Rethinking Writing


Book Description

The traditional Western view of writing, from Aristotle down to the present day, has treated the written word as a visual substitute for the spoken word. The eminent Swiss linguist Ferdinand de Saussure (1857-1913) was the first to provide this traditional assumption with a reasoned basis by incorporating it into a more general theory of signs. In the wake of Saussure's work, modern linguistics has ignored or marginalized writing in favour of the study of speech. In all literate societies, however, speech in turn is interpreted by reference to the culturally dominant writing system. This puts in place a system of educational values which ensures that the more literate members of society maintain superiority over the less literate, and at the same time establishes a hierarchy among literate societies which favours the local product (alphabetic scripts in the Western Case). Roy Harris shows that the theory of writing adopted in modern linguistics is deeply flawed. Reversing the orthodox priorities, the author argues that writing is a far more powerful mode of linguistic communication than speech could ever be. His book is a major contribution to current debates about human communication written and spoken.




Rethinking Rubrics in Writing Assessment


Book Description

The conventional wisdom in English education is that rubrics are the best and easiest tools for assessment. But sometimes it's better to be unconventional. In Rethinking Rubrics in Writing Assessment, Maja Wilson offers a new perspective on rubrics and argues for a better, more responsive way to think about assessing writers' progress. Though you may sense a disconnect between student-centered teaching and rubric-based assessment, you may still use rubrics for convenience or for want of better alternatives. Rethinking Rubrics in Writing Assessment gives you the impetus to make a change, demonstrating how rubrics can hurt kids and replace professional decision making with an inauthentic pigeonholing that stamps standardization onto a notably nonstandard process. With an emphasis on thoughtful planning and teaching, Wilson shows you how to reconsider writing assessment so that it aligns more closely with high-quality instruction and avoids the potentially damaging effects of rubrics. Stop listening to the conventional wisdom, and turn instead to a compelling new voice to find out why rubrics are often replaceable. Open Rethinking Rubrics in Writing Assessment and let Maja Wilson start you down the path to more sensitive, authentic style of writing assessment.




Writing Through Childhood


Book Description

In Writing Through Childhood, Shelley dares us to rethink our beliefs about how we design writing workshops, use writer's notebooks, choose appropriate genres, and teach spelling.




Reconceiving Writing, Rethinking Writing Instruction


Book Description

To a degree unknown in practically any other discipline, the pedagogical space afforded composition is the institutional engine that makes possible all other theoretical and research efforts in the field of rhetoric and writing. But composition has recently come under attack from many within the field as fundamentally misguided. Some of these critics have been labelled "New Abolitionists" for their insistence that compulsory first-year writing should be abandoned. Not limiting itself to first-year writing courses, this book extends and modifies calls for abolition by taking a closer look at current theoretical and empirical understandings of what contributors call "general writing skills instruction" (GWSI): the curriculum which an overwhelming majority of writing instructors is paid to teach, that practically every composition textbook is written to support, and the instruction for which English departments are given resources to deliver. The vulnerability of GWSI is hardly a secret among writing professionals and its intellectual fragility has been felt for years and manifested in several ways: * in persistently low status of composition as a study both within and outside of English departments; * in professional journal articles and conference presentations that are growing both in theoretical sophistication and irrelevance to the composition classroom; and * in the rhetoric and writing field's ever-increasing attention to nontraditional sites of writing behavior. But, to date, there has been relatively little concerted discussion within the writing field that focuses specifically on the fundamentally awkward relationship of writing theory and writing instruction. This volume is the first to explicitly focus on the gap in the theory and practice that has emerged as a result of the field's growing professionalization. The essays anthologized offer critiques of GWSI in light of the discipline's growing understanding of the contexts for writing and their rhetorical nature. Writing from a wide range of cognitivist, critical-theoretical, historical, linguistic and philosophical perspectives, contributors call into serious question basic tenets of contemporary writing instruction and provide a forum for articulating a sort of zeitgeist that seems to permeate many writing conferences, but which has, until recently, not found a voice or a name.




Rethinking Foreign Language Writing


Book Description

Reviews the research of foreign language and ESL writing pedagogy and suggest new teaching methods for college and high school instructors based on recent developments in the field. Includes a comprehensive review of the literature, specific sugestions for activities and recommendations on integrating software into the writing curriculum.




Before Writing


Book Description

Gunther Kress argues for a radical reappraisal of the phenomenon of literacy, and hence for a profound shift in educational practice. Through close attention to the variety of objects which children constantly produce (drawings, cuttings-out, 'writings' and collages), Kress suggests a set of principles which reveal the underlying coherence of children's actions; actions which allow us to connect them with attempts to make meaning before they acquire language and writing. This book provides fundamental challenges to commonly held assumptions about both language and literacy, thought and action. It places these challenges within the context of speculation about the abilities and dispositions essential for children as young adults, and calls for the radical decentring of language in educational theory and practice.




The Writing on the Wall


Book Description

A critical analysis of Israel's control of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, advocating a normative and functional approach.




Rethinking Basic Writing


Book Description

This book surveys the history of basic writing scholarship, suggesting that we cannot adequately theorize the situations of basic writers unless we examine how they construct their own conceptions of their identities, their constructions of their relationships to social forces, and their representations of their relationships to written work. Using a cross-disciplinary analytic model, Gray-Rosendale offers a detailed examination of the oral conversations that take place within one basic writing peer revision group. She explains the ways in which the students' own conversational structures impact and shape their written products. Gray-Rosendale then draws out the potentials of her work for basic writing administrators, curricula builders, and teachers.




Rethinking Possible


Book Description

Becky Galli was born into a family that valued the power of having a plan. With a pastor father and a stay-at-home mother, her 1960s southern upbringing was bucolic—even enviable. But when her brother, only seventeen, died in a waterskiing accident, the slow unraveling of her perfect family began. Though grief overwhelmed the family, twenty-year-old Galli forged onward with her life plans—marriage, career, and raising a family of her own—one she hoped would be as idyllic as the family she once knew. But life had less than ideal plans in store. There was her son’s degenerative, undiagnosed disease and subsequent death; followed by her daughter’s autism diagnosis; her separation; and then, nine days after the divorce was final, the onset of the transverse myelitis that would leave Galli paralyzed from the waist down. Despite such unspeakable tragedy, Galli maintained her belief in family, in faith, in loving unconditionally, and in learning to not only accept, but also embrace a life that had veered down a path far different from the one she had envisioned. At once heartbreaking and inspiring, Rethinking Possible is a story about the power of love over loss and the choices we all make that shape our lives —especially when forced to confront the unimaginable.




Rethinking Writing One Word at a Time


Book Description

Reviews “Sheila Beverly’s new workbook, Rethinking Writing One Word at a Time, is a promising tool for helping students who struggle with writing. Mrs. Beverly, who holds a B.A. in English and an M. Ed. In reading education, has years of experience teaching students to write. At first, her innovative ‘Grammar Bubble’ appears to be a part-to-whole approach to teaching writing. But, in truth, she uses direct teaching of the eight parts of speech as an entry point – a conceptual structure and motivational “hook” to get hesitant writers to put their ideas down on paper. Then, Mrs. Beverly uses a workshop, collaborative model to keep her students writing – drafting, sharing, revising, and editing. It is obvious that much thinking, trying out, and improving has gone into the activities described in this workbook. It is also obvious from reading the revealing Preface that Mrs. Beverly is a committed educator who is passionate about empowering her students to express their voices in print.” - Dr. Darrell Morris, Professor of Reading Education, 2016-2017 Distinguished Graduate Faculty Award; Director of Anderson Reading Clinic Department of Reading Education & Special Education, Emeritus Faculty, Appalachian State University “This workbook, containing resources and supplemental activities, along with the Grammar Bubble Manipulative Toy, games, charts, and lessons, has been Divinely orchestrated and blessed. Adults and children will learn and understand the Eight Parts of Speech and how to utilize this knowledge to become better communicators. Teachers will benefit tremendously. This information will give them a fresh approach on how to introduce writing using the Eight Parts of Speech. This hands-on approach will help make writing fun and more meaningful.” - Linda Beverly, BS of Elementary School Education, Primary Reading Teacher, Retired-34 Years of Experience “Written communication skills remain a vital asset in our increasing technological world. I had the privilege of working with Shelia for many years and can attest to her dedication in helping her students’ written voices to shine on paper. Her passion now extends to assisting teachers who also recognize the importance of writing. Shelia Beverly’s Rethinking Writing One Word at a Time provides a framework for teachers to cultivate a community of strong writers and shares engaging activities to help students acquire essential language skills. Rethinking Writing One Word at a Time is a valuable addition to a teacher’s classroom.” - Teri G. Lewis, BA English, MEd of Reading; English Department Chair, Retired I wish I had Rethinking Writing One Word at a Time – Eights Parts of Speech when I was teaching in the classroom. Finally, a workbook that really breaks down grammar and writing in a way that builds and makes sense to the teacher and the learner. The “Grammar Bubble Manipulative Toy”, games, writing prompts, and more are great for emerging writers and those who need a writing refresher. It is interactive and thought provoking. This workbook could benefit anyone who desires to grow in their writing journey by starting with “Rethinking Writing.” - Dr. Renita L. Webb, Ph.D. Educational Leadership Strategist; Former Elementary School Principal; Former Middle/High School English Teacher