Position statements matter, but perhaps not as much as one may think. FYC teachers are already implementing much of what is addressed in the WPA Outcomes Statement for First-Year Composition (3.0) (Approved July 17, 2014). However, these statements serve as a helpful reminder of the core values that support high-quality composition teaching. I will comment on a few of the points below from Processes section of the WPA 3.0 document.
Using processes to develop new ideas and reexamine existing ideas means that teachers should instruct students to see composing as more than typing words into a document. The goal is use concepts and in-class practices that encourage exploration of topics. Students should be aware that often writing their ideas, questions, arguments, thoughts, and even areas of confusion can result in a clarity that they will likely not achieve by just talking about these elements.
The collaborative and social aspects of writing do not occur in some laissez-faire way in the classroom. The FYC instructor must construct an environment that encourages students to share through required high-level assignments and low-level, informal tasks in and outside of the classroom. This goes beyond formal peer reviews (though this is crucial); students need to have weekly opportunities to share their writing, discuss their writing strategies, brainstorm in pairs, and practice cordial yet targeted feedback. Teachers can use templates that prompt students to both inquire and respond during peer reviews and group activities.
Lastly, using multiple technologies and modes to create are critical learning goals that should be embraced in FYC. Though some instructors may be apprehensive about this, today's FYC programs focus on more than typing into a Word doc. Blogs, e-magazines, PowerPoints, YouTube videos, and graphic novels are just a few of the ways that traditional assignments can be reinvented without losing meaning or lessening the focus on writing. All of these examples can include a minimum writing component that equals what would be required in a traditional paper.
That's the key though; writing must not take a back seat to creating cool graphics or videos. That is precisely why the WPA 3.0 position statement uses the language of "Adapt composing processes for a variety of technologies and modalities." This is not a replacement, but an adaptation of the traditional into modern methods of communication.
Writing and reading are related
The National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) highlights in their Professional Knowledge statement the critical relationship between reading and writing. This is something I hope to emphasize though teaching and student practice. I believe that it is a good strategy to expose students to all sorts of genres, and prompt them to model their writing on certain styles. I have done this in my graduate classes at KSU. It is a challenging, yet useful exercise to read a passage and then try to write in that style or structure. This can be done on the same subject as the example passage, or an entirely different subject ... the instructional result should be the same.
Some of the takeaways from the NCTE's section on Writing and Reading:
Writing and reading are related.
To write a particular kind of text, it helps if the writer has read that kind of text, if only because the writer then has a mental model of the genre.
In order to take on a particular style of language, it also helps to have read that language
It is important to hear it in one’s mind (read), so that one can hear it again in order to compose (write) it.
Works Cited
Council of Writing Program Administrators
WPA Outcomes Statement for First-Year Composition (3.0) - July 17, 2014 Outcomes Statement for FYC
National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) Professional Knowledge for the Teaching of Writing - February 28, 2016
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