English 101 at Illinois State University teaches under the Rhetorical Genre Studies (RGS) model. Unlike traditional composition courses, which focus on mastering the specific conventions of academic essays, the RGS model emphasizes recognition of the variety of "genre situations" students will face in their academic, professional, and personal lives. This recognizes the fact that every writing assignment is governed by its own standards and conventions, and that these in turn shift in accordance with the differing needs and goals of professional and academic disciplines.
Writing represents a complex interplay between author, audience, and artifact. As a teacher, my goals are to help students identify their personal writing goals, illustrate the importance of social and cultural considerations that affect genres, and then guide them in preparing works that will resonate with readers. The lesson plans shared here represent several years of my teaching.
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Fall 2011, Unit 1: Community, Style, and Syntax in Genre Studies
In Unit 1 of Fall 2011, students worked in groups to share "manufactured documents" on their blogs. Through these blogs, they imagined stories of shark attacks and murder mysteries, September 11th and the Potato Famine, weddings and college admissions. Their research focused on both the specific events surrounding these situations and the genre conventions used to report these situations. From police reports to wedding vows, the students revealed a great deal of creativity in revealing just how we learn about the stories we "know."
Thursday, December 1, 2011
ENG 101 Final Portfolio
The final portfolio represents all the work you've written over the course of the semester. You should be sure to proofread for grammar and spelling, and then add in notes to let me know which of your pieces stand out as your favorites as well as which ones you felt didn't work as well as you wanted. Think of this as an opportunity to show what you've learned over the course of the semester
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