Journal of Basic Writing
 

Volume 15 Issue 2, Fall 1996


Table of Contents

Abstracts


Volume 15 Issue 2, Fall 1996

Jane Maher

"A Full and Good World from Mina P. Shaughnessy: Her Life and Work"

This is the first chapter of Mina P. Shaughnessy: Her Life and Work, published in March, 1997 by The National Council of Teachers of English. Mina P. Shaughnessy was one of the founders of the Journal of Basic Writing; therefore the editors thought it would be fitting that an excerpt of her biography appear in these pages.

 

Laura Gray-Rosendale

"Revising the Political in Contemporary Basic Writing Scholarship"

This paper traces our scholarly constructions of Basic Writers identities. Arguing that we have relied too much on the question, Who is the Basic Writer, the author instead asks, What are those students who are labeled Basic Writers accomplishing in their speech and writing in our classes? Her text offers a speculative model for analyzing Basic Writing student discourse, uses that model to examine the language used in an actual Basic Writing classroom, and briefly reviews the implications of such work for reforming contemporary Basic Writing scholarship.

 

Morris Young

"Narratives of Identity: Theorizing the Writer and the Nation"

This paper explores the ways in which basic writers begin to theorize identities that locate them in our larger culture. As part of the composing process students need to first locate their own notions of the writer in a dominant culture that has often labeled them as "non-standard" and "at-risk." The author reads student texts for "theories" about writing and identity. The paper then moves to an examination of a student narrative which acts to construct both an individual identity and a cultural identity through the recuperation of language.

 

Rosemary Winslow and Monica Mische

"The Hero's Performance and Students' Quests for Meaning and Identity: A Humanities and Writing Course Design"

This essay describes a seminar course for underprepared students which focuses on the study of the hero's quest and solves many of the difficulties inherent in the remedial writing course as it had been taught on our campus. An understanding of the individual as formed within culture and society but as having some power to choose her path informs the use of verbal and visual materials from several humanities fields to guide students through an examination of cultural and societal images of strong, courageous, and responsible individuals at selected points in time. Students' journeys through the materials are in themselves hero quests as they struggle through difficult but interesting and relevant reading and writing assignments, supported by intensive help in small group workshops and tutorials. The aim is to teach critical thinking, close critical reading, and critical and creative writing as these are necessary for making the journey of inquiry. As the theme necessitates a study of individuals making personal and moral decisions, learning goes beyond these critical skill areas into "critical wisdom."

 

Jim Cody

"The Importance of Expressive Language in Preparing Basic Writers for College Writing"

The workshop format--a format that supplements traditional writing class instruction with group work and individual instruction that emphasize the power of expressive language--is essential to basic writers for their development as writers. Writing workshops generate conversations and discussions that encourage social, political, and economic awareness to help basic writers discover who they are and where they are in society, so that they do not sacrifice personal voice for acceptance and recognition. Writing should be taught as an act of invention and expression in every step of the writing process to help basic writers become prepared writers, so they can be part of the mechanism that determines the way our written language develops and the way that written words signify meanings.

 

Ann Kirch

"A Basic Writer's Topoi for Timed Essay Tests"

This article describes the problems the authors basic writing students have had in generating ideas for writing in response to timed essay tests. Since many of the common pedagogical approaches for helping students generate or create ideas for writing are ineffective, the author proposes an alternate technique based on the classical notion of the topoi. This ideological system enables students to generate ideas for timed writing tests and equips them for participation in the social and political dialogues that they encounter in higher education.