The authors of this essay discuss the impact of corpus collection and analysis on the writing program at The City College of New York, CUNY, the digital literacies encouraged by the corpus collection process, and how corpus studies can be used to support genre awareness and build communities of practice in basic writing classrooms and among…

This essay, in letter form, introduces graduate-level study in Basic Writing to practicum students. It situates teaching practices within Basic Writing histories and pedagogies, and invites readers to focus widely, read deeply, and keep writing. Included are lessons from Bernstein's experiences in presenting David Bowie's artistic and cultural…

This article describes a version of the Seminar in Basic Writing Theory and Pedagogy, a Master's level course that Marcia Buell taught in summer 2017 at Northeastern Illinois University in Chicago. Buell argues that because many MA students enter graduate courses in Basic Writing expecting that the course will show them how to "fix"…

This article explores the pedagogical implications of translingualism by offering writing theory cartoon as a pedagogical tool to support basic writers' development of translingual dispositions. In a curriculum that challenges the supremacy of standard English over other languages and modalities, this assignment supports basic, multilingual…

This essay provides a profile of an interdisciplinary master's program whose curriculum supports current and future adult educators seeking employment opportunities in higher education, adult literacy education, adult English language instruction, writing centers, and secondary education. A faculty administrator and five former graduate students…

This essay considers the critical need for pre-service and in-service basic writing faculty to define and enact a professional identity, specifically within the context of faculty development and graduate course settings. The essay describes a graduate course in teaching basic writing offered primarily online with four in-person weekend workshops.…

This essay describes the process of reassessing our BW program at the University of Michigan-Dearborn in order to cultivate a more deliberate, transparent negotiation among stakeholders toward a "transcultural ethos." Informed by Bruce Horner's argument that leading-edge work on language and language difference can take place in BW, we…

This article examines two course redesigns undertaken to improve student support, learning, and retention in the basic writing program at Oakland University, a doctoral research university in southeast Michigan, where support for developmental writers has fluctuated dramatically between nurture and neglect over the past fifty years. However,…

An adjunct turned writing program administrator reflects on her professional journey and describes efforts to improve the teaching environment amongst composition faculty--primarily part-time--within her department. Based on a local program review, a pilot faculty relations plan was implemented that addressed two major areas: offering more…

Describes, via a dialogic format, background and current practices in teaching and assessing writing in secondary schools in the People's Republic of China, as well as issues involved in assessing student writing on the current national university examinations. Suggests comparisons with similar issues and practices in the United States. (SR)

Describes the development of the doctoral program in basic composition and rhetoric at the University of Louisville (Kentucky). Discusses the general theory for training basic writing teachers, the kinds of practical experiences they should have, and the course requirements. Includes a bibliography of texts for basic writing teachers. (HTH)

Describes the instruction for basic teachers at Ohio's Findlay College. Discusses course materials and the training of writing assistants and current faculty members. (HTH)

Explores how womanist sermons can be used in the writing classroom with other-literate students to help them produce hybrid discourse that problematizes and expands what is acceptable and progressive rhetoric within the academy. Demonstrates how exploring womanist sermons can help non-traditional students create provocative and analytical essays…

Discusses the characteristics of the ideal basic writing instructor, including commitment, curiosity, and confidence. Describes some of the ways in which the Ohio State University faculty has tried to foster these characteristics in its basic writing instructors. (HTH)

Describes a program in which upper-level content courses feature a workshop on the writing assignments required in the course. The workshops focus primarily on prewriting and revision techniques. (HTH)