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Comparison Analysis - Layout - Outlinekaira
Comparison Analysis - Layout - Outlinekaira
Comparison Analysis - Layout - Outlinekaira
EvelynMeisenbacher
UniversityWriting1301
31thJanuary2017
Docendodiscimus
LatinproverbderivedfromSenecatheYounger(c.4BC65AD).
AnaphorismmeaningMenlearnwhiletheyteach.Perhapsthismottocancorrelatetothe
processes while teaching take on new meaning these days when instructors
begin to educate their pupils on the cultural, and historical philosophies that
What exercises, what resolutions can be utilized to help better prepare them
for the writing and academic world? As if to say that the current processes
writing abilities of our students. A fierce debate follows this matter closely.
instructors has posted an article stating his opinion Peter Elbow inBeinga
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Correspondingly,Elbowspiecefocusesonthestudentsaswriters.Developingtheir
exceptionalvoicewiththeuseofconsistentpractice.Aidingthemattainingtheirownthought
andmeaningthroughthepracticeofwriting.Disregardinganytraditionalmeanstomindthe
strictrulesofgrammarandpunctuation,oftenrestrictingstudentsofexpression.Indeed,wefind
thathisteachingmethodsallowstudentstoexpressthemselves,andoftentimesthosewho
instructthesecoursesholddifferentexpectationswhichisacauseforaccommodatingtoeach
teacher.Writingwhetheritbeacademicallyacceptable,orforonesselfclearlybecomesa
subjectiveexperience.
ComparativelyMusgrovespiecetakesthestanceoftheacademic.Itisapparentthathis
commitmenttoteachstudentsisempoweredbytheconstantprovingofhiscredibility,usinghis
careerasalegtokeephisargumentsteady.TherearepointswithinMusgrovespiecewherehe
comparesacademicwritingtodrivingyes,thatisright.Therulesoftheroad.Usingthis
analogytobothentertainandattempttorelatehisaudiencetohissuggestionsinorderto
influencethemtohisposition.Yetwhileitdoesactasasortofliaison,hisapproachisfarfrom
thatoftheothermentionedscholar.Intendingtointroduceanewsystemintoinstitutionssothat
studentswillbeforcedtowriteacademically,andifnotsufficientenoughthey,thestudents,
suffertheconsequence.Suchasplacingaholdontheirstudentrecords,andeffectingtheir
eligibilitytopasstheirrightinggeneralsuntilsaidstudentcanredeemthemselvesbymeansof
whateverinstitutioninstills.
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InthelightofElbowsperspective,Musgrovesattitudetowardacademicwritingnever
trulyalignswithhisown.TheinsensitivegeneralizationsLaurenceMusgrovemakesboth
authorsperspectivesdiffergreatlydespitetheiralignmentinregardstohavingpassionfor
teachingfirstyearsPerpetuallyreferencinghisownbackgroundastarifftowardhiscredibility
Musgrovesseveresolutions,whileElbowcanonlyexcusehimselfasbeingtooromantictotake
totheaggressiveanticsthatofMusgrove,leavingthembothindifferent.
InthebeginningofMusgrovespiecehebeginswiththeinsinuationofhowmost
instructorsthinkwhenitcomestothefieldofteachingfirstyearstudentstheimportanceof
academicwriting.
Ibelievemostfacultythinkthatwhentheyfindanerrorin
grammarorlogicorformat,itisbecausetheirstudentsdontknow
howtowrite.WhenIfindsignificanterrorsinstudentwriting,I
chalkituptooneofthreereasons:theydontcare,theydont
know,ortheydidntseeit.[Musgrove,2006,para.3]
Withthewaythisauthoraddresseshiscolleaguesandatwhichthecontextheplacehiswordsin
asifdenouncingtheirabilitiesasinstructors.Again,bringingupfellowprofessorsinparagraph4
ofhispostButletsnotjustblamethestudents.Mostcollegeprofessorswouldpreferto
complainaboutpoorwritingthansimplyrefusetoacceptit.[Musgrove,para.4]
However,whenthegreatMusgrovefindserrorshethinksitisbecauseitisoneof
threethings.Blunty,Studentseitherdonotcare,donotknowordonotseetheirerrorsintheir
writing.Thismeansheisgroupingstudentsintooneofthreeways,andthemajorityofwhich
eitherdonotcarenordonotsee.Suggestingthathisstudentsaresmarterthantheyleadon,and
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forwhatreason?Isitbecausetheyarelesspassionateaboutwhattheywrite?Isitbecauseitis
tooinconvenientforthemtoplacemoreeffort?Thefactthatmaybesaidstudentsarejuggling
morethanonecourse,whichmostexperiencedprofessorstendtofailtokeepinmind?Itcannot
beanalyzed?Why,becauseeverypersonisdifferent.Everyonehastheirreasoning,whetheritbe
anIEP,disabilityofsomesort,workingnights,takingtwicetheamountofcreditsthatare
recommended.Itdoesnotmatter,everyonehastheirreasoningandwhilesomemaycareabout
whattheywriteabout,othersjustwanttopasssothattheycanproceedwithearningtheirdegree.
Whateverreasonthesestudentshave,itisclearthatthereismorethanone,ortwothreereasons
andMr.Musgrovehereisgeneralizingastowhyhisstudentsarewritingthewaythattheyare,
whichtohimisunsatisfactory.
Yet,whenPeterElbowgoesoninhisarticleabouthisstudentsheaddresseshisown
personalselfasastrugglingwriteranacademic.Separatingthetitles,admittingthattheseare
conflictingwords,andevenforhimselfisagreatchallenge.However,Elbowgoesontodescribe
thatinhisclassheurgesthestudentstowrite.Notacademically,butjusttowrite.Forthe
evidenceofthisclaimiswithinthetitlealoneofPeterElbowspieceBeingWritervs.Beingan
Academic:AConflictinGoals.Elbowdescribes
thatawriterandanacademicaretwodifferentidentities
thatsometimesconflictandhavearelationshipintheworldoftext.
Wishingthathisstudentsfindthemselvesaswriterswhoget
satisfactionfromdiscoveringmeaning,emotionandexpressing
meaningandemotionwhetherhappyorsad;butalsofind
themselvesasacademics,readingknowledgeablebooks,wresting
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throughimportantissueswithothersandfiguringouthard
questions.[Elbow,1995,para.2]
Implyingthatifhecouldhelpaccomplishthesegoalswithhisstudents,thenheandthey
bothachievedsuccessoverall.Thisideafullyendsrightthereatthesecondparagraph,hooking
usinashisreaders.
Bythesametoken,Musgroveuseshiscareerasaplatformforcredibilityintheveryfirst
sentenceofhisentirepiece.Claimingtobeasignificantfigurefortheinstitutionthatheworks
for.Atmyuniversity,Ichairafacultycommitteechargedwithreviewingandrevisingour
generaleducationcurriculum.Overthepasttwoandahalfyears,wehaveexaminedprogramsat
similarcollegesandstudiedbestpracticesnationwide.[Musgrove,2006,para1]
Beforejumpingtothemainpoint,Musgrovestartsoffwiththisstatementinorderto
appearmorepersuasive.Thisstartsthereadersoffwithanideaofwhosworktheymaybe
reading,quicklycreatingafoundationinordertogainasenseofwhatstandpointtheauthoris
comingfrom,whichveryquicklysuggeststobeingdominant.Usingthehimselfasproof,and
claimingmystudentsorIthisandIthatmakesforahighlyopinionatedwork.
Continuingtodiscussthetroublesprofessorsalikefacewhenteachingfreshmenwriting
heofficiallystateshispositionanothertime,howeverthistimeismuchmoremodest.Asifa
reminder,allwhileexpressinghissympathieswithotherprofessorswhofacethedifficultiesof
instructingfirstyearacademicwritingcoursesIhavebeenteachingfirstyearwritingfor
manyyears,andIhavedirectedrhetoricandcompositionsprogramsattwouniversities.
[Musgrove,2006,para.4].Onecouldprobablylookupthisauthorsnameandfindallofhis
claimtobetrue,butwithoutspecificationswhilemakingclaimsonhiscareer.Onecangather
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thatthispersonisexcessiveinhisexperience,andwhatheissayinghereiswhatmatters,iswhat
isright.Musgrovedoeshisbesttoconvincetheaudiencebeforeannouncinghisproposalof
solutiontothisproblemwithstudents.Suggestingthattheirapathy,anddisregardfortheir
writingshouldbemetwithpenalties.
ThepenaltiesthatMusgrovegoesontoexplain,isstartedoffwithananalogy.
betweendrivingandwriting.Mostdriversaregooddrivers
becausetherulesoftheroadarepublicandshared,theyare
consistentlyenforced,andtheconsequencesofbaddrivingare
clear[Musgrove,2006,para.6]
UsingthisanalogyisacleverwayinordertorelatethereadertowhatMusgrovehastosayasfar
ashisplanstoimprovetheEnglishwritingcurriculumacrossthehigheducationboard.
Attemptingtocomparewritingtodrivingasifitisablackandwhitedisciplineinorderto
gaintheapprovalandunderstandingoftheaudiencesothattheyareinfluencedtoagree.A
drasticproposalnonethelessMusgrovestatesthatusinghismethodcouldimprovestudents
skillsinwriting,astheywouldbecomemoremotivatedintoputtingeffortintotheir
assignmentssotoendthefrustrationthatcurrentprofessorsfeelwhileskimmingthroughtheir
studentsassignments.
Allfacultymembersareherebyauthorizedtochallengetheir
studentswritingproficiency.Studentswhofailtodemonstratethe
generallyacceptedminimumstandardsofproficiencyinwriting
maybeissuedawritingticketbytheirinstructors.Writing
ticketsbecomepartofstudentsinstitutionalwritingrecords.
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Studentswhofailtohaveticketsremovedfromtheirrecords
willreceiveadditionalpenalties,suchasafailinggradeforthe
course,academicprobation,ortheinabilitytoregisterforclasses.
[Musgrove,2006,para.7]
Motivationinotherwords,threateningthegrades,recordsaswellasstudentsabilityto
registerforclassescouldresultinanumberofnegativeactions.Thisisclearlyjustanidea,but
withoutthoughttowhatitcouldmeanonapersonalleveltosomany.Ifanythingthiswould
causedreadforthosewhomustlearntowriteacademically,thelittleappreciationthatthereis
woulddissipate.Allinordertosatisfytheinstructorsneedformoreinterestingreadsinthe
classroom.
Ontheotherhand,PeterElbowcanonlyexcusehimselfasbeingtooromantictotaketothe
aggressiveanticslikethatofMusgrove.Hisonlyanalogyusedtodescribethoselearningtobe
writersandacademics,isthedescriptionofgoingupamountain.Bothofwhich,meaning,
academicsandwritersareseparatemountainstoclimb.Thereisconflict,andonemustmakea
choice.Whiletherearemaybeelementsofanacademicinawriterorawriterinanacademic,
Peterheresuggestsmorelightlythatonecannotfullybeboth.AndwhilePeterneverfullystates
hiscredibility,onlymentioningtheassignmenthegivesstudentsaboutpublishingtheirworkina
studentmagazine,asanimplicationthatheisaninstructorofsorts,thejournalthathispieceis
publishedin,statesveryclearlyinthefootnotesthehighlightsofanextensivecareeramong
variousinstitutionsasaprofessorandsoforth.
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Inthefinalanalysis,thefirstsentenceofElbowspiece,headdressesDavidBartholomae.
Askingforotherstopersuadehimonhisstance,howevernotsomuchachallengethatmightbe
comparabletoaboxingmatch.Nonetheless,thebeginningtohisentireessayisalessaggressive
approach.Askingforotherstocorrecthimiftheydeemhimwrong.Perhapsitisbecausehe
considershimselflikeinthebeginningofthisdiscussion,twothingsIamanacademicandI
amawriter[Elbow,72].Amanwholearnswhileheteaches.
Eitherway,itislikeadisclaimerandasoftindicationthatitisacatalysttoanalwaysopen
discussion.WhereaslookingoverMusgrovesbeginningstatementsheuseshisexperienceto
expressthatheorweimplyingthathe,representinghisinstitution,hasreviewedanumberof
programsnationwidecollegetocollege,andhasproposedanewcurriculumforthecoursesthat
addressthewritingabilitiesandpracticesofintroleveledstudents.Notoutright,butheavily
impliedthathebelievesthattheremustbeachange,andwherethereischange,thereisan
implicationthatsomethingisnotdoingwellorsomethingcanbedonebetter.
Tosumupmythoughtsfromapersonalstandpointthroughallofthis,asafellowwriter,I
canunderstandtheurgencyLaurenceMusgroveshares.However,hismethodsarefartoodrastic.
Togivewritingticketsoutliketraffictickersasifitisaformofacademicprobationmakes
collegethatmuchmorestressful.Asafirstyearstudent,thereissomethingtobesaidaboutthe
transitionfromhighschooltohighered.Inordertogetustocareaboutwearewriting,we
shouldbegivenmotivationthatwouldcompeltheyounggenerationtowriteinordertodevelop
theirownuniquerhetoricandmeaning.LikePeterElbow,thewritingworldcanaffordtobe
moreinclusiveofthosedifferentvoicesandstyles.Weareinanagewhereoriginalityis
profoundlyvalued.Tobroadenthespectrumandallowformoretogainthespotlight,theageof
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writingaswellasacademicswouldcometoriseandperhapsthosewhocurrentlydebatethe
futureofthiswouldseethatthereisahighregard.Inclusivity,andtheallowanceofdifferent
voiceswithoutrestrictionwouldchangetheacademicworldforthebetter.Why?Becausethen
wecanreachandconnecttoothersthroughouttheacademiccommunities,puttingasidethis
complexofelitism.
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WorksCited
Elbow,P.(1995).BeingaWritervs.BeinganAcademic:AConflictinGoals.College
CompositionandCommunication,46(1),72.doi:10.2307/358871
Musgrove,L.(2006,April28).TheRealReasonsStudentsCantWrite.RetrievedJan.&Feb.,
2017,fromhttps//www.insidehighered.com/views/2006/04/28/realreasonsstudentscant
write
Opiniontab