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I model the first author introduction in Week 1

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Partner Author Intro Video Student Samples             

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Partner Author Intro Video Student Samples             

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Click below to View:
1. Video - 2020

2. Slide Deck - 2021

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I model the Author Introduction in Week 1 on the day the first reading assignment is due. Then next class I give an overview of the Author Introduction Assignment and have partners sign up on a Googledoc to deliver a 5 -10-minute presentation later in the course on an author (or filmmaker) whose text the class will read or view for that class period/Zoom workshop.  On the day of the presentation the partners present their slideshow and initiate the discussion of the assigned text with questions that elicit reflection on, connection with, and in-depth thinking about the text in relation to the course theme and the writer her/him/themself, an author who now can be seen as a “real person” with lived experiences and cultural roots—providing inspiration for students who are finding their own voices and publishing their own pieces of writing as members of a class and campus community of writers.  We all clap live or with an emoji, and then I send students to breakout rooms for the small group discussion.  I assess their presentation using this Author Introduction Rubric--engaging with the content in the main room discussion and providing constructive feedback, comments, and compliments to the presenters on our bCourses/Canvas course website afterwards.

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Building camaraderie

Centering peer collaboration

Showcasing the racial, gender, geographical, & cultural diversity of authors

Humanizing published authors

Delving meaningfully into texts

Providing opportunities for multimodal design

Providing opportunities for public speaking practice

Ensuring every student a voice in the course, quite literally.

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Two objectives that foster “enduring understanding” (Flower, 2019, p. 8):

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For students to envision authors as real people with lived experiences, diverse career paths, & an array of works, often in divergent genres—serving as models for students who are beginning to identify themselves as writers
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For students to view writing as a process that takes place within a supportive community that engages in meaningful discussions of texts – others’ and their own

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On this Padlet poster I share a simple Author Introduction Assignment in College Writing R4A: Reading & Composition that I tailored to a virtual environment —taking advantage of the affordances of shared screens and breakout rooms once all our composition courses went remote last year due to COVID-19.

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A multilingual student writing specialist and applied linguist, I teach a diversity of required courses & electives to a wide range of undergraduates in UC Berkeley's College Writing Program--from first-year composition to the research writing, from the craft of creative nonfiction to public speaking for international students. - Michelle Baptiste
Please email with questions:
michellebaptiste@berkeley.edu