Becoming a College Writer

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Authors

Todd Taylor

Todd Taylor is the Director of the Writing Program at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. A leader in bringing digital composing into the college classroom, Taylors research investigates how concepts of literacy are changing in response to advanced communication technologies. He has written or edited numerous works, including Literacy Theory in the Age of the Internet (with Irene Ward) and the award-winning multimedia performance piece, "The End of Composition." Taylor is the recipient of both the Friday Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching and the Chapman Award for Excellence in Teaching. In 2009, he created Take 20, a film for writing teachers by writing teachers and published by Bedford/St. Martins. Inspired by that project, he travelled across the country to interview 100 students about their experiences with college writing. That research serves as the foundation for his new text, Becoming a College Writer: A Multimedia Guide.

A Note to Students: On Becoming a College Writer

Preface for Instructors

Pathways

Part I: Rhetoric

Lesson 1 Writing: Clarify your definition of writing.

Lesson 2 Writer: See yourself as a writer.

Lesson 3 Audience: Understand and interact with your audience.

Lesson 4 Topic: Write about a topic that matters to you.

Part II: Context

Lesson 5 Prompt: Answer the assignment prompt and respond to the grading rubric.

Lesson 6 Evidence: Support your writing with evidence.

Lesson 7 Genres: Analyze and compare genres to meet audience expectations.

Lesson 8 Discipline: Understand that a discipline is a methodology applied to a subject.

Lesson 9 Media: Select the appropriate media for your context, and use it appropriately.

Part III: Process

Lesson 10 Planning: Plan your writing process.

Lesson 11 Brainstorming: Develop a brainstorming strategy.

Lesson 12 Researching: Research before you draft and cite as you research.

Lesson 13 Organizing: Organize your preliminary writing according to patterns.

Lesson 14 Drafting: Generate momentum in your first draft and keep going.

Lesson 15 Revising: Revise Repeatedly from Feedback.\

Lesson 16 Proofreading: Use professional proofreading techniques to help you find errors.

Lesson 17 Publishing: Format your writing with pride and purpose.

Lesson 18 Reflecting: Reflect on each completed assignment, in writing.

Part IV: Conventions

Lesson 19 Thesis: Focus your thesis through evidence and research.

Lesson 20 Introductions and Conclusions: Design the right introduction and conclusion.

Lesson 21 Paragraphs: Develop your paragraphs and pack them with evidence and detail.

Lesson 22 Sentences: Develop your own active, economic style.

Lesson 23 Grammar: Learn from your grammatical mistakes and don’t be intimidated.

23.1 Why you should learn from your grammatical mistakes and not be intimidated.

23.2 Punctuation, Grammar, and Mechanics A-Z

Lesson 24 Citation: Approach citation as a research tool, not as a threat.

24.1 Why you should approach citation as a research tool, not as a threat

24.2 Citation Mechanics A-Z

Part V: Writers like you

Lesson 25 Student Interviews & Sample Papers: Learn from the moves other writers make.

25.1 Why you should study the moves other writers make.

25.2 How to learn from the moves other writers make.

Interview A Nanaissa: Undeclared major

Student Paper A Problem-Solution paper

Interview B Kendra: Environmental Sciences major

Student Paper B Scientific Journal Paper

Interview C Deonta: Sociology Major

Student Paper C Sociology Paper

Interview D Nicole: English Major

Student Paper D Literary Analysis

Interview E Vinh-Thuy: Chemistry Major

Student Paper E: Multimedia Self-Reflection Essay

Interview F Dan: English Major

Student Paper F: Video Essay

Index

Product Updates

Authors

Todd Taylor

Todd Taylor is the Director of the Writing Program at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. A leader in bringing digital composing into the college classroom, Taylors research investigates how concepts of literacy are changing in response to advanced communication technologies. He has written or edited numerous works, including Literacy Theory in the Age of the Internet (with Irene Ward) and the award-winning multimedia performance piece, "The End of Composition." Taylor is the recipient of both the Friday Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching and the Chapman Award for Excellence in Teaching. In 2009, he created Take 20, a film for writing teachers by writing teachers and published by Bedford/St. Martins. Inspired by that project, he travelled across the country to interview 100 students about their experiences with college writing. That research serves as the foundation for his new text, Becoming a College Writer: A Multimedia Guide.

A Note to Students: On Becoming a College Writer

Preface for Instructors

Pathways

Part I: Rhetoric

Lesson 1 Writing: Clarify your definition of writing.

Lesson 2 Writer: See yourself as a writer.

Lesson 3 Audience: Understand and interact with your audience.

Lesson 4 Topic: Write about a topic that matters to you.

Part II: Context

Lesson 5 Prompt: Answer the assignment prompt and respond to the grading rubric.

Lesson 6 Evidence: Support your writing with evidence.

Lesson 7 Genres: Analyze and compare genres to meet audience expectations.

Lesson 8 Discipline: Understand that a discipline is a methodology applied to a subject.

Lesson 9 Media: Select the appropriate media for your context, and use it appropriately.

Part III: Process

Lesson 10 Planning: Plan your writing process.

Lesson 11 Brainstorming: Develop a brainstorming strategy.

Lesson 12 Researching: Research before you draft and cite as you research.

Lesson 13 Organizing: Organize your preliminary writing according to patterns.

Lesson 14 Drafting: Generate momentum in your first draft and keep going.

Lesson 15 Revising: Revise Repeatedly from Feedback.\

Lesson 16 Proofreading: Use professional proofreading techniques to help you find errors.

Lesson 17 Publishing: Format your writing with pride and purpose.

Lesson 18 Reflecting: Reflect on each completed assignment, in writing.

Part IV: Conventions

Lesson 19 Thesis: Focus your thesis through evidence and research.

Lesson 20 Introductions and Conclusions: Design the right introduction and conclusion.

Lesson 21 Paragraphs: Develop your paragraphs and pack them with evidence and detail.

Lesson 22 Sentences: Develop your own active, economic style.

Lesson 23 Grammar: Learn from your grammatical mistakes and don’t be intimidated.

23.1 Why you should learn from your grammatical mistakes and not be intimidated.

23.2 Punctuation, Grammar, and Mechanics A-Z

Lesson 24 Citation: Approach citation as a research tool, not as a threat.

24.1 Why you should approach citation as a research tool, not as a threat

24.2 Citation Mechanics A-Z

Part V: Writers like you

Lesson 25 Student Interviews & Sample Papers: Learn from the moves other writers make.

25.1 Why you should study the moves other writers make.

25.2 How to learn from the moves other writers make.

Interview A Nanaissa: Undeclared major

Student Paper A Problem-Solution paper

Interview B Kendra: Environmental Sciences major

Student Paper B Scientific Journal Paper

Interview C Deonta: Sociology Major

Student Paper C Sociology Paper

Interview D Nicole: English Major

Student Paper D Literary Analysis

Interview E Vinh-Thuy: Chemistry Major

Student Paper E: Multimedia Self-Reflection Essay

Interview F Dan: English Major

Student Paper F: Video Essay

Index

Product Updates

An innovative multimedia text shaped by the voices of students

Based on 100 interviews with students who had recently finished first-year writing, Todd Taylor’s groundbreaking multimedia text is shaped by student writers like no other textbook before. Their words and voices—in brief videos and example texts—create a conversation about writing that asks students to engage with other college writers personally, learning from their challenges and successes. Conceived as a multimedia text, the brief, modular chapters are organized into four parts that support the best practices and content areas in the CWPA Outcomes Statement — Rhetoric, Context, Process, and Convention — so that you and your students have just what you need in one resource to support writing, working with sources, and multimodal composing.

Looking for instructor resources like Test Banks, Lecture Slides, and Clicker Questions? Request access to Achieve to explore the full suite of instructor resources.