DOCUMENT RESUME ED 459 476 CS 217 784 AUTHOR Roen, Duane, Ed.; Pantoja, Veronica, Ed.; Yena, Lauren, Ed.; Miller, Susan K., Ed.; Waggoner, Eric, Ed. TITLE Strategies for Teaching First-Year Composition. INSTITUTION National Council of Teachers of English, Urbana, IL. ISBN ISBN-0-8141-4749-6 PUB DATE 2002-00-00 NOTE 662p. AVAILABLE FROM National Council of Teachers of English, 1111 W. Kenyon Road, Urbana, IL 61801-1096 (Stock No. 47496-3050: $34.95, members; $44.95, nonmembers). Tel: 800-369-6283 (Toll Free); Web site http://www.ncte.org. PUB TYPE Books (010) Collected.Works General (020) EDRS PRICE MF03/PC27 Plus Postage. DESC'RIPTORS Classroom Techniques; Computer Mediated Communication; *Course Descriptions; *Freshman Composition; Grammar; Higher Education; Portfolio Assessment; Portfolios (Background Materials); Research Papers (Students); *Teaching Methods; *Writing Assignments; *Writing Evaluation; *Writing Processes ABSTRACT This book presents 93 essays that offer guidance, reassurance, and commentary on the many activities leading up to and surrounding classroom instruction in first-year composition. Essays in the book are written by instructors who teach in community colleges, liberal arts colleges, state university systems, and research institutions. The 14 section titles and 2 representative essays from each section are: Section 1, Contexts for Teaching Writing, "The Departmental Perspective" (Roger Gilles) and "Composition, Community, and Curriculum: A Letter to New Composition Teachers" (Geoffrey Chase); Section 2, Seeing the Forest and the Trees of Curriculum, "Teaching in an Idealized Outcomes-Based First-Year Writing Program" (Irvin Peckham) and "Constructing Bridges between High School and College Writing" (Marguerite Helmers); Section 3, Constructing Syllabus Materials, "On Syllabi" (Victor Villanueva) and "Departmental Syllabus: Experience in Writing" (Gregory Clark); Section 4, Constructing Effective Writing Assignments, "Sequencing Writing Projects in Any Composition Class" (Penn State University Composition Program Handbook) and "Autobiography: The Rhetorical Efficacy of Self-Reflection/Articulation" (Bonnie Lenore Kyburz); Section 5, Guiding Students to Construct Reflective Portfolios, "A Writing Portfolio Assignment" (Phyllis Mentzell Ryder) and "Portfolio Requirements for Writing and Discourse"(C. Beth Burch); Section 6, Strategies for Course Management, "Fostering Classroom Civility" (Lynn Langer Meeks, Joyce Kinkead, Keith VanBezooyen, and Erin Edwards) and "Course Management Guidelines" (Rebecca Moore Howard); Section 7, Teaching Invention, "Teaching Invention" (Sharon Crowley) and "Invention Activity" (Theresa Enos); Section 8, Orchestrating Peer-Response Activities, "Approaches to Productive Peer Review" (Fiona Paton) and "Reflection on Peer-Review Practices" (Lisa Cahill); Section 9, Responding to In-Process Work to Promote Revision, "Less Is More in Response to Student Writing" (Clyde Moneyhun) and "One Dimension of Response to Student Writing: How Students Construct Their Critics" (Carol Rutz); Section 10, Responding to and Evaluating Polished Writing, "Developing Rubrics for Instruction and Evaluation" (Chris M. Anson and Deanna P. Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the ori inal document. Dannels) and "What Makes Writing 'Good'?/What Makes a 'Good' Writer?" (Ruth Overman Fischer); Section 11, Teaching Writing with Technology, "Overcoming the Unknown" (Adelheid Thieme) and "Asynchronous Online Teaching" (Donald Wolff); Section 12, Constructing a Teaching Portfolio, "Teaching-Portfolio Potential and Concerns: A Brief Review" (Camille Newton) and "Thinking about Your Teaching Portfolio" (C. Beth Burch); Section 13, Teaching Matters of Grammar, Usage, and Style, "A Cautionary Introduction" (Keith Rhodes) and "And the Question Is This--'What Lessons Can We, as Writers, Take from This Reading for Our Own Writing?'" (Elizabeth Hodges); and Section 14, Teaching Research Skills, "First-Year Composition as an Introduction to Academic Discourse" (M. J. Braun and Sarah Prineas) and "Teaching Research Skills in the First-Year Composition Class" (Mark Gellis). (Most papers contain references.) (RS) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. dl BEST COPYAVAILABLE PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE AND DISSEMINATE THIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY M.A rlia(s EDITED BY TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) 1 U S DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Office of Educational Research and Improvement I EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) 0 This document has been reproduced as received from the person or organization 71- 00 originating it 0 Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality Points of view or opinions stated in this document do not necessarily represent official OERI position or policy STRATEGIES FOR TEACHING FIRST-YEAR COMPOSITION 3 NCTE EDITORIAL BOARD: Jacqueline Bryant, Kermit Campbell, Willie Mae Crews, Colleen Fairbanks, Andrea Lunsford, Gerry Og lan, Jackie Swensson, Gail Wood, Zarina M. Hock, Chair, ex officio, Kent Williamson, ex officio, Kurt Austin, ex officio Strategies for Teaching First-Year Composition VP Edited by DUANE RoEN Arizona State University VERONICA PANTOJA Arizona State University LAUREN YENA Arizona State University SUSAN K. MILLER Mesa Community College ERIC WAGGONER Marshall University National Council of Teachers of English 1111 W. Kenyon Road, Urbana, Illinois 61801-1096 5 Royalties from this book will be donated to the Conference on College Composition and Communication Scholars for the Dream Travel Award. Staff Editor: Bonny Graham Interior Design: Jenny Jensen Greenleaf Cover Design: Pat Mayer NCTE Stock Number: 47496-3050 ©2002 by the National Council of Teachers of English. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or trans- mitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including pho- tocopy, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission from the copyright holder. Printed in the United States of America. It is the policy of NCTE in its journals and other publications to provide a forum for the open discussion of ideas concerning the content and the teach- ing of English and the language arts. Publicity accorded to any particular point of view does not imply endorsement by the Executive Committee, the Board of Directors, or the membership at large, except in announcements of policy, where such endorsement is clearly specified. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Strategies for teaching first-year composition / edited by Duane Roen... [et al.]. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-8141-4749-6 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. English languageRhetoricStudy and teachingUnited States. I. Roen, Duane H. PE1405.U6 S77 2002 808'.042071173dc21 2001052109 To David Michael Benyo, July 18, 1993May 4, 2000, who will continue to touch the lives of many vi I M11 CONTENTS INTRODUCTION XV ACKNOWLEDGMENTS XXXiii 1 Contexts for Teaching Writing 1 .The Departmental Perspective Roger Gilles 2 Composition, Community, and Curriculum: A Letter to New Composition Teachers Geoffrey Chase 11 A Supervisor's Perspective David Franke 17 A Cultural Perspective: Teaching Composition at a Historically Black University Teresa M. Redd 21 An Experienced TA's Reflections on the TA Experience Judy Collins 34 Writing and Learning to Write: A Modest Bit of History and Theory for Writing Students Douglas D. Hesse 38 The Importance of Framing the Writing Classroom as a Space of Public Discourse Michael Stancliff 44 "Black people tend to talk eubonics": Race and Curricular Diversity in Higher Education Austin Jackson and Geneva Smitherman 46 Rhetorical Situations and Assignment Sheets David Sudol 51 Meeting of Narratives, Meeting of Minds: WPAs, TAs, and Transferring Independence Rachel le M. Smith and Douglas Downs 53 vii Contents Students as Audience Ruth Overman Fischer 62 Memo from a Provost Elaine P. Maimon 65 2 Seeing the Forest and the Trees of Curriculum 68 Teaching in an Idealized Outcomes-Based First-Year Writing Program Irvin Peckham 69 Constructing Bridges between High School and College Writing Marguerite Helmers 89 Teaching Writing as a Process Davida Charney 92 3 Constructing Syllabus Materials 97 On Syllabi Victor Villanueva 98 Departmental Syllabus: Experience in Writing Gregory Clark 102 An Honors Course in First-Year Composition: Classical Rhetoric and Contemporary Writing Marvin Diogenes 114 4 Constructing Effective Writing Assignments 133 Sequencing Writing Projects in Any Composition Class Penn State University Composition Program Handbook 134 Autobiography: The Rhetorical Efficacy of Self-Reflection/Articulation Bonnie Lenore Kyburz 137 Deliberative Writing Graduate Teaching Assistant Handbook, Michigan Technological University 143 Rhetorical Analysis: Terms of Contention Andy Crockett 145 Assignment Prompt Edward A. Kearns 150 Profile Asisignment Sarah T. Duerden, Jeanne Garland, and Christine Everhart Heifers 152 Contents Picture Exchange: Sharing Images and Ideas in First-Year Composition Donna Reiss 164 Reflecting on Journal Writing Lisa Ede 167 Role-Playing as a Writing-to-Learn Activity Mary M. Salibrici 171 Writing-to-Learn Prompts Edith M. Baker 176 5 Guiding Students to Construct Reflective Portfolios 181 A Writing Portfolio Assignment Phyllis Mentzell Ryder 182 Portfolio Reguirements for Writing and Discourse C. Beth Burch 186 The Importance of Student Portfolio Presentations in Composition