Discovering the Student, Discovering the Self: Introduction to College Writing

For those of us who teach developmental or introductory college writing, we are currently faced with myriad changes — changes in what we do, who we serve and how we are viewed by others. Now, with less funding and more institutional, state and national pressure, we must restructure our courses and re-envision our students in order to withstand the scrutiny from outside and create a course that provides students with the critical thinking, reading and writing skills and intellectual curiosity they need to be successful students and citizens. Discovering the Student, Discovering the Self: Introduction to College Writing was created from a developmental writing program that was a past recipient of the Conference on Basic Writing’s Award for Innovation, and provides faculty and students with the tools to successfully navigate the new face of academia.

Discovering the Student, Discovering the Self: Introduction to College Writing is designed for students who show signs of needing additional work on their college-level writing. This textbook focuses on two key tenets — writing as a process, emphasizing revision and reflection, and the inextricable connection between reading and writing. This book ensures that students are engaging in thoughtful college level work. This book is organized chronologically, taking instructors and students throughout the semester, beginning with personal-based essays and concluding with text-based essays. Students will love this book because it offers activities that break down complex tasks into smaller, more manageable ones and prepares them for their college-level courses. They will value that assignments are written to them and readings are relevant to their lives both inside and outside of the classroom. Instructors will love this book because it provides them a “map” for the semester and a course where instruction and evaluation are inherently connected. Ultimately, Discovering the Student, Discovering the Self: Introduction to College Writing guides instructors to take their students on a journey to discover themselves, realizing they are part of many communities, including this academic community, and defining themselves as individuals, students, scholars and citizens.

Discovering the Student, Discovering the Self: Introduction to College Writing features:

• Reading selections spark students’ intellectual curiosity. Themes include identity (in terms of race, class, culture, place, gender and sexual orientation), education, language and literacy and the voices are both mainstream and marginal.
• Writing Instruction moves students from personal to academic writing, offering tutorials beginning with detail, description, narration and basic academic essay structure and culminating with activities in critical reading, summary writing and integration of borrowed material resulting in meaningful engagement with texts.
• Sentence Construction and Grammar Instruction covers the key areas in grammar and sentence structure to help students understand the parts of speech and how each part of a sentence truly works. Helpful lists such as “Do’s and Don’ts” and exercises allow students to apply what they have read and practiced in class. This section directs students in competent, correct and clear writing.
• Student Essays/Papers are an effective teaching tool and provide modeling opportunities for the instructor. These essays provide ideas for topics as well as instruction on thesis statements, paragraph construction, use of detail and description, incorporation of text and response to and analysis of others’ words and ideas. Model essays also provide students in the classroom with the confidence they need to find their own voices and commit them to paper.
• Instructor’s Resource Guide helps instructors get the most out of Discovering the Student, Discovering the Self, by providing a course syllabus and schedule, detailed assignments, examples and explanations of instructor feedback/evaluation/grading of student papers as well as the theory behind the textbook.