What Is University Writing?

First-year Writing At Arizona State University

Sarah Duerden,Senior Lecturer Writing Programs

Arizona State Universityhttp://www.public.asu.edu/~atsjd

OverviewWhat is college-level writing?The two semester sequence at ASU

What is taught; what is not taught

My versions of 101 and 102Problems my students encounter How to further prepare students for college writingQ & A

What Is College-level Writing?• According to Patrick Sullivan,

“a student should write in response to an article, essay, or reading selection that contains at least some abstract content (16).

• The writer should demonstrate the following:– a willingness to evaluate

ideas and issues carefully,

– some skill at analysis and higher level thinking,

– the ability to integrate some of the material from reading skillfully,

– and the ability to follow the standard rules of grammar, punctuation, and spelling (17).

Students At ASUhttp://www.asu.edu/writingprograms/teacherresources/wpguide/missionstatement.htm

Goals:• to engage the ideas encountered in academic and serious

public discourse,• to develop complex ideas and arguments through serious

consideration of different perspectives,• and to connect their life experiences with ideas and information

they encounter in classes.By:• exploring what others have written about issues,• using their readings to expand their notion of what counts as an

appropriate position,• exploring the multiplicity of any topic,• and realizing that multiple stories or interpretations exist.

In Practice• We require the use of

college-level non-fiction readings that invite students to become actively engaged with the author's point of view, rather than simply to read for "information" or "main ideas."

In Practice, continued

– students learn to evaluate arguments, weigh evidence and scrutinize reasoning.

– they learn that multiple interpretations are possible, but that not all are "equally valid," that although language is semantically rich, more responsible readings are distinguished by careful analysis and textual support.

– students learn to use reading to examine identified perspectives through historical and cultural analyses that consider both the antecedents and the implications of a particular perspective, and that explore how such perspectives are embedded in complex cultural contexts.

In Practice Cont.

• In English 101 (first semester) we focus specifically on making clear claims in response to non-fiction texts supported by a variety of evidence including,– Other written texts,– Ethnographic research,– Personal experience.

• Often (but not always) the focus in 101 is on popular culture including pop culture texts and articles analyzing those texts.

• Teachers required to use a Rhetoric and may choose to use a Reader in addition.

English 102

In the second semester, our focus is on formal argumentation that involves articulating a claim, using definitions consistently, supporting the claim with a variety of evidence, and drawing conclusions. Students read and write various genres of argument.

In English 102, students learn the following:

how to write persuasively and to understand the demands made on them by the arguments they encounter,how to assess not only "factual" evidence, but the values, emotions and needs that affect the reasoning process,how to construct and present a persuasive character for themselves,and develop their understanding of the relationship between evidence and conclusions.

Research In All Courses

• In both courses, students engage in various forms of research for each paper.– Whether collecting data through fieldwork, interviews, listserv

participation, web-searches, or library holdings, students are encouraged to investigate how language defines a particular community, how its members communicate with one another in writing, how writing generates concepts for understanding human experience, and how it sometimes results in community action.

– Part of students’ research involves collecting relevant samples of writing that communities produce.

– Thus, the kinds of research we emphasize enables students not merely to conform to convention, but to enter into the scholarly debate which the conventions are intended to facilitate.

– Therefore, for us there is no such thing as “The Research Paper.” Research is part of all writing.

In All CoursesFour major writing projects*Multiple draftsMost teachers read drafts and make formative comments; others do not read all rough draftsAll teachers use peer review extensively (many teachers require two different drafts for peer review before the polished paper)Some allow for a one-time revision of a graded paper; others do not

*In WAC 101 (across two semesters) students complete 3 papers each semester and a final

In All Courses• All teachers make extensive use

of small group discussion; small group work for invention etc.

• A reflective final or portfolio in each course.

• Teachers choose texts from approved lists so courses do vary.

• All classes capped at 19.• Some taught in regular

classrooms, others in computer-mediated classrooms. Some taught as hybrids; some sections fully online.

First-Year Writing Sequences

• ENG 101-->ENG 102 (70% of students take this track)

• WAC 101-->ENG 101-->ENG 102 (20% of our students take this track)– We also have ESL versions of 101, WAC

101, and 102

• ENG 105 (10% of students take this one-semester course)

Possible Differences Between High School And College

• No Literature in First-Year Composition.• We stress the notion of discourse communities so that students

see that writing differs according to which discourse community they are writing for.

• We actively discourage specific formulas for structuring essays.– In particular this means abandoning the five paragraph theme

because it often limits students’ thinking (for a larger discussion see Sharon Crowley in The Methodical Memory and Keith Hjortshoj The Transition to College Writing).

• We actively encourage students to use the personal voice (if appropriate for the rhetorical situation of the paper).

• We expect standard grammar, punctuation, and spelling.

• And, according to Jack Meiland, the biggest difference is that college work “requires that students engage in a different kind of intellectual activity” (104).

What Is Not Taught

Grammar, punctuation, and spelling.Teachers may develop mini lectures on style tips such as when and how to use passive voice or how to make transitions more effective.

• Formulas or rigid structures for papers or paragraphs.– Emphasis may be on genre

such as accepted genre for proposal etc.

• Academic Writing as the only style.– We teach students to adapt

their writing to the discourse community and rhetorical situation.

My Own Versions Of 101

• In my version of English 101 our readings and papers we write focus specifically on the transition to college.– Assignment One: Critique of article about college students

supported by personal experience, ethnographic research, and outside readings.

Assignment Two: Article supported by personal experience, ethnographic research, and outside experts exploring

academic literacies encountered at ASU and the changes necessary to succeed.

Assignment Three: Taking a position on some problem related to education and suggesting a solution by using the readings on education as a starting point and conducting

further research.Assignment Four: Evaluation of a popular culture text aimed at college students, focusing particularly on values inherent in

the text, using outside experts as support.

My Version Of English 102Assignment One: Critical Analysis of an argument examining the rhetorical strategies employed and explaining what makes the argument effective or ineffective.Assignment Two: Examining the origins of a current issue or trend or situation by investigating what the issue is and arguing its origins, explaining who is affected by the issue, the different groups of people who have taken a position on issue, its scope and seriousness.Assignment Three: Arguing Value by returning to the issue in the second paper and arguing what is wrong or right or what is flawed or not.Assignment Four: Arguing Crisis by showing how a problem is becoming or has become a crisis and either advocating that something be done or some procedure be changed or arguing for or against a policy proposal that has actually been made.

In Each Course

• Homework comprises a reading journal and heuristics

• Reading Journal: Students must summarize each reading and write a response to the reading (in 102 they must include an additional section in which they describe the author’s appeals and evidence)

• Heuristics: For each paper I create a series of tasks that help students generate and develop material from which they can draw to produce a draft

Problems Students Encounter:Reading

• Some have severe problems reading and accurately comprehending complex non-fiction prose.

• Therefore, many are unable to summarize accurately.• Many can describe what an author does, but they cannot

summarize the argument. They write a description but not a summary (first the author does x. Then she says y).

• If the essay uses a delayed thesis or employs inductive logic, they are confused.

• Many are unwilling to read ideas that they don’t agree with.• Many are unwilling or unable to evaluate ideas they don’t agree

with.

Problems Students Encounter: Organization & Development

• Some are unwilling to abandon formulas that were useful in high school (and in particular for essay exams).

• Some are frustrated by the fact that we don’t use exact models for them to emulate.

• Some have difficulty with seeing that writing depends on the discourse community and changes according to the rhetorical situation.

Research• Some see research as the last step

they do after they have outlined a paper.

– In other words, rather than allowing themselves to see that a conversation on a topic exists and they are about to enter it, they want to formulate their opinion and then add what others have said.

– Because they are not skilled readers, some misinterpret outside research.

– Of course Google rules along with Wikipedia.

How To Prepare Students For College Writing

• No easy task given how much you are expected to already cover as high school teachers and the literature focus you are required to take.

• However, more practice reading complex non-fiction texts would help students transition to the kind of questioning or intellectual work that Jack Meiland and Patrick Sullivan describe.

• Also helping them learn how to write an accurate summary rather than a description of texts; I do this in a literary context by pointing out the difference between summarizing a film in contrast to giving a blow- by- blow synopsis of the plot.

How To Prepare Students For College Writing (continued)

– could students summarize arguments about the literature they are reading? When I introduce summary, I give students an article and guidelines for writing a summary. Then in the next class, I go through my own writing of a summary of that argument. Then I have them pool their versions to develop a group version. I find writing group summaries in class a good way to help students develop this skill.

– could students be asked to read and summarize arguments about the subject matter dealt with in the literature? For example, when my literature students read The Curious Incident in the Nighttime, I had them read and summarize arguments about Asperger’s Syndrome and how best to educate those with the disorder.

How To Prepare Students For College Writing (continued)

• Sustained and overt discussion of rhetorical situation for each assignment—even if the audience is just the teacher, there are rhetorical constraints they must follow.

• Discuss the concept of discourse community—literature is a particular discourse community with conventions that differ significantly from the sciences and social sciences.

Discussion and use of a variety of evidence.Focus on research as a way to support ideas rather than a paper in and of itself.Discussion of research as a way of entering a debate rather than what is added after the paper is written.Continued use of peer review (our students come well prepared for this and we try to develop their skills further by focusing on goals for each assignment).

Practicalities

Computer literacy

Ability to follow stand rules of grammar, punctuation, and spelling

Familiarity with MLA documentation and how to use handbook

Works Cited

ASU Writing Programs: http://www.asu.edu/writingprograms/

Crowley, Sharon. The Methodical Memory: Invention in Current-Traditional Rhetoric. Southern Illinois Press, 1990.

Hjorshoj, Keith. The Transition to College Writing. Boston: Bedford St Martin’s, 2001.

Meiland, Jack. “The Difference Between High School and College.” You Are Here. Russel Durst. (Ed.) New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2003.104-115.

Steering Committee of the Outcomes Group. “WPA Outcomes Statement for First-Year Composition.” College English 63 (2001): 321-325.

Sullivan, Patrick. “An Essential Question: What is College-Level Writing?” in What is College-Level Writing? Patrick Sullivan and Howard Tinberg (Eds). Urbana: NCTE, 2006. 1-30.