ENL 5183-001 (Fall 2008)
Theory & Practice of Teaching Composition
Monday 5:30-8:15 p.m.
Prof. Sue Hum
Office: MB 2.462
Phone: (210) 458 7883
E-mail: sue.hum@utsa.edu
Office Hours: Mon & Wed 2:30-3:45 p.m., and by appointment.
There are deeply rooted connections between
personality, learning, and language, and what touches
one touches all.
Mike Torbe and Peter Medway
Education is remembering. Plato
Imagination is more important than information.
Albert Einstein
But given the normal range of individual differences
both in rate of development and in talents for different
aspects of learning, expecting all students to meet the
same set of standards on the same schedule is absurd.
Jane Healy
Course Description:
Introduces major contemporary composition theories and their approaches to teaching writing. Provides
a broad and extensive overview of the history, ideology, assumptions, beliefs, and criticisms to various
theories of teaching writing. Involves formal and informal writing assignments, hands-on activities, group
discussions, and opportunities to evaluate the theoretical material from a pedagogical perspective.
Course Objectives:
1. Gaining factual knowledge (terminology, classifications, methods, trends)
2. Developing specific skills, competencies, and points of view needed by professionals in the field
most closely related to this course
3. Developing skill in expressing oneself orally or in writing
4. Learning to analyze and critically evaluate ideas, arguments, and points of view
Course Texts:
1. Tate, Rupiper, Schick, ed. A Guide to Composition Pedagogies. Oxford, 2001. (GCP)
2. McComiskey, Bruce. Teaching Writing as a Social Process. Utah State UP, 2000. (TW)
3. Flower, Linda. Community Literacy and the Rhetoric of Public Engagement. Southern Illinois UP,
2008. (CL)
4. Davis, Robert, and Mark Shadle. Teaching Multiwriting: Researching and Composing with
Multiple Genres, Medias, Disciplines, and Cultures. Southern Illinois UP, 2008.
5. About $25 for photocopies, multi-media disks, folders, poster board, etc.
6. Own e-mail account & regular, daily internet access from home.
Grading Criteria:
Book Review & Discussion.........................…………………….…25%
Founder’s Website & Annotations……………………………..…..30%
Theory-to-Pedagogy Assignment……………………………...…..25%
Quizzes & Final Exam..……………...………............................…20%
ENG 5183: Teaching Composition 2
Attendance and Participation
Because this is a graduate seminar and because your course grade will be influenced by your inclass participation and your preparedness, regular, punctual attendance seems to be the most logical
approach. More than one absence, whether excused or unexcused, will affect your course grade by one
letter per absence; you may also be asked to withdraw from the course.
Do complete the assigned reading/writing on the days listed and come prepared to participate in
class discussion. No late papers will be accepted except if you are absent (then, you may turn in your
assignment the following week; do attach a medical excuse to your assignment).
Student questions and debates all contribute to the overall growth of knowledge for the class.
Learning studies show that in general, if a person has a question, then at least 1/3 of the other people in
the class also have that question—SO ASK! You will encounter a number of interesting and perhaps
controversial topics in this course, and you will not always agree with me or with each other. Learning to
listen and understand different points of view is critical to class discussion. Careful listening also helps
avoid needless repetition—a factor that your classmates will appreciate! Should your participation be
minimal, the instructor may deduct up to one letter grade from your final grade.
Note on civility and professionalism: Students are expected to assist in maintaining a classroom
environment that is conducive to learning. To ensure all students have the opportunity to gain from the
time spent in class, students are prohibited from engaging in any form of distraction. Inappropriate
behavior in the classroom shall result, minimally, in a request to leave class. Cell phones should be
turned off or set to “vibrate/buzz only” before you come to class. If you must take a call, please step into
the hallway to talk. See Student Code of Conduct: www.utsa.edu/osja/conductoutline
Ethical breaches in your research, tardiness, unexcused absences, and/or lack of commitment to
the course and your work will effect your standing is course. Work submitted for this course may not be
submitted for credit in any other courses and vice versa.
Book Review & Discussion
By the first week, you will have chosen one book to review (see attached list; if you prefer to
review a series of 8-10 journal essays on a particular topic rather than review a book, we can negotiate
on what might be included. Available until the second week of the semester.). Read it carefully and
develop a 2,000 word written overview that includes the following information: historical background &
context, major trends & beliefs, chapter summaries, controlling themes, author’s philosophy of
teaching/bias, and insights/contributions to theories, practices of teaching writing, chapter summaries,
and a sample writing assignment. For a discussion of what a book review entails, you might check book
reviews at the Composition Studies website: http://www.compositionstudies.tcu.edu/bookreviews.html.
Please make copies of your review for each member of the course.
After a 15-minute overview of your book review, your next goal and objective are to encourage
and facilitate a lively, enlightening discussion. Conduct/moderate a 20-minute discussion with the class.
Feel free to utilize whatever techniques you may wish to make class interesting. Stay away from verbal
hesitations (errs, ums, you knows, I thinks, etc.). Have a well-defined, legible game plan. Please don't
read us your notes or your review. Note: if you need clarification, a pep talk, or strategies while preparing
for this discussion, see me—preferably a week before you're scheduled to lead the discussion.
Note: Books that are unavailable at the UTSA library can be interlibrary-loaned. Since it takes an
average of 5-7 business days for an interlibrary loan item to arrive, you’ll want to plan accordingly.
Renewals are prohibited for interlibrary loaned books.
Founder’s Website
This assignment requires you to research the teaching, scholarly, and professional contributions of a
founding compositionist. Read and annotate that compositionist’s works. Read and annotate any works
about that compositionist. Write a 750 word overview that describes and evaluates that person’s
influence and legacy, focusing particularly to that person’s theoretical and pedagogical contributions. If
ENG 5183: Teaching Composition 3
that compositionist is still alive, you may want to write to him/her and conduct an interview although this
step is optional. The information will be made available online at the following URL:
http://comppile.tamucc.edu/wiki/CompositionFounders/HomePage . You may decide if you wish to be
credited publicly for that work. Includes a 10 minute presentation, accompanied by a one-page handout
that provides an abstract of your overview and a writing assignment. Be prepared to conduct some
discussion.
 Baumlin, James S.
 Davis, Vivian I.
 Larson, Richard L.
 Berthoff, Ann E.
 de Beaugrande, Robert
 Lloyd-Jones, Richard
 Bitzer, Lloyd
 Farrell, Thomas J.
 Moffett, James
 Booth, Wayne
 Gebhardt, Richard C.
 Murphy, James J.
 Braddock, Richard
 Gerber, John C.
 Murray, Donald M.
 Britton, James
 Gorrell, Robert M.
 Sirc, Geoffrey
 Campbell, Kermit
 Graves, Richard L.
 Smitherman, Geneva
 Christensen, Francis
 Hillocks, Jr., George
 Stewart, Donald C.
 Coe, Richard M.
 Hoover, Regina
 Weathers, Winston
 Corbett, Edward P.J.
 Horner, Winifred Bryan
 Winterowd, W. Ross
 Corder, Jim W.
 Irmscher, William F.
 Young, Richard
 D’Angelo, Frank J.
 Kelly, Lou
Theory-to-Pedagogy Assignment
At the end of the semester, we will have a hefty “assignment bank,” ideas for assignments from
which we can “borrow.” Since much of teaching hangs on “what-to-do-in-class-on-Monday” with very little
time for reflection, I am asking you to this opportunity for reflection, to work out carefully an assignment
based on a theoretical concept that you find intriguing. The purpose then is to not only supply an
assignment that can be used or modified, but more importantly to inspire, to provoke reflection, to offer
unique approaches, to suggest possibilities, and even to challenge prevailing beliefs. Begin with a
theoretical rationale which explains the assignment’s theoretical frame. Then, provide a syllabus that
ranges over 2-4 weeks and lists the daily activities. You may include small assignments that lead up to
a larger assignment. Include an assessment apparatus and a list of learning outcomes, that is, what
students should be able to achieve at the end of the assignment. In addition to a focus on “what-to-do,”
you will also want to consider what students and their teacher are learning and why. Situate your
assignment within a larger concern in the field of composition studies and how that assignment adds
to/complicates/calls into question commonly held ideas about (teaching) writing.
Quizzes and Final Exam
Quizzes: There may be pop quizzes covering the
assigned reading, lectures, class discussion, and student
presentations. Be prepared! Quizzes can be conducted
at any time during the class period. A missed quiz
cannot be made up for any reason. Since lecture and
discussion will be subject to quizzes, students cannot
show up sporadically and still expect to succeed in the
quizzes. You may drop one quiz at the end of the
semester.
Final Exam: A comprehensive final exam will be
conducted on Monday, 15 December, 5:00-7:30 p.m.
There will be short answer and essay questions.
Students may bring to the exam one 8.5 x 11” piece of
paper with notes. Those notes must be turned in with the
final exam. After the final grade is submitted, students
ENG 5183: Teaching Composition 4
may review their final exam but cannot take it with them.
Journals in Rhetoric and Composition
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College Composition and Communication
College English
Composition Studies/Freshman English News*
Computers and Composition
Enculturation*
English Journal
Writing on the Edge
Journal of Advanced Composition
Journal of Basic Writing*
Journal of Teaching Writing*
Kairos*
Pedagogy*
Pre/Text*
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Readerly/Writerly Texts*
Reading Research Quarterly
Reading Teacher
Research in the Teaching of English
Review of Education, Pedagogy, Cultural Studies*
Rhetoric Review*
Rhetoric Society Quarterly
Teaching English in the Two Year College*
The Writing Instructor*
World Englishes
WPA: Writing Program Administrator
Written Communication
Writing Center Journal
*Note: First, check the E-Journal locator off the UTSA library home page as full text is available for many of these
journals. For browsing the tables of contents of journals, use the UNCOVER database available at:
www.ingenta.com. In addition, many essays are available off www.jstor.org.
Online Resources in Rhetoric and Composition
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National Council of Teachers of English, www.ncte.org
CompPile, an inventory of publications in post-secondary composition, rhetoric, technical writing, ESL, and discourse
studies, www.comppile.org
Bibliographies galore compiled by Becky Howard, http://wrt-howard.syr.edu/bibs.html
The CCCC Bibliography on Rhetoric and Composition, 1984-1999, http://www.ibiblio.org/cccc/
WPA (Writing Program Administrator) Listserv, an online discussion board for anyone who’s anybody in
rhetoric and composition, (to subscribe) http://www.wpacouncil.org/wpa-l; (archives) https://lists.asu.edu/cgibin/wa?A0=WPA-L
ENG 5183: Teaching Composition 5
ENG 5183 Semester Syllabus (Fall 2008)
Week 1 -- 1 September
 Labor Day – no class
Week 2 -- 8 September
 Introductions; course expectations, goals, syllabus, assignments; book review project
 Discussion – what is English?; what are the goals, purposes, and objectives of
English composition?
 Lecture – Major theories, approaches, disciplinary trends & epistemologies (product,
process, social construction, expressivism) in teaching composition; what is the
relationship of theory and practice?
 Reading – GCP Process (please read before coming to class)
 Reading – (1) Fulkerson, Richard. “Composition at the Turn of the Twenty-First
Century,” CCC 56 (2005): 654-87; (2) Downs, Doug and Elizabeth Wardle. “Teaching
about Writing, Righting Misconceptions.” College Composition and Communication
58.4 (2007): 552-84; (3) Lindeman, Erika, “Three Views of English 101,” CE 57.3
(1995): 287-302; (4) Tate, Gary, “Notes on the Dying of a Conversation,” CE 57.3
(1995): 303-309. (please read before coming to class)
Week 3 -- 15 September
 Reading – GCP WAC
 Reading – (1) Smagorinsky, Peter. "Constructing Meaning in the Disciplines:
Reconceptualizing Writing across the Curriculum as Composing across the
Curriculum." American Journal of Education 103 (February 1995): 160–84; (2) Odell,
Lee, and Burt Swersey. “Reinventing Invention: Writing Across the Curriculum without
WAC.” Language and Learning Across the Disciplines 6.3 (2003); (3) Flower, Linda
S. and John R. Hayes “Problem-Solving Strategies and the Writing Process.” CE 39.4
(1977): 449-461.
 Pedagogy – Strategies for using process and revision
 Visitor: Gail Pizzola
Week 4 -- 22 September
 Reading – GCP Cultural Studies and Critical Pedagogy
 Reading – (1) Giroux, Henry, “Cultural Studies and the Culture of Politics,” Journal of
Advanced Composition 20.3 (2000): 505-40; (2) Berlin, James, “Poststructuralism,
Cultural Studies, and the Composition Classroom,” Rhetoric Review 11.1 (1992):
16-33; (3) Spidel, Cathy, and William Thelin, "Not Ready to Let Go: A Study of
Resistance to Grading Contracts" Composition Studies 34.1 (2006): 35-68; (4)
Stenberg, Shari J., “Liberation Theology and Liberatory Pedagogies: Renewing
the Dialogue,” CE 68.3 (2006): 271-290.
 Pedagogy – Strategies for responding to student work
 Book Review/Discussion – Welch (Ortega)
ENG 5183: Teaching Composition 6
Week 5 -- 29 September
 Reading – McComiskey
 Pedagogy – Strategies for developing writing assignments
 Book Review/Discussion – Dumbar-Odom (Wheeler)
Week 6 -- 6 October
 Reading – GCP Expressive and Collaborative
 Reading – (1) Bartholomae, David. "Writing with Teachers: A Conversation with Peter
Elbow." CCC 46 (February 1995), 62–71; (2) Elbow, Peter. "Being a Writer vs.
Being an Academic: A Conflict in Goals." CCC 46 (February 1995): 72–83; (3)
Bruffee, Kenneth A. "Collaborative Learning and the 'Conversation of Mankind.'"
CE 46 (November 1984): 635–52; (4) Trimbur, John. "Consensus and Difference
in Collaborative Learning." CE 51 (October 1989): 602–16.
 Pedagogy – Strategies for group work and discussion
 Book Review/Discussion – Micciche (Cox)
Week 7 -- 13 October
 Reading – GCP Feminist
 Reading – (1) Bauer, Dale. “The Other 'F' Word: The Feminist in the Classroom.” CE
52 (1990): 385–96; (2) Jarratt, Susan C. "Feminism and Composition: The Case
for Conflict." Contending With Words: Composition and Rhetoric in a Postmodern
Age. Eds. Patricia Harkin and John Schlib. New York: MLA, 1991. 105-123; (3)
Lamb, Catherine E. "Beyond Argument in Feminist Composition." CCC 42 (1991):
11–24; (4) Lunsford, Andrea. “Aristotelian vs. Rogerian Argument: A
Reassessment,” CCC 30.2 (1979): 146-51; (5) hooks, bell. “Engaged Pedagogy.”
Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom.” New York:
Routledge, 1994. 13-22.
 Pedagogy – Strategies for integrating issues of materiality
 Book Review/Discussion – Sheridan-Rabideau (Mulkey)
Week 8 -- 20 October
 Presentations – Founder’s Websites; have handout ready; you may turn in files
digitally by 11:59 p.m. on 21 October.
Week 9 -- 27 October
 Reading – GCP Community-Service Learning
 Reading – (1) Schutz, Aaron, and Anne Ruggles Gere. "Service Learning and English
Studies: Rethinking 'Public' Service." CE 60 (1998): 129–48.
 Reading – Flower ch 1, 2, 3, 4
 Pedagogy – Strategies for using writing portfolios
 Book Review/Discussion – Mathieu (Barki)
ENG 5183: Teaching Composition 7
Week 10 -- 3 November
 Reading – GCP Basic Writing
 Reading – (1) Soliday, Mary. "From the Margins to the Mainstream: Reconceiving
Remediation." CCC 47.1 (February 1996): 85–100; (2) Hartwell, Patrick.
“Grammar, Grammars, and the Teaching of Grammar.” CE 47.2 (1985): 105-27.
 Reading – Flower ch 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
 Pedagogy – Strategies for teaching grammar
 Book Review/Discussion – Mulroy (Coleman)
Week 11 -- 10 November
 Reading – GCP Rhetorical
 Reading – (1) Berlin, James A. "Rhetoric and Ideology in the Writing Class." CE 50
(September 1988): 477–94; (2) Killingsworth, M. Jimmie. “Rhetorical Appeals: A
Revision.” Rhetoric Review 24.3 (2005): 249–63; (3) Lunsford, Andrea A., and
Lisa S. Ede. "Classical Rhetoric, Modern Rhetoric, and Contemporary Discourse
Studies." Written Communication 1 (January 1984): 78–100; (4) Pixton, William.
“The Triangle and the Stance.” Rhetoric Society Quarterly 17.3 (1987): 263-79.
 Pedagogy – Strategies for using the rhetorical triangle
 Book Review/Discussion – Killingsworth (Tougaw) and Ballif (Pena)
Week 12 -- 17 November
 Reading – GCP Technology
 Reading -- (1) Yancey, Kathleen Blake. “Made Not Only in Words: Composition in a
New Key.” CCC 56.2 (2004): 297-328.
 Reading – Davis and Shadle ch 1 & 2
 Pedagogy – Strategies for teaching with technology
 Book Review/Discussion – Banks (Manboard)
Week 13
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-- 24 November
Reading – Davis and Shadle ch 3, 4, 5
Pedagogy – Strategies for teaching with technology
Book Review/Discussion – Howard and Robillard (Glasscock)
Week 14 -- 1 December
 Theory-to-Pedagogy assignment and presentations due
 Overview – Final Exam
Week 15 -- 8 December
 Study Day -- No Class
Week 16 -- 15 December
 Final Exam, 5:00-7:30 p.m.