Composition studies

Composition studies (also referred to as composition and rhetoric, rhetoric and composition, writing studies, or simply composition) is the professional field of writing, research, and instruction, focusing especially on writing at the college level in the United States. In many American colleges and universities, undergraduate students must take freshman—sometimes even higher—composition courses. 'Studies that sought to improve writing by providing reading experiences in place of grammar study or additional writing practice found that these experiences were as beneficial as, or more beneficial than, grammar study or extra writing practice.' Composition studies (also referred to as composition and rhetoric, rhetoric and composition, writing studies, or simply composition) is the professional field of writing, research, and instruction, focusing especially on writing at the college level in the United States. In many American colleges and universities, undergraduate students must take freshman—sometimes even higher—composition courses. Over seventy American universities offer doctoral study in rhetoric and composition, programs which usually include study of composition pedagogical theory, research methodologies in rhetoric and composition, and the history of rhetoric. Many composition scholars study not only the theory and practice of post-secondary writing instruction, but also the influence of different writing conventions and genres on writers' composing processes. Composition scholars also publish in the fields of teaching English as a second or foreign language (TESOL), writing centers, and new literacies. Developed in the 1970s in response to open admissions policies, Basic writing is a precursor to first-year composition. This is different from first-year composition in that it focuses on teaching core concepts of formal written English. These include: grammar, spelling, punctuation, usage, mechanics, organization, and clarity. Although, as the field has advanced it has shifted focus to more compositional techniques. Basic writing was developed due to incoming college students from open admissions who had not previously been able to attend college. As a result these students were not at a level of writing that allowed for them to begin in first-year composition and be successful. Those who are typically defined as basic writers is a complex subject, but most often refers from certain socioeconomic, cultural, and linguistic backgrounds, although basic writers are found to be from all backgrounds. Basic writing originated at the City University of New York with the SEEK program started by Mina P. Shaughnessy. Most US universities have a required first-year composition course, also referred to as FYC. This is not the same as a literature course, which focuses on literary analysis and interpretation, although some colleges and universities do incorporate literature and other humanities into their composition courses; often, however, composition courses offer intensive instruction in writing non-fiction, expository texts using academic discourse conventions. Writing curricula vary considerably from institution to institution, but it may emphasize many stages of different writing processes (invention or brainstorming, drafting, revision, editing, proofreading), different forms of writing (narration, exposition, description, argumentation, comparison and contrast), different portions of the written product (introductions, conclusions, thesis statements, presentation and documentation of forms of evidence, inclusion of quotations, etc.), along with different modalities of composing to expand the concept of 'writing'. Pedagogies or approaches to teaching writing are grounded in a range of different traditions and philosophies. Some universities require further instruction in writing and offer courses that expand upon the skills developed in First-year composition. Second level or advanced composition may emphasize forms of argumentation and persuasion, digital media, research and source documentation formats, and/or genres of writing across a range of disciplines and genres (see § Writing across the curriculum below). For example, the skills required to write business letters or annual reports will differ significantly from those required to write historical or scientific research or personal memoirs. Doctoral programs in Composition Studies are available at more than seventy universities and Masters's programs are available in over 170 universities. Such programs are commonly housed within English Studies or Education programs. However, recently there are an increasing number of departments specifically dedicated to this field of study (e.g. Composition Studies, Writing & Rhetoric, Composition & Linguistics, etc.). Second language writing is the practice of teaching English composition to non native speakers and writers of English. Teaching writing to ESL students does not receive much attention because even in ESL classes teachers focus on speaking, listening and reading, not just writing. Paul Kei Matsuda in his article 'Situating ESL Writing in a Cross-Disciplinary Context' stresses the importance of teaching writing specifically with understanding the needs of ESL students to help them improve their writing. Teaching writing has progressed through several approaches during the history of education in the United States. ESL teachers might need to explore common methods which are the cognitive, social and expressive theories to create an approach that meets the needs of ESL writers and help them to overcome their difficulties. The first one of these approaches is the cognitive view which says that writing is progressing from one stage to another in a series of single steps. That means 'good' writing is a planned process, which includes planning, translating and reviewing. 'Understanding Composing' by Sondra Perl explains in detail this approach. She suggests that the composition of writing occurs as a recursive process. She took this idea from her observation of different writers. She thinks that writers return to 'backwards' parts of the process in order to move 'forward' with the overall composition. ESL teachers may find this approach helpful at first in teaching beginning ESL students because at this level students do not have large amounts of vocabulary and grammar or knowledge of the style of essays which is the basis of writing English. Al-Buainain Haifa in her article 'Student Writing Errors in EFL,' points out that, when a researcher asked ESL students by using a survey what they would like to have learned or learned better in their writing classes, they found that the largest percentages expressed specific needs in vocabulary and grammar (17). Many kinds of grammar make ESL students confused, especially because there are many exceptions. Because writing styles are different in different languages, ESL students need time to master them. Therefore, ESL teachers should find an effective way to teach ESL students vocabulary, grammar and style because the writing of English requires them. The cognitive approach can meet these needs because it emphasizes the steps, organization and process of writing. Another approach is the social view which shows the importance of teaching writing by making students learn the different languages of discourse communities. This is what David Bartholomae emphasizes in his article 'Inventing the University'. He uses 'Inventing the University' as a phrase that describes the writing process that a student will experience when writing teachers ask them to write about a topic that relates with a discourse community which is new for them. Discourse community can be thought of as members of an academic discipline or a select audience. When the ESL students have become good at grammar and style, they face a large problem when they enter their chosen academic field. Bartholomae in this article illustrates that each academic community has a particular language or vocabulary. The problem is that any academic field has its own language, even jargon, that differs from one to another. This problem is faced not only by ESL students, but all American students will struggle with this when they begin the first year of their academic life. The social approach can be used by ESL teachers as a second step but they should make sure that their students master the basics of English writing such as grammar and style.