Using data from two surveys and end-of-semester reflections, researchers learned that students enrolled in writing-about-writing (WAW) courses are initially intimidated by the demands of a WAW curriculum, but the students' perceived inability to complete the requirements contradicted survey data and final written reflections. Ongoing public…

Through an examination of four current trends in composition instruction, this article presents a new lens for envisioning composition instruction that integrates the best aspects of the writing across the curriculum, genre-based curriculum approach, ecocomposition, and writing across communities theories of writing instruction. The "literacy…

Higher education has become increasingly concerned in recent years with its role in sustainability studies, both in the sustainability of the physical environments of its institutions and in the education of students as citizens and experts in a world facing complex environmental, economic, and social challenges. This review essay discusses the…

Previous transfer researchers within writing studies have made tremendous gains in understanding how social contexts and curricula influence writing behaviors. In this article, we argue that individual dispositions, such as motivation, value, and self-efficacy, need to occupy a more central focus in writing transfer research. After describing…

In this essay, I examine the problems I now see with the sample curriculum I proposed in "College Writing and Beyond: A New Framework for Writing Instruction" in 2007. There are numerous factors that must be considered in designing a writing course: choice of subject matter, choice of genres to assign, sequencing of writing assignments, number of…

The challenges of redesigning and reviving Longwood University's Rhetoric and Professional Writing program involved skills in collaboration, negotiation, and advertisement. While unexpected obstacles arose, taking an honest look at the existing program design and working to maintain the focus on rhetoric helped to circumvent failure. Finally,…

Looks at how the best writers of English from the 1600s to the present use punctuation in their nonfiction. Finds three bases for punctuation: intonation, grammar (or syntax), and semantics (or rhetoric). Shows that these authors do not regularly and consistently follow the institutionalized rules. Argues for rhetoric-based punctuation because its…

Argues for the inclusion of different kinds of writing and thinking in the classroom that ask students to situate their own experiences with writing in larger social contexts of which they are a part. Includes an in-depth analysis of one student's narratives of writing illustrating how she must think through social issues in order to understand…