Expressing ourselves well in written communication is important to many
areas of our lives, and essential in the working world. Many courses
that seek to prepare students for professional writing, however,
overlook the fact that most real-world writing is produced by and for
people working within groups. Teaching Writing That Works offers
composition instructors an alternative to the conventional composition
course in which one individual (a student) writes in isolation for
another isolated individual (the teacher). The result of Rabkin and
Smith's innovative, non-hierarchical approach to composition learning is
Practical English, a course developed at the University of Michigan. In
this successful and popular course, the choice and execution of writing
tasks are the responsibility of students working together in groups
rather than working alone as individuals. The crucial rhetorical issues
of audience and purpose are focused by having students use their writing
to do real work, both within the classroom and beyond it. The writing
that evolves from this collaboration is then edited and evaluated by the
group. In this emphasis on students' authority over and responsibility
for the learning process, Teaching Writing That Works reflects current
pedagogical concerns and philosophy. The busy teacher looking for fresh
approaches for the composition classroom but with no time to develop a
whole new course from the bottom up will appreciate the book's full
descriptions of the Michigan course. The authors provide an outline of
the curriculum and thorough explanations of teaching techniques for the
course, as well as a detailed discussion of the workshop practicum and
its application. Much of the practical advice and theoretical discussion
can be imported into existing courses as self-contained units.
Selections from students' comments on the course enhance the text and
offer glimpses into the reasons for the course's popularity among
students--and teachers.
