As a college English faculty member, I assign academic essays and teach MLA style. The course learning outcomes in English 101, which follow national standards in writing programs, include “supporting a well-articulated thesis statement by integrating information from source material” and “using a standard documentation style for source-based writing.” This myth then seems, on the surface, to be obviously true.

             But here’s the thing: writing is more than just a product. At it’s very essence, writing is a fluid process and writing is never done. Writing is a tool and a vehicle to share perspectives, present evidence, add a unique voice. In fact, the best definition for writing I’ve seen is from Professor Elizabeth Wardle and it states that “writing is not just how you say something (form) but also what you say (content), how you come up with your ideas (invention), how go through the act of thinking and writing (process), and whether what you’ve said and how you’ve said it successfully meets the current situation (rhetoric).” Writing itself is not one thing; it’s many things, and as such it needs further descriptive parameters to truly define.

            The best writing often depends on the situation. Who, what, where, when, why, how are you writing? What writing faculty routinely recite when students ask about writing sounds something like this: what is the purpose of a particular piece of writing? And who is the intended audience? Knowing these two things are key to how writers make moves forward, and having a clear purpose and audience allows writers to make decisions about which tools they might use to best communicate. For example, is a piece of writing intended as a professional report for a business; a letter to the editor aiming to convince;  a documentation of a science lab; a work of art like a poem or a play; a narrative of creative non-fiction; a straight-forward, brief abstract based on research; a multiple source synthesis based on a research question; an oral debate; a multimodal powerpoint presentation or infographic; etc.?

            Writing instruction that embraces the multiplicity of possible writing projects best allows for students to understand it’s variability and it’s potential for communicating significance in meaningful ways. Some writing teachers, like Elizabeth Wardle, espouse the value of teaching writing about writing, so that as students learn, they actively see how writing is about choices, a constant endeavor in examining form and function. Once students learn choices, and the right questions to ask, they can begin to meet the need for communicating what is necessary and important within those parameters.

          How can we, in any discipline, help? Honor that writing is more than just essays. Teach process and choice and help students ask good questions so they might find the best method for showing others the insight they have to share. Encourage them to use their voice.  Democrat and Chronicle journalist Mark Hare reminds us that “At our best, we use words to inform, to comfort, to challenge, to raise each other up, to hold families and communities together, to move nations, to preserve and share our history, to explain nature, to seek God.” And, with such potential possibilities, the limits are like a sky full of stars.

 

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MCC Daily Tribune

The Composition Cemetery... Myths About Composition Debunked

Myth #3: Writing in college means completing an academic essay in MLA style.

As a college English faculty member, I assign academic essays and teach MLA style. The course learning outcomes in English 101, which follow national standards in writing programs, include “supporting a well-articulated thesis statement by integrating information from source material” and “using a standard documentation style for source-based writing.” This myth then seems, on the surface, to be obviously true.

But here’s the thing: writing is more than just a product. At it’s very essence, writing is a fluid process and writing is never done. Writing is a tool and a vehicle to share perspectives, present evidence, add a unique voice. In fact, the best definition for writing I’ve seen is from Professor Elizabeth Wardle and it states that “writing is not just how you say something (form) but also what you say (content), how you come up with your ideas (invention), how go through the act of thinking and writing (process), and whether what you’ve said and how you’ve said it successfully meets the current situation (rhetoric).” Writing itself is not one thing; it’s many things, and as such it needs further descriptive parameters to truly define.

The best writing often depends on the situation. Who, what, where, when, why, how are you writing? What writing faculty routinely recite when students ask about writing sounds something like this: what is the purpose of a particular piece of writing? And who is the intended audience? Knowing these two things are key to how writers make moves forward, and having a clear purpose and audience allows writers to make decisions about which tools they might use to best communicate. For example, is a piece of writing intended as a professional report for a business; a letter to the editor aiming to convince; a documentation of a science lab; a work of art like a poem or a play; a narrative of creative non-fiction; a straight-forward, brief abstract based on research; a multiple source synthesis based on a research question; an oral debate; a multimodal powerpoint presentation or infographic; etc.?

Writing instruction that embraces the multiplicity of possible writing projects best allows for students to understand it’s variability and it’s potential for communicating significance in meaningful ways. Some writing teachers, like Elizabeth Wardle, espouse the value of teaching writing about writing, so that as students learn, they actively see how writing is about choices, a constant endeavor in examining form and function. Once students learn choices, and the right questions to ask, they can begin to meet the need for communicating what is necessary and important within those parameters.

How can we, in any discipline, help? Honor that writing is more than just essays. Teach process and choice and help students ask good questions so they might find the best method for showing others the insight they have to share. Encourage them to use their voice. Democrat and Chronicle journalist Mark Hare reminds us that “At our best, we use words to inform, to comfort, to challenge, to raise each other up, to hold families and communities together, to move nations, to preserve and share our history, to explain nature, to seek God.” And, with such potential possibilities, the limits are like a sky full of stars.

Attached Files:
Comp Notes Spring 2022.pdf

Angelique Johnston
English/Philosophy
03/02/2022