Introduction tothe Conversation

5
I ntroduction to the Conversation ~ go of all previous convictions about what an English class is "supposed" to be. In high school English, classes tend to focus primarily on literature and touch briefly on literary style. This English class is more correctly a seminar that looks deeply into rhetoric and the actual process of writing. - Elizabeth Grauel, Student _j Th iS book does not tell you how to write. It does not contain step-by-step advice about how to draft your paper or how to conduct research. Instead, it introduces you to the research about writing conducted in the field of writing studies, much as your textbooks in biology or psychology introduce you to the research of those fields. Writing about Writing asksyou to think about writing as something we know about, not just something we do. It offers you these kinds of learning: • Deeper understanding of what's going on with your own writing and how writing works • Knowledge about writing that you can take with you to help you navigate other writing situations • Experience engaging with scholarly articles and other research • The ability to conduct inquiry-driven research on unanswered questions Haveyou ever wondered why every teacher seemsto havea different set of rules for writing? Or why writing seems to be more difficult for some people than for oth- ers? Or why some people use big words when they don't have to? Writing about Writing invites you to compare your own writing and reading experiences to research others have done on questions like these and to find your own answers by conducting research of your own.

Transcript of Introduction tothe Conversation

Page 1: Introduction tothe Conversation

Introduction to theConversation

~ go of all previous convictions about what an English class is "supposed" tobe. In high school English, classes tend to focus primarily on literature and touchbriefly on literary style. This English class is more correctly a seminar that looks

deeply into rhetoric and the actual process of writing.- Elizabeth Grauel, Student _j

Th iS book does not tell you how to write. It does not contain step-by-stepadvice about how to draft your paper or how to conduct research. Instead, itintroduces you to the research about writing conducted in the field of writingstudies, much as your textbooks in biology or psychology introduce you to theresearch of those fields. Writing about Writing asks you to think about writing assomething we know about, not just something we do. It offers you these kindsof learning:

• Deeper understanding of what's going on with your own writing and howwriting works

• Knowledge about writing that you can take with you to help you navigateother writing situations

• Experience engaging with scholarly articles and other research• The ability to conduct inquiry-driven research on unanswered questions

Haveyou ever wondered why every teacher seemsto havea different set of rules forwriting? Or why writing seems to be more difficult for some people than for oth-ers?Or why some people use big words when they don't have to? Writing aboutWriting invites you to compare your own writing and reading experiences toresearch others have done on questions like these and to find your own answersby conducting research of your own.

Page 2: Introduction tothe Conversation

12 Introduction to the Conversation

r:-order to do something correctly you first need to know what is expected.In sports, for instance, you would need to know the rules, customs, and

expectations of both the sport and your particular position before you couldbegin playing. How would you learn these? You would read the rules and watch

professionals play and attempt to mimic their movements. The same is true forthis course. In order to learn how to write well you must read the rules, see how

the professionals do it, and then mimic them.- Matt Craven,Student _jWhy Study Writing?

~iCaIlY, this course will teach you how to become a better writer by learningabout the theories of writing and reading the products of good writers so thatyou may incorporate these into your own writing process.-Matt Craven,Student _jYou might wonder why it is more helpful to learn about writing than to simply betold how to write. What good will this do you as a writer? We think the answerto this question is that changing what you know about writing can change theway you write. Much of the research in this book questions everyday assump-tions about writing-like the idea that you can't use your own voice in writing forschool, or that writing is just easy for some people and hard for others, or thatliteracy is only about how well you can read. If you change your ideas about whatwriting is supposed to be, you're likely to do different things-better things-withyour writing.

There are additional advantages to studying writing in a writing course:

• Writing is relevant to all of us. Most of us do it every day, and all of us livein a world in which writing, reading, and other related usesof language areprimary means of communication.

• What you learn about writing now will be directly useful to you long after theclassends. In college, at work, and in everyday life, writing well can have ameasurable impact on your current and future success.

• You already have a great deal of experience with writing and reading, so youare a more knowledgeable investigator of these subjects than you might beof a lot of others.

• Doing research on writing will give you the opportunity to contribute newknowledge about your subject, not simply gather and repeat what lots ofother people have already said.

Page 3: Introduction tothe Conversation

\nt{oduc.tion to the Ccrwer satior, 31

Making Sense of the Readings

I The first step is to learn how to approach the readings. Do not let the big wordsintimidate you.... After some practice and class discussion, you will learn how

to pull the important topics out of the piece. The readings ... will help you tothink of topics in writing that need to be addressed and greatly assist you in

research. The readings build a frame of reference and train you in deciphering

academic literature.- Elizabeth Grauel, Student _j

~derstanding the "Framing the Reading" section that's placed before the articleis very useful. This passage prepares me for what I should know about the author

and briefly states what the article is going to be about. I also find annotating anarticle helpful for me while I'm reading. I highlight or underline important wordsor phrases that I need to understand for my English class and assignments.

- Natasha Gumtie, Student _jThescholarly articles collected in this reader arewritten by expert researchersfor anaudience of other experts. Reading such texts is sometimes not easy even for yourprofessors, and they won't be easyor quick for you to read at first either. We've cre-ated the reader to make sure that the time you spend with the articles is rewardedwith new ideas that you'll understand and value, and we have some advice on howto use the book to make sure your time is well spent.

• Very consciously connect at least some part of each piece you read to your* own experience as a writer; the readings have been chosen specifically toallow you to do that.

• Readthe backstory of each piece, which you'll find in the "Framing theReading" sections. These introductions give you background necessary tomore fully understand the pieces themselves.

• Use the activities and questions in the "Getting Readyto Read,""Questionsfor Discussion and [ournaling," "Applying and Exploring Ideas," and "MetaMoment" sections to help you focus your reading on the most importantconcepts in the pieces.

• Apply the readings to your own writing experience as you work on any ofthe projects from the end-of-chapter "Writing Assignments and Advice"sections. Use the sample student papers throughout the book as modelsand inspiration for your own writing.

Page 4: Introduction tothe Conversation

r4 Introduction to the Conversation

• Readmore deeply on subjects that especially interest you by using the"Suggested Additional Readings and Resources" in each chapter.

I Although! found some of the readings difficult ... , I found that actively readingthe material helped me to make sense of the content. I was sure to identify wherethe author writes of others' research, the "gap" [the author identified], and howthe author intends to fill the gap. I also highlighted the conclusions that theauthor drew [and] took notes in the margin as well. ...-Casey Callahan, Student _j

~YOu are reading the articles in the book, try to read them with an open mind.Some of them may seem intimidating at first ... but don't worry ... there is still

much to learn from the readings if you actually give them a chance.As you aregoing through the articles, try jotting down the concepts you don't understand. Ifthey still aren't clear,after the lecture, ask your instructor. Most instructors are morethan willing to help.

- Jillian Loisel,Student _jA Different Kind of Research and Argument

~earch is asking questions on a topic that interests you, examining whatquestions have already been answered by others, and then developing a method

to answer the questions that you have that have been unanswered. The most

integral part of the process is choosing a topic that truly interests you.... Ifound my own personal research to be extremely enjoyable and it barely felt like

work. I found myself thinking about my research outside of class and my work.

Some of my best ideas came when I was out with my friends and [my topic] ...

came up in conversation.

-Casey Callahan, Student _jYou may not be very familiar with the kind of research-scholarly inquiry-youencounter in this book. i uir is im erfect, incom lete i . nd20visioQj31. It doesn't offer easyor answers. It is question- and problem-driven .. It includes a lot of personal opinion rather than clear, objective facts. How canthis be?Scholarly inquiry doesn't stand on existing knowledge; rather, in scholarly

Page 5: Introduction tothe Conversation

Introduction to the Conversation 51

inquiry, researchers come together to try a lot of different approaches to the sameproblem, and then, through argument as conversation, gradually develop consensusabout what the best explanation of or solution to the problem is.

Before you turn to Chapter 1, we'd like to offer three "foundational" selectionsthat will help you understand the rest of what you'll encounter in Writing aboutWriting: a summary of John Swales's "Create a Research Space" (CARS) modelof research introductions (pp. 6-8); the article "Argument as Conversation" byStuart Greene (pp, 9-21); and another article, "What Is It We Do When We WriteArticles Like This One-and How Can We Get Students to Join Us?," by MichaelKleine (pp. 22-30).

The summary of Swales's CARS model will help you understand how academicwriters construct the introductions to their research articles; Greene's article willhelp you see how the selections in the rest of the book argue differently fromtexts you might be more familiar with; and Kleine's article will suggest why aca-demic writers write the way they do. We offer these selections as an introductionto the ongoing scholarly conversations about writing, research, and inquiry-conversations in which they-and now you-are an essential part.

~ not expect to be treated like a freshman [in this book]. Many first-year

college courses will baby you .... In this course, however, you will be treated as

a member of academia .... This course gives you the opportunity to go above

and beyond the expectations of a first-year college student, and it is a valuable

and shaping experience. As an undergraduate I completed close to fifty courses;

out of fifty courses, [the composition] class that I took for four months at the

very beginning is one that I can recall most clearly and was able to actually apply

to my major studies. Applyyourself and work hard; this class is worth it.

- Elizabeth Crauel, Student . _j