Breathing the Words: What Students Have Taught Me

Authors

  • Susan Carpenter Author

Abstract

Unlike courses in other disciplines, parameters for first-year composition are set, not by content, but by process. What students write about is not as crucial as how they write--more precisely, how their writing improves through revision after revision after revision. I urge students to write what they care about; if they don't, they won't have the commitment for the two (or three, or six) revisions I am insisting they make. Writing that they care about involves risk, however. And guiding a group of students through a series of essays always forces me back to my own writing-in-process.

Published

2024-03-22