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Discourse Community Analysis
Writing in Higher Education
When one thinks of writing in higher education, many scenarios may come to mind. When one thinks about the specific type of writing used as an English instructor at a university, a few more questions may come to mind than answers. As an English education major with the hopes of teaching Composition and Rhetoric at a university, I find it pertinent to my future academic endeavors to investigate the answer to this question. After observing and interviewing Mrs. Frost and Dr. Costello, Composition I instructors at Arkansas State University, I have a much clearer picture of what will be expected of me in my future career in terms of writing. Although most English instructors are involved in a variety of writing tasks at any given time, most are written to only one audience –students. English instructors write for scholarly journals and to other colleagues, but the majority of writing is focused on students as the audience using the genres of assignment prompts, feedback, and lecture notes. Both Mrs. Frost, a new Composition instructor, and Dr. Costello, a seasoned instructor and Writing Program director, reported that the main purpose of writing as a Composition I instructor was to “help students become better writers.” This goal is achieved through not only written communication, but verbal as well. All of the writings’ specifics revolved around delivering a clear message to students.
A Composition instructor’s job is to guide students through various writing scenarios with the eventual goal of giving students the writing experience and knowledge required to apply this experience to new writing scenarios successfully. In other words, the main goal for Ms. Frost, and likely other Composition I instructors, is “to provide students with the knowledge and resources they need to become better writers.” When asked how this affects the way she communicates with students, she added “It is completely different than the way I would approach a research paper or analysis, which I would purposely include lots of explanation and complex semantics. Instead it means finding the most simple, yet specific and clear way to communicate messages.” While observing Dr. Costello’s class I could see this goal in action as she reviewed the assignment sheet for the class’s next assignment. Every detail of the assignment sheet was geared toward targeting student understanding, with clarifications like, “Please include a discussion of the Kairos, or the rhetorical appeal of timing, used in the commercial you are analyzing.” Dr. Costello not only identifies what is expected in the assignment, but also clarifies what a word means in case students are unaware.
To further promote clarity for students, a consistent format, style, tone, and language are used for most of the writing required in this field. Just as Composition instructors often ask students to use MLA format, this is typically what they use as well, as I observed from Mrs. Frost’s and Dr. Costello’s classes. The purpose of using MLA format is to give students further examples and exposure to the formatting style so they can use these prompts as an example for their own writing. A professional tone is used when writing assignment prompts and lecture notes, although there were some instances where this deviated due to genre. For example, comments on student papers as well as end comments/feedback is a genre that instructors use quite often that operates under alternative guidelines. Dr. Costello notes, that “end comments are generally more informal and direct in order to deliver feedback in a manner that is relatable to students.” The genre of the end comment is one that is much different than any other genre used in the field, as evidenced by the study done by Summer Smith, The Genre of the End Comment. In this article she goes into detail about the conventions of the genre as well as how it can be done in a variety of ways, but typically it follows the same guidelines as discussed above. A professional tone is used in all other writing situations, including assignment prompts, student emails, and lecture notes to give students an example of what kind of writing they should be aiming for. An academic and professional tone and style will be expected and required in further academic courses and their future careers. The language used most often as a Composition I instructor follows the same suit. A professional/academic approach is used, but only so far as the student can easily understand and interpret the message. Often, Dr. Costello’s assignment sheet stated a message in a few different terms, stating “Write a rhetorical analysis discussing the rhetorical appeals” and again stating “The requirements of this assignment ask you to include a discussion of the commercial’s use of ethos, pathos, and logos.” As shown, the assignment sheet remains academic, but also uses clear language that avoids flowery sentence structures and abstract concepts. Concepts that may be a little more abstract are scaffolded and defined.
Scaffolding is a method that typically is discussed in terms of organization when it comes to education. According to Edglossary.org, “In education, scaffolding refers to a variety of instructional techniques used to move students progressively toward stronger understanding and, ultimately, greater independence in the learning process” (Scaffolding). Scaffolding is mainly concerned with how instruction is organized. The order Composition instructors use for assignment sheets and lectures are almost always scaffolded with student learning in mind. When asked about her use of scaffolding, Mrs. Frost said “I typically scaffold the writing I do in my class to promote the highest level of understanding from students. I often introduce simple concrete concepts and build on these concepts until a more abstract concept is reached.” She gave me further examples, explaining that the genres narrative, analysis, and argument, all build off one another and therefore are scaffolded. Her assignment sheet was also a great example of this organization and scaffolding. First she introduces the importance of the assignment to get student’s attention, then she moves on to what the assignment is using definitions and explanation to make expectations clear. Last, she gives the students the specific requirements of the assignment and the due date. This organization sets the student up for success by building on the information they already know from start to end. Dr. Costello supported this view of organization by stating, “Lectures are often formatted in the same way as an assignment sheet. Scaffolding is used for both by placing simple concepts first, then building on those to reach a full understanding of the genre.” The organization used for an end comment is also a little different. Instead of using scaffolding, which doesn’t quite fit the purpose of an end comment because it is a response to knowledge already learned, the organization is determined by importance. The most important messages are given at the beginning and end of comments, while less important messages usually appear in the middle. This emphasizes what the student should work to improve in their writing.
Writing to a group of students is much different than writing to the public or for a teacher, but it still employs the same persuasive techniques. The persuasive technique of logos is used the most often when writing as a Composition I instructor. In order for a message to be clear to students, it must be logical. Not only must the message be logical, but it must be understood easily and quickly. The writing done as a Composition instructor is usually to explain a concept used in class, so the quicker and easier it is to understand for students, the more they will be able to conceptualize it and use it in their own writing. Dr. Costello and Mrs. Frost both explained how scaffolding played a role in the logos they used as well. Dr. Costello, stated “scaffolding is a method used to connect and build on past knowledge, therefore creating a logical sequence for students to follow.” Composition instructors not only introduce new information, but take the time to connect it to previous learned concepts. This solidifies what is being learned because the student is seeing it more than once. Composition I instructors rarely emphasize ethos in their writing, but this comes with the title of instructor. They have obviously completed their education in the subject or they wouldn’t be able to teach it.
Works Cited
Costello, Krisit. Personal Interview. 13 May 2017.
Frost, Robyn. Personal Interview. 13 May 2017.
Frost, Robyn. “Rhetorical Analysis Assignment Sheet.” 13 May 2017.
Summer, Smith. “Genre of the End Comment.” Writing Fellowship Academic Journal, vol.1, no.5,1997.
