The reading for this evening's class is a mix of texts that, taken together, chronicle significant moments in the formation of Rhetoric & Composition, now more often called Writing Studies, a term that more aptly captures all the various ways scholars in R&C approach their work.
Please post your Reading Responses for this week to this space. Expect that we will read each other's posts and respond to them in various ways during our class meeting on 1 February 2022. If you have questions about what to post, please check out the Reading Response assignment by clicking on this link or by using the drop down menu at the top of this page. What is the central argument or arguments you can trace through the readings for this week? Remember: You only have 500 words so you will not be able to give each reading the same attention. I know that and honor that. HOW TO POST
11 Comments
Megan G
1/31/2022 04:41:02 pm
Since the 19th century, the expectations for the optimal way to produce quality writing have been under intense debate in both the academic and literary worlds. While there are still different existing circles of thought surrounding writing techniques, scholars and writers can agree that writing is an involved process that requires more than just a quick sequencing of words. Writing is often portrayed as a solitary activity, where the writer is locked away in their room for hours allowing their creative juices to flow. The readings this week clearly dispute this portrayal as they instead showcase writing as a process of development and engagement. While writing can be enhanced by technique and structure, its true purpose is to be a catalyst for new ideas and meaning-making.
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Olivia L.
1/31/2022 04:55:23 pm
In three out of the four texts, they mention that writing is better and more purposeful when it is "authentic" or "real". They all argue that this cannot be done without motivation, freedom, and collaboration. The ongoing theme and overall argument in all of these texts seems to be focused on the writing process in which students and individuals use. I would argue along with these authors that to be "authentic" in your writing requires you to have your own writing process and motives.
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Sarah Bond
1/31/2022 05:10:21 pm
I am a multi-drafting hesitant revisionist who delays in the planning stage, outlines all my ideas, and fixates on how each word captures my meaning. I see writing as a reflection of the thought that went into it, and in spite of countless writing hours, years of teaching experience, published articles, journaling, and story-telling, I tremble in fear of criticism and rarely enjoy the act of writing. In short, I am a product of the mess of methodologies that continually adapts – or fails to adapt, as the case may be – to a rapidly changing world of literacy studies.
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Ashley Merola
1/31/2022 08:46:51 pm
Throughout this week’s readings, scholars within the rhetoric and composition subfield of English tackle the topic of process pedagogy and the development of its various theories. Each article addresses the common (mis)conceptions that led to the rise of this particular perspective in the late 1960s, such as the threat of the literacy “crisis,” the definition of “good” writing, and the emphasis on efficiency that prioritized proficiency over growth. Partial to process pedagogy, these theorists ground their analyses in the central claim that writing negates neutrality. It instead requires readers and writers alike (as well as teachers of readers and writers) to actively acknowledge and analyze the persuasive power they possess as part of the process. Irene L. Clark, in particular, provides a comprehensive overview of writing studies that proves “the process movement has not solved every problem associated with helping students to learn to write” (23). In support of this statement, I argue that while the conventional approach to writing instruction in the contemporary English classroom calls for change, the responsibility should not solely rest on the shoulders of those who teach composition courses.
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Brian Seibert
2/1/2022 06:56:17 am
One of the central arguments for this week’s readings was that Writing Studies has and always will be constantly changing and evolving. Due to this state of change, even the word “rhetoric” is often misunderstood and misused. Clark defines the term “rhetoric” as “the complex interaction between the writer, the reader, and the context and is therefore neither good nor bad in itself” (P. 8). Most people use that word to mean empty of meaning, causing confusion of its definition.
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Maura Geoghegan
2/1/2022 08:28:34 am
The readings for this week presented an interesting background on the history of the study of rhetoric and composition. This is a field I have little background in, so I found it to be helpful to learn about significant movements and scholars in this field. The articles all seem to touch upon the idea that it’s difficult to teach or talk about writing in only one way since it is constantly evolving. Each article presents both pros and cons to the movement(s) they focus on and the different nuances and complexities within them. Even just the common phrase, “writing is a process, not a product,” (Clark 1; Tobin 2) holds nuance since Tobin addresses the fact that process-oriented teachers recognize that students do need to develop a product of writing, while product-oriented teachers also recognize that there are processes that lead to a product of writing (Tobin 7).
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Melissa Batty
2/1/2022 10:23:52 am
Although deeply rich with context, and promoting several ideologies surrounding process pedagogy, Lad Tobin’s “Process Pedagogy,” clearly argues that writing is not stagnant; it is an ever-evolving process where students, academics, and authors, strive to develop and enrich their composition skills by removing the chains besieging their texts from imperial notions of literacy. Lad Tobin’s arguments centers around process pedagogy’s ability to ensure that writers discover and explore what their individual language is and how educators can nurture said language within the classroom setting. Process pedagogy stresses that the emphasis of academic writing is in the hands of students; meaning that students decide how to develop through writing, their voice and identity. The result of this often leading to a student’s self-actualization regarding authorial personage and as social and political individuals.
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Kayleigh Holt
2/1/2022 01:35:23 pm
In "Processes" by Irene L. Clark the history and different iterations of the "process" movement was discussed in depth. Clark used the familiar phrase, "writing is a process, not a product" (pg.1) as the starting point for her chapter. That was a phrase that I had heard many times myself, and it was interesting to see the evolution of that idea over the last few decades. As writing instruction moved from a more pedantic and disconnected method of teaching to the various process oriented models that we are all familiar with today.
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Matt Cutter
2/1/2022 02:28:33 pm
Many of the texts emphasize writing as a process of discovery. More of a journey of discovery based around a central question than it is a strict application of format or structure such as the standard five paragraph model, for example.
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Alyssa Campbell
2/1/2022 02:58:08 pm
Upon reading Clark’s work on “Processes,” I was overwhelmed by this notion repeated again and again of the way that time and experience changed the process of writing, and indeed, the way in which we discuss and view the process of writing. Although there were points that I did not fully agree with or that left me confused more than anything else, one part in particular that stuck out to me was the way in which post-secondary education and post-secondary educators greatly influenced how society in general viewed the importance of writing and analyzed the youths’ shortcomings in writing. It is also ironic in a sense that we have constantly been comparing our students to students before them, and yet, they have all apparently fallen short….perhaps the expectations need to be adjusted?
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Shauna Cascarella
2/1/2022 03:12:01 pm
The readings for this week follow in line with the conversation we had last week about how catastrophic everything is to the writing process in the eyes of the media, theorists, parents, and educators. I was really struck by the fact that each person from the readings had something unique to blame for the issues at hand: textbooks, teaching practices, lack of authenticity, and too much restrictions on process.
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