WRIT 350 Exam Review
Amy S. Gerald, Ph.D.
Winthrop University
Kelly Gallagher – “Literacy Stampede”
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Defines the literacy problem in the US (see
charts, SC among lowest);
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lists the top ten writing wrongs in secondary
schools (not doing enough writing, writing
not taught, only assigned, etc);
Kelly Gallagher – “Literacy Stampede”
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righting the writing wrongs: students need: more writing
practice, teachers who model good writing, the opportunity
to read and study other writers, choice of topics, to write for
authentic purposes and for authentic audiences,
meaningful feedback from teacher and peers.
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Gives reasons why students should write (hard, but
rewarding, helps you think, helps you persuade, fights
oppression, helps you read, makes you smarter, helps you
get into and through college, prepares you for work world.
The Composing Process
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Ch. 1 Why Teach Writing?
To form your own teaching philosophy through
trial and error, reading, writing, discussion
Writing as a mode of learning (write to
know/to learn), process and product
approaches, the importance of theory to back
up practice.
The Composing Process
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Ch. 2 What Is Writing?
Chapter focuses on rhetorical situation of writing and
teaching
Importance of Audience – awareness of that audience
Importance of increasing your awareness of your own
rhetorical agency/influence as teachers and writers
Process Approach can overcome: writer’s block (what
Jakobson calls “Contact” – the point where we must put
ideas on paper)
Process Approach can overcome: what Jakobson calls
problems with “Code” – letters, punctuation, mechanics
What focusing on the rhetorical situation can do: helps
students break down an assignment, helps teachers
evaluate their assignment-creating skills, communication
skills, and student papers, and helps students understand
the relativity and inter-dependency of ethos, pathos, logos.
The Composing Process
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Ch. 3 What Does the Process Involve?
Importance of requiring/spending time for invention,
drafting, revision.
The difference between student writers and professional,
experienced writers (recursiveness of the process).
Reflective/Reflexive writing (writing about writing,
thinking about thinking, etc.) will assist in writers
becoming more critical thinkers, capable of more complex
thought.
What is the difference between revision and editing?
Invention as a Social Act – social nature of writing (our
inner voice, then our internal monitor [internal dialogic],
then collaborative learning (peer groups), then collective –
social spheres, communities) LeFevre’s stages.
Janet Emig – “Writing as a Mode of
Learning”
her description of the cognitive process of writing:
“Writing involves the fullest possible functioning of the brain” (10).
She discusses the use of right and left hemispheres – the creative
side and the logical side. She discusses the physical connection to
learning when you create in your mind and translate that into the
verbal language and then into the symbol system of written
language. Then the physical act of writing what you are thinking,
reinforces that thinking == you are seeing again what you were
thinking, that you created. She discusses the higher order skills of
analysis and synthesis. Writing uses so many functions and aspects
of your brain and body that it is a powerful activity for teaching and
learning.
RHETORICAL THEORY AND
PRACTICE
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Ch. 4 Rhetoric (know the triangle)
needs and emphasis of rhetoric changed
with context over time
Rhetoric gives us greater control over our
use of language (our choices) and helps
us better interpret language
Rhetorical Theory & Practice
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Ch. 5 Linguistics
Language is arbitrary and conventional (it
changes and it is mutually agreed upon by
people)
Don’t judge people b/c of their language – errors
are often systematic and rule-driven
If teaching grammar doesn’t improve writing,
why teach it? (b/c it leads to a knowledge of
language, power over language, expression,
code switching abilities)
Don’t teach grammar as a subject matter in
itself, but as a means to improving writing
Rhetorical Theory & Practice -- Linguistics
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AAE Ch.1 – What is AAE?
How we characterize something or refer to something has
consequences (Burke – language as an acting agent) so to
refer to AAE as “broken” English mischaracterizes it and
has negative consequences for AAE users
Is it “broken”, slang, dialect, or language?
Why study AAE? To be aware of our bias and to begin to
recognize patterns in order to better teach
AAE Ch. 2 -- What are the Distinctive Features of AAE?
There is a basic core of commonly understood features
(vocab, slang, pronunciation, grammar, rhetoric)
AAE Ch. 4 – Describe the range of approaches to teaching
writing with or without AAE (Traditional, 2nd Dialect, Dialect
Awareness, Culturally Appropriate, Bridge)
Peter Elbow
“Why Deny a Choice to Speakers of African
American Language that Most of us Offer Other
Students”
Let AAL users (and all students) write in home
language initially, then help them shape into
whatever language is appropriate for the writing
task.
Yvonne Freeman
“Lessons Should Have Meaning and Purpose for
Learners Now”
Writing assignments for ESL (and all students)
should be authentic, with real life, immediate
meaning and purpose (such as our Pen Pal
project)
Rhetorical Theory & Practice
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Ch. 7 Invention – is social (think of our movie
discussion)
Prewriting: reading, thinking, writing, listening,
talking
Prewriting helps students assess the
dimensions of a rhetorical problem and plan its
solution
Benefits of Prewriting: breaks downs the
process, allows for planning and better focus.
List some prewriting activities: lists, clusters,
freewrites, journals, heuristics, models
Rhetorical Theory & Practice
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Ch. 12 Revision
Corrects students’ perception of rewriting-aspunishment
Recursiveness, messiness
“Engfish” – pretentiously formal style some
students think their English teachers want to
read – how to help? Classmates as audience
Discovery drafts (is evidence of no prewriting)
and MUST be revised b/c no focus
Writing workshops – familiarize yourself with the
benefits of (for writer AND reader)
Teaching as Rhetoric
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Ch. 13 Developing Writing Assignments
How is understanding rhetoric beneficial
for students with writing assignments?
How is understanding rhetoric beneficial
for teachers creating writing
assignments?
Evaluating writing assignments?
Evaluating student papers?
Teaching as Rhetoric
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Ch. 14 Responding to Student Writing
2 purposes for evaluating writing:
Diagnosis – not graded, mined for info to help us teach
Feedback – guided and focused feedback that helps students
understand how a reader perceives the writer’s message – how?
Conferences, peer editing, written comments
Grading vs. evaluating
Select only 1-2 issues per paper for students to work on
If mark mostly grammar – you get frustration and giving up
If little evidence of teacher comments making better student writing,
then what? P. 234
Model of a right & wrong – what is wrong with #1? Doesn’t help
student “become an independent judge of his/her own prose” – be a
self-sufficient self-editor.
Balance praise and criticism
Treat each paper as an opportunity to conduct a lesson
Self-evaluation of our own writing does what?
How might teachers handle the paper load?
Teaching as Rhetoric
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Ch. 15 Designing Writing Courses
Teaching as complicated rhetorical act, always realigning
our relationship to students and subject
Plan, teach, revise = prewrite, draft, revise
What-centered course (product and teacher-centered) vs.
how-centered (process & student).
2 models of process-centered course (259) – older model
‘70’s – the individual, self-discovery, voice, expressive
writing. Newer model late ‘80’s 90’s -- about social
context of writing, language shapes us as we shape
language, collaborative learning, discourse communities.
Teaching Writing With No textbook!?!?
Active and collaborative learning – be student-centered,
not teacher centered – its not about you!
Exam Preparation Advice:
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Review your reading notes: marginal notes, areas
you’ve highlighted
Review your notes from class discussion (chart!)
Review in-class activities!!!
Review your journals
Be well-rested and well-fed!