![Text Box: [S]chool writing is to writing as catsup is to tomatoes: as junk food is to food. What is nutritious has been eliminated (or nearly so) in processing. What remains is not just empty but poisonous faire because some people so crave junk food that they prefer it to food, and their preference is then used by those who, since they profit by selling us catsup as a vegetable and rules as writing, lobby to keep both on the school menu. (31)](WA2_05_files/image001.gif)
In "Writing on the Bias," Linda Brodkey makes a powerful distinction between "school writing" and actual "writing":
What does Brodkey mean by this comparison? Can you relate? Why or why not?
In this second writing assignment, I'd like for us to examine the rules we've been taught to follow as writers in order to help us determine the ways in which "rules" are embedded in communities of practice rather than some universal standards of what is right and "correct" writing.
You are already working with a number of rules for writing. Let's explore them.
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Description: Formal essay about your understanding of the "rules" and expectations of school writing.
Questions to Explore: What are the "rules" and/or expectations writers should adhere to when writing for school? How do we learn these rules? Who made the rules and who determines whether or not writers are following them? How do you feel about these rules and/or expectations?
Purpose: To begin examining academic discourse as one of many "communities of practice" we can learn to communicate within rather than the one and only or "right" way to write.
Resources: Draw ideas from your own WA1, your literacy experiences (especially as revealed via the in-class interview), and anything else you think you can use.
Additional Idea Generators: Examine the expectations governing what may be considered "literate" practices in an academic community of practice. That is, what's it take to write well in school? How do you know? You may consider the following questions:
1. What do nonmembers have to learn, be able to recognize, find valuable, and/or embody before they may be considered "literate" in an academic community of practice?
2. How is membership in this context expressed?
3. How is competency determined, by whom, and according to what measures?
4. What strategies must one use to be heard, understood, and taken seriously within the rhetorical spaces of this community of practice?
5. What should be the long term goals of literate members as determined by what the academic community of practice finds valuable and possible? How does noe know when they've reached these goals?
CONSTRAINTS:
Page-length minimum for Peer Review: TWO PAGES (double-spaced, Times New Roman, 12-point font)
Due Date: _____
Page-length minumum for Instructor Review: THREE PAGES (double-spaced, Times New Roman, 12-point font)
Due Date: _____