Corrine E. Hinton Volume 1 Chapter Description Interpreting writing assignments can be a challenge for anyone. For first-year college students, however, it can be an overwhelming struggle as students learn to adjust to new academic pressures and expectations. What is my instructor evaluating? Do I need an argument? How do I structure my response? Questions […]
So You’ve Got a Writing Assignment. Now What? Read More »
Paul Lynch Volume 2 Chapter Description The English word “essay” comes from the French verb essai, which means something like “to try” or “to attempt.” Originally, essays were thought experiments, and an essay’s author did not worry about having a main point or a formal structure. This chapter explores this history and describes the difference
The Sixth Paragraph: A Re-Vision of the Essay Read More »
Steve Krause Volume 2 Chapter Description During the research process, many first year writing students can become attached to their rhetorical positions which suggests an involvement in projects that help students learn and grow as researchers. However, if student researchers explore their stance at the exclusion of other viewpoints, they unintentionally limit their understanding of
On the Other Hand: The Role of Antithetical Writing in First Year Composition Courses Read More »
Catherine Savini Volume 2 Chapter Description How can we help students become invested in their writing? How can we help students write interesting papers that we look forward to reading? Students can learn to write interesting papers that develop complex ideas if they begin by “looking for trouble.” This chapter provides students with a step-by-step
Looking for Trouble: Finding Your Way into a Writing Assignment Read More »
Nathalie Singh-Corcoran Volume 2 Chapter Description This chapter engages students in a dialogue about the overarching value of first year writing and its applicability to writing in the disciplines and in the world of work. Too often students say (and rejoice in the idea) that once they have completed their composition requirements, they never have
Composition as a Write of Passage Read More »
E. Shelley Reid Volume 2 Chapter Description Writing is hard. It’s harder if your students think of it as a collection of arbitrary rules than if they think of it as a human communication process they already understand a lot about. Using comparisons to familiar events (doing laundry, making fruit Jell-O, writing thank-you notes, and
Ten Ways to Think about Writing: Metaphoric Musings for College Writing Students Read More »
