Since I received such good feedback on my notes from last week, I think I’m going to keep these bullet points. Let’s dive in!

High & Low Stakes Writing – Elbow

• “If students take only short-answer tests or machine-graded exams, they will often appear to have learned what we are teaching when in fact they have not.” (pg. 5) I couldn’t agree more! Personally, I believe standardized testing should be abolished, and this is exactly why. One test doesn’t—and shouldn’t—define a student. Many students do and don’t test well, but that doesn’t reflect what they’ve learned over the course of a class. This also leads to teachers teaching to the test, creating an illusion of understanding. Let’s remove these exams and look at the student as a whole.
• “That is, I acknowledge that some students can understand something well and yet be hindered from explaining it in writing because of their fear of writing or lack of skill. In fact, it sometimes happens that we understand something well that we can’t even explain in speech—much less in writing.” (pg. 5) As a special education teacher, this quote made me reflect on all of my students and my knowledge of that population. When working with children with special needs, it’s easy to overlook how many skills need to be taught that come more naturally to “typical” students. This line reminded me of the skills of summarizing and retelling—both of which are incredibly challenging and often not explicitly taught. Regardless of the population, conveying something you understand is difficult, as stated in the text. Adding the challenge of writing only makes it more complex.
• Outside of enjoying this reading from an educator’s perspective, I appreciated how straightforward the language was. As I’ve discussed with some of my peers, sometimes we encounter texts filled with so much jargon that the message becomes blurry. Reading something more accessible is refreshing.
• “We mustn’t forget here a basic pedagogical principle: we are not obliged to teach everything we require.” (pg. 6) While this may be true, most teachers find themselves needing to backtrack to cover what’s required of students. Many students struggle to produce what’s asked of them, especially considering we’re in a literacy crisis. This situation forces teachers to rework their lesson plans and adjust their pacing, as countless students are constantly in a state of catch-up.
• “They have discovered how often teachers’ comments are not clear, how often comments are misunderstood by students even when they are clear, and how often comments cannot be trusted… And truth be told, we are often writing in a discouraged or downright grumpy mood… Even when we write clear, accurate, valid, and helpful comments, our students often read them through a distorting lens of resistance or discouragement—or downright denial.” (pg. 8) If everyone is moody and has skewed perceptions, how can we get to the truth and be truly helpful? It feels like we’re damned if we do and damned if we don’t. There’s no right way to critique students’ work, and even if there were, we can’t predict how receptive students will be.
• “That is, we are most likely to cause learning and least likely to do harm if the message of our response is, in effect, ‘Please do more of this thing you are already doing here.’” (pg. 10) It’s not what you say; it’s how you say it. Providing students with positivity when grading their writing is crucial. I understand how detrimental it can be when students only hear what they’re doing wrong, so I try to be very aware of this. When grading, I always focus on finding and highlighting the strengths in their work. I tend to use the “criticism sandwich” approach (positive, negative, positive) when providing feedback.
• “When the writing doesn’t much matter to the final grade, we can afford to withhold our response or criticism. (pg.10) Personally, I think it’s important to provide intentional corrections on both high-stakes and low-stakes assignments. While high-stakes work deserves more detailed criticism, I can’t turn a blind eye to low-stakes tasks. For example, all assignments receive feedback on grammar, spelling, and organization, but high-stakes assignments get more in-depth feedback regarding content. I believe that addressing these aspects, regardless of the stakes, will help build positive writing habits that won’t need to be addressed later when grading high-stakes assignments.
• “Is this comment worth it?” (pg. 10) This is a good question to ask ourselves when providing feedback. Not everything we think needs to be said, so we should reflect on whether the comment is actually beneficial and purposeful. Sometimes we have to weigh whether it’s more important to be correct or to contribute something meaningful.
• “In contrast, low-stakes minimal responding requires the least time and effort from us, requires the least expertise from us, takes the least time away from our teaching of the subject matter, and is least likely to turn teachers and students into adversaries.” (pg. 10) This idea of taking the easy way out shouldn’t be our default. Sure, minimal feedback takes less time and effort, but student learning should be the priority. We’re building important foundational skills, so even if it takes more time to give feedback, we should do it for the greater good of the students.

Writing as a Process – Murray

• “Year after year, the student shudders under a barrage of criticism, much of it brilliant, some of it stupid, and all of it irrelevant. No matter how careful our criticisms, they do not help the student since, when we teach composition, we are not teaching a product; we are teaching a process.” (pg. 3) The idea that criticism is stupid and irrelevant, regardless of how good it is, just isn’t true, in my opinion. Feedback can be incredibly helpful when done right, especially when the student is receptive.
• “It is the process of exploration of what we know and what we feel about what we know through language. It is the process of using language to learn about our world, to evaluate what we learn about our world, and to communicate what we learn about our world.” (pg. 4) I think this is a great framework that educators should adopt. Focusing on exploration and having students be active participants in their learning is crucial to their understanding and engagement with the material.
• “First by shutting up… We must listen carefully for those words that may reveal a truth, that may reveal a voice.” (pg. 5) I feel it’s so important to sit back and give students the freedom to exist and write before swooping in. I want to see what the student is capable of, and the only way to do that is to allow them to do so. The instruction and guidance should take place before the writing, so when they finally do write, we can see if and what they learned.
• This reading discussed the importance of giving students the time and space to write, rewrite, and discover, which is something I agree with. However, it’s easier said than done. It’s hard to provide students with everything they need in this regard when you have to stay on track and students are working at drastically different paces. To me, it’s one of the saddest parts about teaching.

Highlights From Our Class So Far

Unfortunately I couldn’t stay for the rest of our class last Thursday, as I had Open House at my school, but my impressions of our class are that we are a room full of insightful, intelligent, and distinctive individuals, with a shared focus on growth and acclimating to the changes that we make and that life makes for us. I can’t wait to see what the semester brings and how we navigate this current part of our journey. It was also unfortunate that I wasn’t able to take part in the spiral journal exercise in class (I love that exercise!), so I did it at home. Something that stood out to me from that exercise was that in all of the prompts, I had mentioned “balance” and “rest” in some way, and because of this I’ve kept those two concepts in mind amidst acclimating to new routines and experiences this September so far.

On Rhetoric and Composition

In this chapter, Janice M. Lauer provides a glimpse into the history of the discipline now called rhetoric and composition, including its beginnings as just “rhetoric” (written discourse) and how it evolved into its current discipline. Lauer concludes with how the discipline currently sustains itself: with a “commitment to helping students and others develop their powers of inquiry and communication in order to reenvision and enrich their everyday, civic, academic, and workplace lives” (Lauer, 2006, p. 25). This commitment echoes my own vision of how I view writing, whether it is personal or when I help guide students on their own writing journeys.

This week, I was tasked with reading “Rhetoric & Composition” by Janice M. Lauer. In all honesty, I am not typically a fan of academic articles; however this chapter spoke to me in ways that made a rather difficult read easy to digest. In essence, this journal told the origins rhetoric and composition while explaining the strides we’ve made in this field over the past 60 years.

The most interesting part of learning bout the history of composition and rhetoric is that it’s journey is very similar to my own. Before pursuing my Master’s Degree in English Writing Studies, I was a Psychology Major with minors in both Philosophy/Religion and Art History. Since this concept has been interdisciplinary since its inception, being prevalent in fields such as psychology and sociology (Lauer 2), it should be unsurprising to witness my pivot from that field to this one. Rhetoric is a concept heavily utilized in psychology courses, which is partially where my love for it began. Though the field is full of hard facts and truths, it was the idea of subjectivity and interpretation that piqued my interest; and it was the through the use of rhetoric that one could discover the perspective of their peers.

My minor in philosophy had already exposed me to the origins of rhetoric, but discovering it from a writer’s perspective is surprisingly refreshing. I found it interesting that scholars essentially taught situational awareness in rhetoric: “…and that introducing the notion of kairos (the right or opportune moment for certain arguments) encouraged the construction of a full composition curriculum with different aims of writing” (Lauer 4). Situational awareness is definitely one of the aspects of rhetoric that we take for granted. It seems obvious, for example, that you wouldn’t discuss things like “the benefits of fire” to a room full of house fire survivors, but it’s something that’s foundational in a newer form of rhetoric that we’ve developed. In that same vein, understanding audience seems like a relatively new concept despite the emphasis modern education places on it. I wouldn’t have guessed that this concept wasn’t heavily published until the 1960s (Lauer 9), especially with the importance of rhetoric dating back to the era of great philosophers like Socrates and Plato. This makes me question the discovery and utilization as empathy in writing. If the importance of audience wasn’t heavily discussed in previous eras, I wonder how many tone deaf papers had been published at the expense of the less educated.

This paper genuinely spoke to me in a way that I’m unfamiliar with when it comes to academic papers. Louise Wetherbee Phelps described rhetoric as a human science (Lauer 6) and I completely agree. Rhetoric throughout this article has proved itself as more than a method of communication, and slightly proves itself to be an art form, primarily focused on the art of communication. With all of the factors present in active communication, it’s no wonder that rhetoric has so many dimensions to be studied.

I will end today’s blog with this: one quote from this writing genuinely spoke to me. “fundamental misconception which undermines so many of our best efforts in teaching writing: if we train students how to recognize an example of good prose, (“the rhetoric of the finished word”) we have given them a basis on which to build their own writing abilities. All we have done, in fact, is to give them standards by which to judge the goodness or badness of their finished effort. We haven’t really taught them how to make that effort” (Lauer 7). I cannot emphasize the importance of this ideology. Harsh critiquing from educators who simply had different writing styles has stunted my ability and motivation to revise as a writer. The idea that the teacher alone holds the standards to a student’s success as a writer is diabolical, and leads to many students failing to pursue writing as a passion simply because their teacher has a power trip. There needs to be a balance of power in a classroom. When we start teaching students how to teach themselves, then we have created a generation of critical thinkers and savants.

This chapter was quite interesting, in my opinion. As an English teacher, I’m naturally interested in hearing about what works and what doesn’t in the world of teaching English. Though this chapter discussed higher education, my perspective instinctively gravitates toward the teaching of elementary and high school students, and my opinions reflect that. Being an educator is not an easy task in the slightest, so any insight into how to improve our methods of instruction is beneficial for us all.

When I read, I tend to jot down quotes and notes that stand out to me. Below are some thoughts I pulled that I found particularly thought-provoking. Enjoy!

• “These scholars pointed out that the use of topics (‘places’ for discovering arguments) and status (finding the type of issue in dispute) helped students raise and investigate compelling questions in rhetorical situations; that employing informal enthymemes and examples rather than formal syllogistic reasoning strengthened students’ arguments” (pg. 4). As educators, it’s easy to fall into familiar routines, especially after years of teaching. This quote serves as a reminder that tradition isn’t always the answer. We need to stay on our toes and continually seek new ways to help students engage with the material. Often, the issue isn’t that students don’t understand the concepts being taught, but rather how those concepts are presented. It’s also crucial to make learning relatable. The phrase “informal enthymemes” stands out to me. School can be rigid and restrictive, but students often learn best in a more relaxed and relatable environment. Proposing informal arguments allows students to approach topics realistically and respond without the pressure of perfection.
• I really appreciated that the scholars took the time to research the roles of women and minorities in the history of rhetoric. Often, when people explore a subject’s history, they focus on just one perspective. As a minority woman, I value the commitment to provide a well-rounded view of this history. It’s essential to acknowledge diverse voices and experiences to gain a fuller understanding of the topic.
• This chapter highlights the importance of teaching rhetoric and composition in the age of AI. Many students are taking advantage of artificial intelligence but aren’t effectively tapping into their rhetorical and composition skills. It’s crucial not only to teach these skills but also to guide students on how to responsibly use AI to enhance their learning. By combining strong foundational skills with the effective use of technology, students can engage more deeply with their work.
• “From the mid-1960s, members of the emerging field of rhetoric and composition began to challenge the teaching of writing as a ‘product’ in which papers were assigned, handed in, and graded. Such teaching also focused on reading and discussing essays, completing exercises on style, and repeating drills on grammar. Little, if any, attention was paid to helping students get started, investigate ideas, consider readers, receive feedback on drafts, or revise” (pg. 7). I believe two truths can coexist here. This quote, along with the entire chapter, highlights the reality that many teachers are teaching to the tests, confined by curricula and standards, and often face challenges from administrations when they try to innovate. Ultimately, these issues are larger than the educators in the classroom. That said, both aspects mentioned are crucial to students’ learning. Students need to practice stylistic writing and understand grammar when necessary, but they also require support in starting their writing, receiving effective feedback, and exploring ideas. Balancing these elements is essential for fostering well-rounded writers.
• “George Hillocks’s meta-analysis demonstrated that direct grammar instruction has a negative effect on the use of “correct” grammar. However, this formalist pedagogy continues as students today face national assessments.” (pg.21) – This aligns with my previous thoughts.
• “In the 1970s, Frank O’Hare and others conducted extensive studies on the pedagogy of sentence combining, proclaiming that sentence combining could not only improve syntactic skills throughout the grades but also teach grammar without formal terminology” (pg. 11). Speaking of feedback, I believe teachers should make spelling and grammatical corrections while also providing valuable insights on improving content and clarity. Sometimes, teachers focus on one aspect or the other, but it’s essential to address both. Offering comprehensive feedback helps students refine their writing and develop a deeper understanding of their ideas. Balancing these elements ensures that students not only correct their mistakes but also enhance their overall communication.
• It’s no secret that America is facing a literacy crisis, and students aren’t learning how to read, let alone write. While we can have strong opinions about rhetoric and composition, our first priority should be addressing the reading issues we face as a country. Without strong reading skills, students struggle to engage with and understand writing, making it essential to focus on literacy as a foundational step in their education. Tackling this challenge is crucial for improving overall literacy and empowering students to become effective communicators.
• “Wayne Booth argued for the importance of considering audience, an aspect of writing that had been sidelined by the New Criticism” (pg. 9). I agree that students aren’t adequately taught about audiences. Since one teacher is often reading their work, students typically write for that sole audience. They struggle to write for that audience of one, let alone a variety of audiences. Regardless, this lapse in learning only hurts students when they enter higher education and other environments where they have to showcase their writing abilities.
• “Most composition courses still assume that the English teacher is the only reader for all papers in the course, thus failing to develop in students flexibility in writing for other readers, both academic and outside the academy. In grading papers, many teachers still do not take into account the suitability of the text for the intended reader. This issue is related to the continuing dominance of the modes of discourse—exposition, description, narration, and argumentation—which continues to place emphasis on the teacher as audience and on exposition and literary analysis as the types of writing assigned” (pg. 20). Reread my thoughts from the previous bullet point, hahaha!
• “All of these new classifications of discourse challenged the emphasis on teaching expository discourse throughout the grades and argued for the value of personal and persuasive discourse as well” (pg. 10). Again, both aspects are important for students’ learning. I don’t believe one is more important than the other, as both expository and persuasive writing include skills that will be utilized in and out of the classroom.
• “Elizabeth Flynn described a feminist approach to reading student papers that entails oscillating between empathy and judgment; speaking about moral problems, especially conflicting responsibilities; offering solutions to problems through contextual and narrative means; receiving the language of the student with understanding, warmth, and concern; and allowing multiple revisions (‘Learning’)” (pg. 12). Anything in life should be approached with understanding, so I love this feminist approach. It reminds me of the increasing popularity of holistic grading. As teachers, we need to meet students where they are and provide them the support they need, and this approach reflects that.
• “One of the issues opened up by this body of research was the extent to which ‘natural’ literacy (being immersed in community environments) or schooling can develop higher levels of literacy” (pg. 13). To me, this quote reiterates the importance of “it starts at home.” Studies repeatedly prove how beneficial it is for students to begin their learning in a supportive home environment and for that learning to be reinforced there as well. Learning would be a different experience if all students came from an environment of “natural” literacy.
• “Based on linguistic scholarship on regional and social dialects (e.g., the work of Geneva Smitherman and William Labov), the document rejected the requirement for a single American Standard English in all student writing and affirmed ‘the students’ right to their own patterns and varieties of language—the dialects of their nurture or whatever dialects in which they find their own identity and style’ ” (pg. 14). I believe students should be given the space to use their own “languages” while also being taught when it’s necessary to employ academic writing skills. We don’t want students to lose their sense of self; we just want to add to their toolbox.
• “Currently, this effort has been linked with service-learning projects” (pg. 18). Civic rhetoric needs to be taught in every classroom. As someone who never learned about this yet ended up working in community service, I understand the impact of civic rhetoric. Not only does it enhance their knowledge of style, audience, etc., but it can also engage students since it presents a more relatable, realistic topic. This can be the gateway to a project or the larger duty of humans: how we can help others.
• “A newer issue is the challenge to process theories of composing by a postprocess theory of writing, which claims that providing guidance to students during composing is not useful; instead, teachers are advised to return to the pedagogy of interpreting finished texts as classroom writing instruction (Kent)” (pg. 21). I agree with this. While it’s important to support a student in the early stages, I also don’t like to give feedback too early on. I want to see what the student is capable of and let them get all their thoughts down before coming in to help polish what’s there.

Initially, this article felt rather difficult to digest. I experienced a slight challenge in understanding the idea the author was trying to convey. As I tackled this article, I found myself intrigued by the content. I began asking myself questions of my own experience as a student and writer in a public school setting. From the first page of the article, Lauer takes us through the present style of teaching and learning English studies. There is such a focus on grammar and sentence structure and proper punctuation as well as an emphasis on composition versus rhetoric. Furthermore, the way they teach writing and the process is rather strict. I remember being in late elementary school/early middle school and using different methods of composing a piece of writing such as a prewriting “web”, diagrams, and lists. While these tools can be helpful, they may not work for every student.

Being rhetoric and composition became disciplines in the 1960’s, they are still rather new as far as English studies are concerned. I found the section on style and voice particularly interesting because I think they are a never-ending concept. I think a writers style and voice are constantly evolving as the individual grows as a writer and a human being. For these two concepts to not be focused on until the beginning of the discipline’s studies is pretty surprising.

I found the section on revision appealing because I never considered the idea of teaching a student the revision process before they hand in a draft. In the present day, we hand in a draft, get feedback and revise from there. If students were taught the revision process, the writing may be more inspired. I think some of the tools and processes that are used currently cage some of the students’ minds and cause them to lack inspiration and curiosity on certain subjects. 

If I’m being honest, I had never really considered these disciplines until this article. I had learned certain practices through the current teaching style. This article now had me wondering where my writing would be if there were less rigid structures and a different revision process. 

Since the first day, this class has been something I look forward to every week. I have greatly enjoyed conversing with my classmates and Dr.Zamora. I absolutely adored the spiral journal activity. I look forward to a great semester with everyone!

One of the first things in Janice M. Lauer’s Rhetoric and Composition that struck me during my reading was just how young rhetoric and composition is as a discipline. I think that despite rhetoric and composition “only recently… [becoming] a full-fledged discipline within English studies,” Lauer’s historical survey of the discipline helps show just how much the field has blossomed over the years (3). Surely, looking at the variety of options of study that we have in the Writing program here at Kean already speaks to how much has evolved and blossomed from this research, and it definitely helps recontextualize my place as a scholar amongst all of these big names and changes; it gives me the idea that although rhetoric and composition’s roots are ancient, there is still a wealth to be studied and discovered in this field, and that the more unique perspectives get introduced to the field, the more we’ll uncover together.

Another, more personal thing, that struck me while reading was how “in early composition classrooms, students received little advice about revision until after their papers had already been graded, assuming that this advice would carry over to the next papers” (12). This stuck out to me because it’s incredibly reminiscent of a majority of my education, even up until college. I always felt short-changed when I received revision advice after I received my grade, but I never knew that this had been an issue that researchers and educators had reckoned with decades before my birth. It makes me wonder why those newer ideas on revision were never implemented in my time as a student. Did my teachers miss the memo, or was it just because all my districts adopted “the product-based pedagogy of the ‘current-traditional’ paradigm” (12)? I think its interesting that we had research in this field but I don’t recall anything outside of that current-traditional paradigm being implemented at all in my own education. Maybe the teachers just got left behind with the children.

On a similar note, the final thing that really struck me while reading this was that, “In 1974, an important document was published by the Conference on College Composition and Communication, supporting the legitimate use of social dialects in students’ writing: ‘Students’ Right to Their Own Language'” (14). Another aspect of my education that stood out to me was that many times I had classmates or friends who wouldn’t conform to American Standard English in their writings, and their grades suffered for it; despite this, when it came to in class discussions and group work, their understanding of the material was undeniable. This also reminds me of my brief time as an educator, where many of my students understood the material and had unique perspectives on it, but would give up on writing essays because conforming to American Standard English was too difficult for them. Even as an educator, I had no idea that there had already been a push decades before my time to accept and incorporate these different Englishes for the benefit of students, but again there seemed to be no push to actually incorporate this into the classrooms. It makes me think about how many students have failed because of this, and how it would make them disbelieve in their own voice and uniqueness, despite their understanding.

This post was written while listening to Bobby “Blue” Bland’s 1961 album Two Steps from the Blues. The instrumentation on each track is perfectly moody and atmospheric, and Bobby’s performances are electric and heartfelt.

Howdy howdy! My name is Rocco and I’m the creator of this blog. If you’re going to read about my personal opinions about works of literature, it’s only fair that you know who I am as a person to better understand my perspective!

On August 14th, 2002, I was born in Livingston, New Jersey…a city I would never see again as I was raised in Linden for most of my life. I developed a passion for linguistics and etymology at a young age, mainly priding myself on being a little kid that knew big words. I spoke very formally and tried to impress those around me with my enhanced vocabulary, but many will say from experience, being proper-spoken in an urban area has its benefits (none of which are social). Naturally, this led to me feeling rather lonely as I’d progressed through grades, so I did what any angsty teenager would do in that situation; I began writing poetry.

Poetry has been my main method of creative writing for over a decade at this point. Between allowing me to depict settings in memorable ways, easing the troubles of story pacing, or even just allowing me to use big words with even bigger rhyming partners, poetry has always stood out to me because of it’s opportunities for expression, and expression is the most important thing to me as a writer. So many people get lost in the idea of the story they’re supposed to tell rather than the story they want to tell. My goal in life is to give a voice to those who feel they were never heard; not so that I can speak for them, but so they can finally hear what they sound like. Writing is an art form that everyone has the potential to excel at. Some people just need a little push to understand what they’re trying to say. I was one of those people. And though I’m the one who pushed myself, I know it’s not that easy for everyone.

As a writer, I focus on the minute details of life and nature, and the substantial roles they play. This is mostly because, as a person, I am just as fascinated in the little things. There’s joy to be found in every facet of life, which is exactly why I strive so hard to experience it. This course is yet another experience for me enjoy, so cheers to it and everything like it!

Hi friends! It was lovely meeting and reconnecting with you all last Thursday. I’m excited to see what this semester will bring

A little bit about myself: My journey has been a winding road so far. I moved from Brooklyn when I was 14, and then my parents moved to Middletown, NJ. As a young adult, I lived in different areas of NJ and tried on many occupational hats over the course of ten years: hostess, waitress, bartender, office administrator, food truck vendor, production editor, academic specialist, substitute teacher, and now high school English teacher. Some of these hats were worn at the same time, and I may have occasionally lost my balance wearing them! I’m grateful for all of these experiences, as lessons were definitely learned along the way and have helped to shape who I am today.

Aside from some of my occupational history, some other pertinent facts about me are that I spend a lot of time in both Brooklyn with my boyfriend and three cats, and my mother in Jersey. I’ve always loved reading and writing: over the summer I started writing a cozy romantasy (cozy mystery/ romance/ fantasy) novel during Dr. Zamora’s Writer’s Retreat (which was so much fun!) and put a nice dent in my TBR, although that list never really seems to go down. I’m a guitarist, singer, and songwriter, and I love video and board games.

Some goals I have for this course and this program are that I would like to learn as much as I can about both the practice of writing, and writing pedagogy. I love to write, and I want to help others discover a love of writing. I want to eventually publish my own books, and to keep sharing my love and knowledge of reading and writing with others!