Group items tagged

I ran across this article last year while browsing through journals in the library and thought it was humorous. I thought of it again when we read Bartholomae. In this article by Philip Eubanks and John D. Schaeffer, the authors first set out to define what bullshit is, then discuss the ways in which bullshit is an aspect of academic rhetoric. The humorous (and most likely intended) irony is that all the while they are writing in a very traditional academic style which is, in and of itself, often associated with the very claims of bullshit they are examining. The main idea is that it matters not whether the content of the bullshit itself is true or false, but that bullshitters misrepresent themselves and their intentions (375). Eubanks and Schaeffer examine various types and purposes of bullshit, as well as various reasons one might engage in bullshitting, including representing a 'constructed self', gamesmanship, pleasure, reputation and superiority. "To sum up, prototypical bullshit has to do with a purposeful misrepresentation of self, has the quality of gamesmanship, and . . . is at least potentially a lie"(380). In the second half of the article, the authors examine academic writing, determining what features make it prototypical and how those features might be construed to be bullshit. One important aspect is the use of jargon, which seems to many non-academic readers to merely confuse for the purpose of elevating the author's status. "Often academic writers could be clearer but prefer to serve up something that sounds like bullshit" (382). They point out that students imitate this style in their own writing, and are rewarded for it. In addressing the issue of audience, the authors make a statement that is very reminiscent of Lave and Wenger's communities of practice in Situated Learning: "much academic publication, especially by young scholars, aims to qualify the author for membership in a group of specialists" (382). As we discu

This article is geared more towards translation but I've found that many of the same principles of translation can be applied when trying to write academically. We are doing nothing more than trying to translate our thoughts and complex ideas and put them into the language of academic writing - usually a foreign language to us. Because I am writing on cultural barriers to academic writing, I thought it would be useful to see how other minds work. In this way we might be more empathetic to our students and it might aid our diagnostics as well. The author, Dirk Siepmann, compares the academic writing of English, French and German. "For a long time the idea has been around that the 'spirit' of a language exerts a formative influence on its speakers and writers" (Siepmann 1). This influence is something that educators need to be aware of when teaching writing. How can you help transition students into a different academic writing culture without making them give up their own? Siepmann also discusses what he refers to as "Intellectual Styles." He calls these the "Saxon", the "Teutonic", the "Gallic" and the "Nipponic". He has derived these terms based on writers' ability to organize thought, target audience, relationship of writer to audience and other criteria. The author also talks about the differences in learning systems and what is expected in those learning systems.

Tong's post! This article is about the complication of academic writing. It identifies some of the difficulties in understanding an academic paper. Through anthropologist view they point out that academic writing are becoming more and more complex due to many reasons like the contents of the paper, the vocabularies including syntax and discourse. It mentions something that has to do with "technical and/or scientific writing" and the relation to countries that are working to "catch up". And how it would be a hard task in helping them to understand what's really being done. People were being hired to make the text more comprehensible to other readers. Academic writing is like making/ stating an idea in a complex ways by the uses of complex vocabularies. One important thing I found interesting and true for myself is the way student approach academic writing. Students only skim over articles to get a sense of what's being said rather than reading to "make use of the information." Then I thought could it be that students have to write on multiple articles and while in school we takes several classes that are not related to the same thing/topic and therefore our reading and writing are does not focus on the same genres or format.

The article I found articulates the beneficial attributes of tutoring, mentoring, and faculty assistance in the "alleviation of writing anxiety." There is also discussion on embellishing the self-efficiency university students when writing essays.There authors also use gender as a precursor in determining the differences between the efficacy of writing among males and females. In addition to analytical gender studies, the authors also integrate other academic variables such as GPA's and literary composition as a "recreational activity." There is even breathing exercises, methods for relaxation, and interventional aid to students who completely reprehend writing all together. This is article is definitely pertinent to the academically overstressed life of university students; especially, students enrolled in an English course. At a certain point, we all experience unpalatable junctures of unwanted anxiety, that by any means, impedes our ability to academically perform. It is very similar to the dynamics of examination anxiety. A student may have acknowledgments that exceed the finite boundaries of an exam, but cannot access their superior level of comprehension because of their cognitively, suppressive test anxiety. The word "test," "examination," or "dissertation" have become connotatively dreadful; however, replacing these words with academic euphemisms such as "long quiz" or "filling paper words project" could potentially reduce oppressive, academic anxiety-in a sense. Judging by all of the diagrams of everyone's writing process, I'd say the extraneous variety of distractions can all result from, or even cause, anxiety.

This article reviews how college freshmen's self-perception influences their transition into college life and their academic success. This relates to my research question because I am curious about how freshman transition from a typical high school mindset to a successful college lifestyle. The article discusses the many different factors that influence college freshmen's self-perception and reviews the data that has previously been found on this topic. Then the authors explain how they completed their study and discuss their findings. In the introduction of this article, the authors explain that one of the largest factors for academic success and a positive transition was a freshman's reasons for attending college. If a student had long-term goals and felt that their university was going to be a positive aspect of their life then they were more likely to be successful. I thought that this was interesting because I'm not sure how many of the freshmen in my Engl 30 section have this type of mindset. In the discussion section, the authors review their findings that students' perception of their intellectual ability and ability to make friends was a major influence on their success. Students who have a positive perception of their intellectual ability are more likely to be successful academically and socially. This was interesting to me because some of the students in Engl 30 might question their intellectual ability since their test scores were low. Lastly, the authors mention that students' perception of instructors and/or mentors as sources of support was a positive factor towards a successful transition. This made me think that maybe my Engl 30 students do not see myself and the mentor as sources of support because they are struggling in class, but if we could change that than maybe they would do better and be more successful.

This paper is and interview from the teachers who teaches academic writing to post graduate students and EFL students. It provides the teachers methods to bring up an academic piece to the students so that the student will understand the purpose of the paper. Through a series of lectures and example, the teacher works on having the student find evidence and state their point of view. It's mostly on the things that most of us should know, such as a paper should start with an introduction, have body paragraphs and conclusion and don't use the word I think, I believe etc. in an academic paper, but us quotes and supporting evidence.

This article discusses "how emotions affect the composing process" in academic writing. The author argues that writing assignments that demand "critical thinking and identity shifts" cause anxiety for students, hence why they cannot fully engage in "critical analytic writing" under these conditions. The author suggests instructors need to better understand these conditions in order to help students succeed in academic writing. ENGL 431 would find this article useful because the students we are observing are at stage in life in which identity and self-discovery is central. Therefore, tutors, mentors, and instructors may be able to use these factors to draw connections between "discourse and emotion." Also, if tutors, mentors, and instructors found a way to make themselves more relate-able the students would feel more comfortable in the classroom setting. In turn, by making academic writing, in some way about the students they would feel more comfortable about academic writing assignments.

From Tong: This paper is and interview from the teachers who teaches academic writing to post graduate students and EFL students. It provides the teachers methods to bring up an academic piece to the students so that the student will understand the purpose of the paper. Through a series of lectures and example, the teacher works on having the student find evidence and state their point of view. It's mostly on the things that most of us should know, such as a paper should start with an introduction, have body paragraphs and conclusion and don't use the word I think, I believe etc. in an academic paper, but us quotes and supporting evidence.

This article challenges the idea that there is a binary distinction between academic writing and an author's identity. He argues that identity is always present in writing and that it is impossible to separate one from the other. As such, it is important for teachers to help students understand the role that identity plays in academic writing. For example, students must understand that the presence of identity is not tied to the presence of the pronoun "I." Instead, he advises teachers to show students that identity in academic writing involves connecting passion, point of view, and experience with research, evidence, and analysis. He finishes by pointing out that researchers dedicate their lives to their fields because of their identities, not in spite of them. In the same way, students must find a field of study that fits their own interests, so that they can produce meaningful writing.

apparently the link I provided is wrong. This should be the correct link. Sorry for the error. http://ehis.ebscohost.com.mantis.csuchico.edu/eds/detail?vid=8&hid=23&sid=cd495c58-13e5-4797-b3c8-a7e279a3685e%40sessionmgr11&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmU%3d#db=aph&AN=20913663

This post discusses how to write in your true voice, but online, not in academic writing. I thought it was interesting though, because it addresses avoiding "corporate speak" and suggests using first person to get a personal message across. In academic writing, I think "corporate speak" could actually be proper grammar and certain styles. Do they take our voice out of writing? It's not always an option to take out a style from writing. And in academic writing, it's rarely an option to use first person.

Ardashir Vakil's "Teaching Creative Writing", to me, is an essential read. And I should add that I'm rarely excited by "Academic" writing. What makes Vakil's article different? Well other than his very cool name, he tackles the very real problem of teaching creativity with an opening salvo that had me hooked instantly. Paraphrasing Vakil's words in the first paragraph, you can't teach creativity. What he explores after qualifying his position is in and of itself a story. Vakil hopes to reveal his meaning by giving a kind of case study example of how he learned an important lesson in teaching. His attempt to impart that knowledge begins first though with another example, that of writer Anthony Trollope's attempts to turn his son into a great writer. In what read more like a conversation Vakil continues with an observation he's made of a trend in education, "…there has been a surge of interest in and enthusiasm for courses that offer creative writing, not to speak of books by writers and academics who profess to teach you how to write the perfect story or novel." (157). It's a trend I find myself following and since Vakil wrote this article in 2008 I wonder whether it has grown stronger in the last four years. The first whole paragraph of the second page boils down the troubles teachers face so well I wish I could quote the whole thing but I'll just point it out as an intensely insightful piece of the whole. As the piece continues Vakil describes what he did in his workshops and I must say I was envious of his students. As you follow Vakil's student through her journey to discover her writer's voice it is almost as though you are sitting across from Vakil while he tells the story, a quality of his writer's voice that burned brightly through this very academic material. I don't know that I'll say this many more times but this is a must read for anyone interested in teaching creative writing.

"profess to teach you how to write the perfect story or novel". Do you believe that creative writing is about teaching other to write a perfect story or novel? For me, i don't know. I'm not a writer, so i would assume so.

In this article by Ken Hyland, he examines how the role of the writer and "writer intrusion" affect the impression given by a body of writing, and particularly how terms like "writer intrusion" reflect an unnecessarily negative view on the personal involvement of the writer with the subject. While he acknowledges that different contexts require different levels of formality and passive voice, new writers benefit from learning how their role shapes the meaning of their work, and how to take a particular identity as the author. He focuses here specifically on the use of the first person in academic writing and what options are available for its use across many fields; however, this is only the tip of the iceberg, he says, in the formation of an authorial identity in an academic setting.

I have found this article in the online library of our university, so you will have to sign in to view it. Generally I am interested in the concept of "identity" in education and the phrase "authorial identity" definitely caught my attention and I wasn't sure what it exactly meant. The authors of the article define it as "the sense a writer has of themselves as an author and the textual identity they construct in their writing". In order to explore psychology students' authorial identity in academic writing they have done two different studies and reached a common conclusion for both of them - "both studies could inform interventions to reduce unintentional plagiarism by improving students' authorial identity". It would be interesting to carry out similar research projects in departments other than psychology, e.g. science or humanities, and compare the results.

After much searching, I was able to find a book that was written by an educator from England about her varying experiences with excellent writers that had a difficult time adapting their writing style to the expectations the West. Helen Fox, author of "Listening to the World: Cultural Issues in Academic Writing, analyzes the effects of culture and the problems this cultural influence causes when students try to adapt their writing styles and personas to that of Western academia. Problems include; focusing on a group instead of emphasis on self, a mindset geared toward a focus on the past instead of a focus on the future and a circular approach to writing instead of a linear approach. Fox investigates these issues and other cultural effects on the writing process.

Kimberly De Vries writes about the differences in writing between Chinese students and American students and the expectations of Western academic institutions. She compares Western writing to "mathematical plainness" and argues that there is a cultural bias that exists. De Vries writes, "My experience with American writing practice has led me to conclude that in America, clarity depends not so much on using a particular form, but rather using the form expected by the reader. Thus clarity is entirely dependent on cultural expectations..." (1). This article was interesting to me because I have several Asian students in my workshop. I'm trying to understand the motives behind some of the errors they make while writing. It's difficult because much of the research deals with wether they're using their L1 to help organize their thoughts and simply translating them into L2 (which usually results in a complete lack of clarity. In fact, at times I didn't know what whole sentences meant) or writing by using L2 only. De Vries also relies on research by Robert Kaplan who has documented the effects of culture on writing practices. De Vries writes, "Kaplan contended that writing teachers needed to understand that culture produces different styles of argument, rather than flawed thinking. If we are not looking for it, we may miss an unfamiliar pattern of argument just as we may miss an unfamiliar sound in a foreign language" (3). De Vries believes that American scholars value a certain "style" of academic writing -- a style that represents only a small part of all the writing that goes on in the world today. "As this work goes on, we now begin to see that many characteristics of 'good' writing that were once perceived as universally true, are actually very much influenced by culture" (6).

For the past few weeks in this class I have generated all of my focus on the identity of the students in Enlish 30 workshops. After reading the article, "Exploring teacher-writer identities in the classroom: Conceptualising the struggle" I a new question has stemmed: how do teacher's identity as writers affect students' progress in academic progress? Authors, Teresa Cremin and Sally Baker from the Department of Education of The Open University suggest "that teachers' development as writers has the potential to enrich writing pedagogy and impact positively on young writers." The idea of teachers writing alongside their students is in my opinion highly valuable because students and teachers have the opportunity to experience the writing process together. In previous articles I have read that relatability between students and instructor are essential to the learning environment. If instructors are constantly writing alongside their students trying to establish/re-establish their identity in academic writing, students can learn easily learn how to do the same through "shared challenges" (9). While English 431 students cannot use this strategy because members of their English 30 workshops come from different sections of English 130 we can attempt to produce similar assignments alongside our students. For example, inquiry assignments are a common goal in most English 130 classes. Similarly, English 431 students must write an inquiry essay. English 431 students could incorporate their progress into the workshop by showing the English 30 students what they have done so far, why they are asking certain questions, how they did something, etc.

Author Jane E. Hindman uses her "personal" writing, through her identity as an alcoholic, a feminist, and a professor of rhetoric, to illustrate how to make writing matter, and to argue for personal writing (which she also refers to as "embodied rhetoric") as a means to "illuminate the theory and practice of teaching composition" (92). She examines how the process of personal writing can evolve into academic writing, that the two are not mutually exclusive. For those who were fascinated by the Lave and Wenger account of Nondrinking Alcoholics as a form of apprenticeship, this may be an interesting read, as she explores the concepts of personal identity and social discourse practices through her experiences with Alcoholics Anonymous.