    12. Grading Set expectations. Be Zen. Prioritize. Higher and lower-order concerns Recurring vs. isolated concerns

    13. Grading options Rubrics Audio comments Portfolio grading

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