WA6: What Vernacular Literacies Have to Teach Us About Academic Ones

 

Description: An essay that compares and contrasts a community of practice seemingly unrelated to school with those literacies required of writers at the college level.

 

Page-length Requirement: 6 pages

 

Content Requirements: You must include (a) a detailed description of the community of practice (or communities) you are comparing/contrasting with those required of us in school; (b) a detailed discussion of at least five SPECIFIC strategies literate users employ in that community of practice in order to be considered “literate” insiders; (c) a detailed description (with specific examples) of  at least three commonalities (“points of contact”) between the strategies required of members in this community of practice and those required of members of an academic community of practice; (d) a detailed description (with specific examples) of at least TWO areas of conflict (“point of dissonance”) between the strategies required of members of this community of practice and those required of members of an academic community of practice. That is, at least two strategies (or tool, value, etc) that is required of literate members of one community of practice yet will not work at all in an academic community of practice (and/or vice versa).

 

In order to prepare for WA6, you may consider the following—

 

                                                                                                                 

               

 

 

 

Fodder for WA8: You can/should use anything we’ve done this term, but you should make great use of your Individual Presentation (description on back of this handout), your WA6, and your WA7.

 

Due for Peer Review:  ____________________

 

Due for Instructor Review: _______________

 

Preparing for WA8—

 

After you have listened to several Individual Presentations (and given your own), answer the following questions in as much detail as possible:

 

  1. What did you learn about what out-of-school literacies may have to teach us about academic ones?
  2. What did you learn about the various ways people learn new literacies, both those directly related to school and those seemingly unrelated?
  3. Think about the presentations your classmates have offered, name several comparisons between in-school and out-of-school literacies that you found particularly compelling, and describe what makes these comparisons stand out for you.
  4. Name several comparisons between in-school and out-of-school literacies that you found particularly compelling and describe what makes these comparisons stand out for you.
  5. Compare and contrast these findings with respect to your own presentation.
  6. In your presentation handout, you were not required to do much more than list the points of contact and points of dissonance between these two communities of practice. In the presentation itself, of course, you described much more so we could understand what you meant. In preparation for your essay, generate at least a paragraph (with specific examples) for each strategy you list—a paragraph that describes it for us in at least as much detail as you described it during your presentation.
  7. Take each of these answers and use them to generate a draft of WA8. You should also consider using large chunks of WA6 (school literacies) and WA7 (vernacular literacies), integrating both in order to make this comparison/contrast paper happen in smart, provocative, and accessible ways.