Winsor’s essay made me pause and reconsider the nature of writing. In school, writing is often compartmentalized from other subjects, i.e. writing takes place in a different period than math, which takes place in a different period than science. This implies that each subject has nothing to do with the other subjects. While some subjects may have less in common with others, language ties them all together.
Students entering college for the first time don’t understand that language and rhetoric are the very elements that construct all their knowledge.
Winsor demonstrates that writing is often not the end process. Students are conditioned to think of turning in copy as the final step. I think good, responsible writing aims for impact, not to exist in and of itself. People spread all the great works of literature, all the great inventions, and all the great medicines through language.
When it comes to reaching a large audience with any type of information, language is indispensable. It’s really the only means we have. The symbols we use to generate meaning become the meaning. Science, mathematics, finance, business, and football all use symbols to generate meaning. Language and rhetoric will forever be inevitable, regardless of the subject a student is going to major in.
If a course were designed to teach students that, and to help them apply it in a practical context, then maybe they might understand better the importance of communicating well. Students have this idea that they’re writing a paper with the simple goal of writing a paper. Then the paper receives a grade, and that’s the end of it. It all happens in a vacuum, separate from everything else in students’ lives. This isn’t how writing should happen, so why does writing instruction happen this way? Instructors need to help students understand writing in a broader context.
Sometimes I think that if we compartmentalized composition classrooms for students--call them "Composition for Engineers," "Composition for Biologists," and so on--we would avoid students wondering about why it's part of the core curriculum. I don't think this is necessary, though, if the teachers of these courses understand the importance of it outside of English and teach it that way. As you've suggested, it is probably time for writing instruction to match writing. There is a lot of context that is missed in teaching composition, and it might be because teachers either don't know or don't care.
ReplyDeleteHarrison,
ReplyDeleteShould writing be less compartmentalized? Might take a look, for instance, at Iowa State's writing program, which emphasizes writing across the curriculum. Writing, as you know, is very complex, in part because a very good developed understanding of audience is also highly complex and specific. Perhaps, just as those entrenched in a discipline aren't necessarily expert writing teachers, so too are we as presumed expert writing teachers not aware of the intricacies of discipline-specific audience needs. Iowa State team teaches its writing courses with someone from the discipline and a writing expert.
--Dr. Rice
I'd heard about programs like the one at Iowa State, and I think it's a great idea. Haswell's essay touched on this. Students are confused and unaware of their audience and the needs each discipline has when generating knowledge. But most freshmen have absolutely no idea of the course they way to take in their studies. 1301 tries to give students a foundation upon which to build their writing regardless of their major. In order to do this effectively, a freshman writing program must know the elements of good writing.
ReplyDeleteIdeas about the definition of "good writing" have changed over time. Currently we favor audience awareness, which I think is important to impart to our students, especially if they're writing in academia.
Maybe the problem with freshman composition is that it's wasted on freshmen. The knowledge might be valued more if students understood they needed it, if they had failed a couple of papers for other classes first. Right now, students don't understand the value of audience awareness and rhetoric. And Iowa State has a good idea, but I don't think they've solved the problem. There are just too many freshmen undeclared majors, and too many students change their majors for that program to have a meaningful impact.