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"Four Philosophies of Composition" By Richard Fulkerson

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"Four Philosophies of Composition" By Richard Fulkerson

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I really enjoyed reading Fulkerson's article hypothesizing that four philosophies of composition may exist similarly to M.H. Abrams' claim of the four overriding theories of literature (343). My initial thoughts about Fulkerson's idea is that all four of these theories or ways to look at composition exist in (at least the high school) classroom at once. I feel I have evaluated writing based on all of these viewpoints. Perhaps this is one reason assessing students' writing is so exhausting. I am constantly looking at grammar errors (formalist), originality, and logic (expressionist, mimetic, persuasive). Trying to cover all of these can cause some issues with grading, so we have created tools to help us like rubrics. I have always struggled to use rubrics as students seemed to look at them as a 'to-do' list and not actually think of the writing as a complete entity. I've also had professors in undergrad provide me with two grades, one for the structure and grammar and one for the content of the essay. That seemed to work a little better, but I have not tried it as a teacher. Overall, I believe Fulkerson was correct, that there can be a few overriding theories, but I think they are all working at the same time in any given composition classroom.

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"The Evolution of Invention" By Sharon Crowley

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"The Evolution of Invention" By Sharon Crowley

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First of all, it amazed me that someone could write so much about the role of invention in the writing process, and its history in the composition classroom! This piece did, however, get me to contemplate the importance of this part of our process. Throughout the years I have tried not to prescribe a writing process for all students, but rather allow them to determine what works best for them. There have been two aspects of this kind of classroom that I have struggled with. First, it's difficult for me to understand when students have what I consider an illogical process.... Second, when it seems the student is doing nothing, but really they are. I once had a student who would sit in the library, by herself and seriously think through her entire essay before she sat to write. Like the Fulkerson article, I feel that all of the ideas about the process of invention are present in the classroom. I would imagine most composition teachers instruct on creating a thesis and proper organizational patterns prior to writing. These aspects of composition would cover the 'proposition' and 'analysis of the proposition' as described by Crowley. Most instructors also try to take their students through the process of 'prewriting'. On the bottom of 157 there are three instructions to reach the goal of the prewriting. In the end, when Crowley says "The view that language represents thought was reinforced by the introduction of logic into rhetoric as a means of invention" (159), I realized that perhaps the idea of invention was not always so ingrained in writing... considering I did not like most of the prewriting instruction I was given as a student, perhaps this is something we need to consider 'loosening' our formula for?

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"Rhetoric and Ideology in the Writing Classroom" By James Berlin

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"Rhetoric and Ideology in the Writing Classroom" By James Berlin

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This was not my favorite reading for the week. I really had to pick through this to try to understand what Berlin is saying. I'm glad I read this after Crowley's piece, as I made some connections between the two, that, at the very least, brought me to some thoughtful responses instead of just 'huh?'. I understood the three rhetorics... cognitive psychology seemed to be how our brain processed the language I the rhetorical context, expressionist seemed to be about how our brain uniquely interprets the rhetorical context, and social-epistemic seemed to be how our brains process rhetorical context within the confines of a social context. When I considered Crowley's discussion of rhetoric being a way to teach 'thought' these ideologies became somewhat simpler to me... while each ideology seemed to say our process was our own, there were still aspects that seemed outside our control. Our social context, our interpretations, and even our instructors.

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As I read through Hesse's 2005 address many issues resonated with me. First of all, the idea that the powers that be can determine if writing is worth testing as a basic skill or not (337). This is particularly irritating to me as my state has done away with the standardized writing test. Do not get me wrong, I do not enjoy the standardized tests, but since it is not tested it is not pushed by our administration. Not long ago our department would present  to the rest of the faculty about creating writing assignments and strategies to make students' writing better. That no longer occurs, but the reading strategies are. When Hesse discusses the inability of the computer to properly assess an essay I feel that this adds to writing being left out of the 'basic skills' consideration. It simply costs too much for the state to assess those written tests, because humans have to do this! Hesse also relates to Yancey's address in the idea that English departments must attempt to utilize the new writing public available via new technological advancements. Though we rely on English 101, we must continue to evolve because we are first and foremost teaching written communication skills necessary for life.

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"English Composition as a Happening" By Geoffrey Sirc

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"English Composition as a Happening" By Geoffrey Sirc

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Sirc seems to explain the evolution of composition in the university during the seventies and eighties as an attempt to secure our field within the university. "Our insecurity over our status as a valid academic field led us to entrench ourselves firmly in professionalism. To establish Composition as a respectable discipline, we took on all the trappings of traditional academia -- canonicity, scientism, empiricism, formalism, high theory, axioms, arrogance and acceptance of the standard university department-divisions" (6-7). I believe Sirc is contemplating what we have lost in this pursuit. He discusses how composition classes in the sixties were unconventional, but made students want to be there. Composition (or any English course) was providing a space to think and produce in a meaningful way. Sirc brings up that these classrooms blurred art and life which made students want to contribute to the academic conversation. I feel this struggle with students! There are students who want to know if there paper will get an 'A' before they submit it, or students who want a checklist/rubric to make sure they can get that 'A'- but what's lacking is that learning and contributing from a genuine place.

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Kathleen Black Yancey

Yancey's chapter conveying the impossibilities of meeting all the first-year composition goals was unexpectedly comforting for me. With all the governing bodies of our field providing an endless list of goals and academic institutions piling on their own initiatives it's no wonder some first year composition courses seem all over the place. Just in my own experiences I have had a first year composition course that doubled as a 'Women's Studies' course (that was my semester spent at all all female college) and a requirement of 'Rural and Regional' studies at the university from which I graduated, which was typically covered in FYC. With all these goals are we accomplishing what we should? Are students ready to write for any field they so choose? How is it with all this constant change in our field we have not gotten to the point of using writing as a 'gateway' for inquiry and reflection? I was intrigued as I looked through Yancey's syllabus. I have been experimenting with portfolios for a few years now (they are not required by my sponsoring institution, but I feel they need some comprehensive assessment). I'm not sure I could personally get all the grading done if I didn't grade until the portfolio, and I would be concerned that students would wait until the end to work... but it is an interesting set-up she has. I am really enjoying this textbook- words I never thought I would utter!

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"Made Not Only in Words: Composition in a New Key" By Kathleen Blake Yancey

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"Made Not Only in Words: Composition in a New Key" By Kathleen Blake Yancey

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Yancey's address to the CCCC in 2004 addresses the more modern issues in Rhetoric and Composition in the pieces for the week. When Yancey likens the advances in the public writing community to that of the advancements made in the reading community in the 19th century I think she illustrated exactly why composition needs to continue to evolve. Two years ago I read Kelly Gallagher's "Write Like This" which is full of writing activities and assignments for the secondary classroom. What resonated with me was the amount of writing that was done in the public realm. For  instance, one idea was having students write product reviews online. At the time I felt it was simply a good idea, but now I see this kind of writing - writing to engage with the public- may be vital to the future of Rhetoric and Composition. Yancey also touched on the gateway vs. gatekeeper idea that she had touched on in her chapter in FYC. I agree, FYC needs to be created with the view that its goal is to create students able to inquire and produce work for any field. Indeed the technological advances have and continue to revolutionize every aspect of life, even education. We can't afford to think of ourselves as secluded in our classrooms.

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After reading through the pieces for week four I have a good understanding of English's, specifically Composition's role in the university. While the very nature of that role is constantly evolving, we are trying to create a space for students to inquire and communicate within their field. While we may make a wrong turn here or there, in the end we must embrace the world as it comes to the classroom and use it to our advantage.