Writing in Context(s)


Book Description

The premise that writing is a socially-situated act of interaction between readers and writers is well established. This volume first, corroborates this premise by citing pertinent evidence, through the analysis of written texts and interactive writing contexts, and from educational settings across different cultures from which we have scant evidence. Secondly, all chapters, though addressing the social nature of writing, propose a variety of perspectives, making the volume multidisciplinary in nature. Finally, this volume accounts for the diversity of the research perspectives each chapter proposes by situating the plurality of terminological issues and methodologies into a more integrative framework. Thus a coherent overall framework is created within which different research strands (i.e., the sociocognitive, sociolinguistic research, composition work, genre analysis) and pedagogical practices developed on L1 and L2 writing can be situated and acquire meaning. This volume will be of particular interest to researchers in the areas of language and literacy education in L1 and L2, applied linguists interested in school, and academic contexts of writing, teacher educators and graduate students working in the fields of L1 and L2 writing.




Academic Writing in Context


Book Description

Explores a number of themes of interest to those engaged in researching and teaching academic genres. This book is of interest to students on Master's programmes in Teaching English as a Second Langauge and Applied Linguistics, and to scholars researching issues of academic literacy.




Krishna Sobti


Book Description

This book engages with the life and works of the distinctive Hindi writer Krishna Sobti, known for making bold choices of themes in her writing. Also known for her extraordinary use of the Hindi language, she emerges as an embodiment of a counter archive. While presenting the author in the context of her times, this volume offers critical perspectives to define her position in the canon of modern Indian literature. Alongside important critical essays on her, the inclusion of excerpts from the translations of some major works by the author, such as Zindaginama, Mitro Marjani and Ai Ladki, greatly facilitate an understanding of her worldview and the contexts in which she wrote. Also included in this book are some of her reflections on the creative process that help in unfolding the complexities of her characters and her specific approach to the language of fiction. Writing in the times of significant political and cultural churnings, her fiction includes themes such as the Partition of the country and its aftermath, women and their sexuality, desire and violence, history and memory. Her writing subverted the dominant narratives of the times and de-historicised history. Her own essays and other critical writings demonstrate the way Krishna Sobti’s characters are abundantly polyphonic and seeped in social realities. They encapsulate the cultural milieu of their times and serve as a site of resistance to the dominant archive of power. Her interactions with her fellow Hindi writers such as Nirmal Verma and Krishan Baldev Vaid, as also her letters, her memoirs and the reminiscences of others, further enrich this volume and establish her unique voice. Part of the ‘Writer in Context’ Series, this book will be useful for scholars and researchers of Indian literature, English literature, postcolonial studies, cultural studies, gender studies, translation studies and Partition studies.




Script and Society


Book Description

By the 13th century BC, the Syrian city of Ugarit hosted an extremely diverse range of writing practices. As well as two main scripts – alphabetic and logographic cuneiform - the site has also produced inscriptions in a wide range of scripts and languages, including Hurrian, Sumerian, Hittite, Egyptian hieroglyphs, Luwian hieroglyphs and Cypro-Minoan. This variety in script and language is accompanied by writing practices that blend influences from Mesopotamian, Anatolian and Levantine traditions together with what seem to be distinctive local innovations. Script and Society: The Social Context of Writing Practices in Late Bronze Age Ugarit explores the social and cultural context of these complex writing traditions from the perspective of writing as a social practice. It combines archaeology, epigraphy, history and anthropology to present a highly interdisciplinary exploration of social questions relating to writing at the site, including matters of gender, ethnicity, status and other forms of identity, the relationship between writing and place, and the complex relationships between inscribed and uninscribed objects. This forms a case- study for a wider discussion of interdisciplinary approaches to the study of writing practices in the ancient world.




The Social and Cultural Contexts of Historic Writing Practices


Book Description

Writing is not just a set of systems for transcribing language and communicating meaning, but an important element of human practice, deeply embedded in the cultures where it is present and fundamentally interconnected with all other aspects of human life. The Social and Cultural Contexts of Historic Writing Practices explores these relationships in a number of different cultural contexts and from a range of disciplinary perspectives, including archaeological, anthropological and linguistic. It offers new ways of approaching the study of writing and integrating it into wider debates and discussions about culture, history and archaeology.




Professional Writing in Context


Book Description

This volume explores adult work-world writing issues from the perspectives of five seasoned professionals who have logged hundreds of hours working with adults on complicated written communication problems. It examines the gap between school-world instructional practices and real-world problems and situations. After describing the five major economic sectors which are writing intensive, the text suggests curricular reforms which might better prepare college-educated writers for these worlds. Because the volume is based on the extensive work-world experiences of the authors, it offers numerous examples of real-world writing problems and strategies which illustrate concretely what goes wrong and what needs to be done about it.




Texts and Contexts


Book Description

It is assumed in this text that if inexperienced writers are to learn to write essays, they must begin as soon as possible. The part of the writing process most central to their learning is the one involving the shaping of the text.




Situated Literacies


Book Description

Situated Literacies is a rich and varied collection of key writings from leading international scholars in the field of literacy. Each contribution, written in a clear, accessible style, makes the link between literacies in specific contexts and broader social practices. Detailed ethnographic studies of a wide variety of specific situations, all involving real texts and lived practices, are balanced with general claims about the nature of literacy. Contributors address a coherent set of issues: * the visual and material aspects of literacy * concepts of time and space in relation to literacy * the functions of literacies in shaping and sustaining identities in communities of practice * the relationship between texts and the practices associated with their use the role of discourse analysis on literacy studies These studies, along with a foreword by Denny Taylor, make a timely and important contribution to literacy theory and suggest directions for the further development of the field. Situated Literacies is essential reading for anyone involved in literary education.




Development of Writing Skills in Children in Diverse Cultural Contexts


Book Description

This book brings together multiple theoretical perspectives and disciplinary approaches to study the acquisition and development of written language by children as well as the implications for teaching and learning of writing practices in a variety of languages and cultural contexts. Chapters in this contributed volume present both theoretical contributions and results of research carried out with students and teachers from 11 countries (Belgium, Brazil, Chile, Israel, Italy, Mexico, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, UK and USA) who speak seven different languages: Portuguese, Spanish, English, Italian, French, Dutch and Hebrew. By bringing together research developed in diverse cultural contexts it enriches the debates in the interdisciplinary field of writing studies by analyzing a wide range of topics at the interface between research and educational implications for the teaching and learning of writing by children. The book consists of five parts, each one addressing a specific set of topics. Part I presents studies on topics related to written language representation systems (phonological and morphological awareness) and on the relationship between grammar and the quality of texts of different genres. Part II includes studies related to compositional processes of writing texts, and the factors involved in these processes. Part III focuses on the difficulties faced by students during the acquisition and development of writing. Part IV is dedicated to chapters that discuss and compare writing practices in different social environments. Finally, chapters in part V deal with teaching and learning of writing in the school setting. Development of Writing Skills in Children in Diverse Cultural Contexts: Contributions to Teaching and Learning will be of interest to researchers and students in the fields of psychology, education and linguistics, as well as to other social scientists in the broader interdisciplinary field of writing studies.




Paradigm Online Writing Assistant


Book Description

The same award-winning content that has made the Paradigm website an Internet classic is now available in this quality paperback edition.This writer's guide and handbook accompanies the popular website, www.powa.org. It offers strategies for discovering, organizing, revising, and editing your mastering the writing process. It also covers thesis/support essays, informal essays, exploratory essays and argumentative essays. In addition, the book offers a clear, concise discussion of how to use MLA documentation.