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Naming What We Know

A Guide to Threshold Concepts

Concept One

Writing is a Social and Rhetorical Activity

Concept

One

1.0

1.0

Writing is a Social and Rhetorical Activity

Author: Kevin Roozen

01.

"Writers are engaged in the work of making meaning for particular audiences and purposes" (p. 17)

02.

"Writers are always connected to other people" (p. 17)

03.

Consider a father writing a birthday card: his message is directed to convey his affection towards the cards receiver (audience) while simultaneously drawing (consciously or subconsciously) on phrases that he may have encountered before.

1.1

1.1

Writing is a Knowledge Making Activity

Author: Heidi Estrem

01.

02.

03.

04.

Writing serves as a tool to uncover new thoughts or ideas

Often times we don't "think to write," "we write to think" (p. 19)

Employing different approaches to writing can yield different modes of creating knowledge

Connection Section: 1.5, 1.6, and 1.9

1.2

1.2

01.

02.

03.

Writing Addresses, Invokes, and/or Creates Audiences

Author: Andrea A. Lunsford

Writing is "relational" and "responsive" (pp. 20)

Writer/Speaker/Rhetor

The Rhetorical Triangle

Text/Message

Audience/Receiver/Listener/Reader

The effects of the digital age: unassumed audiences, going viral, and the blurring of the rhetorical triangle

1.3

1.3

Writing Expresses and Shares Meaning to be Reconstructed by the Reader

Author: Charles Bazerman

01.

02.

03.

04.

Meaning for the writer comes from internl thought

Readers attribute meaning to writing based on experiences and objects

Readers reconstruct meaning based on what they already know

Connection Section: 3.3, 4.1, 4.4, 5.2

1.4

1.4

Words Get Their Meanings From Other Words

Author: Dylan B. Dryer

01.

02.

03.

An Insightful Example: Deconstructing the Meaning of "Cup"

We might define cup as a "cermaic drinking vessel," but does the meaning of the word change depending on context? In the kitchen, couldn't 'cup' also refer to a measurement? In a pool, can't you 'cup' water in your hands? In other languages, isn't a "cermamic drinking vessel" called something else, like vaso in spanish?

Therefore, audiences can only infer meaning through the context of other words. For example, we know the precise meaning of cup in "I drink from a cup" versus "Maria uses her hands to cup the water" based on the other words in the sentence.

1.5

1.5

Writing Mediates Activity

Author: David R. Russell

01.

02.

03.

04.

Writing acts as an intermediary that people use to "coordinate activity" (p. 26)

Contradicts notions that writing is merely transcribing thoughts

Example: Notice the sign pictured, the exclamation point alerts drivers to use caution or slow down, thereby demonstrating how language (yes, punctuation too) impacts activity.

Connection Section: 1.0, 1.1, 1.3, 1.9

1.6

1.6

Writing is not Natural

Author: Dylan B. Dryer

01.

Speech is natural (interwoven with human physiology), while writing is not.

02.

Writing translates speech and sometimes communicative nuances can be lost

03.

Spelling and pronounciation inconsistencies.

Example: "choose" and "loose"

1.7

1.7

Assessing Writing Shapes Context and Instruction

Authors: Tony Scott

and Asao B. Inoue

01.

Writing assessment is defined as "the formulation of a judgement or decision based on the reading of student writing with a particular set of expectations or values in mind" (p. 29).

02.

Assessment is impacted by things like faculty writing goals, philosophies of literacy and learning, and institutional writing standards (p. 30)

03.

What is emphasized in assessment determines 'good writing' or reflects certain values of the teacher or instutution. If grammar is less emphasized than critical analysis, then we can assume that 'good writing' should focus more on critical thought as opposed to grammar.

1.8

1.8

Writing Involves Making Ethical Choices

Author: John Duffy

01.

02.

03.

04.

Writing propogates relationships with other humas

Therefore, writing requires (either implicitly or explicitly) writers to question what kinds of writers they want to be, consider how they want to communicate with their audience, and contemplate how their words will affect other people and communities

Since writing initiates relationships, we must make ethical choices so as to reflect the virtues and standards of ourselves and our audience

Connection Section: 1.2, 1.3

1.9

1.9

Writing is a Technology Through Which Writers Create and Recreate Meaning

Authors: Collin Brooke

and Jeffrey T. Grabill

01.

"A book is a machine to think with" - I. A. Richards (p. 32)

02.

03.

04.

Writing is a technology of thinking and communicating

Different tools include paper, pen/pencil, digital keyboard, screen, etc.

Connection Section: 1.1, 1.2

Concept Two

Writing Speaks to Situations Through Recognizable Forms

Concept Two

2.0

2.0

Writing Speaks to Situations Through Recognizable Forms

Author: Charles Bazerman

01.

02.

03.

04.

One of the main aspects of communication is the situation in which the communication is going to happen

While in person we can automatically perceive and make assumptions about our situation, in writing sometimes the situation is obscure, not intutive, or unknown.

Writing is mobile--sometimes writing meant for one situation is disseminated across a multitude of situations. (Think about news articles generated in one geographic location and then shared worldwide.)

Connection Section: 1.0, 1.2, 1.5, 2.2, 2.3

2.1

2.1

Writing Represents the World, Events, Ideas, and Feelings

Author: Charles Bazerman

01.

02.

03.

04.

Writers must be deliberate in their language choices, so as to represent their subject matter in the most compelling and coherent way

There is a limit to language's ability to capture the truth of reality (Think of all those times you have said or heard 'you just had to be there')

The conglomerate of these textual representations creates knowledge

Connection Section: 1.1, 1.2, 1.3

2.2

2.2

Genres are Enacted by Writers and Readers

Author: Bill Hart-Davidson

01.

Genre is defined as "a form of discourse recognizable as a common set of structural or thematic qualities" (p. 39)

02.

In writing, genres are recognized by what actions they elicit. Think of a commerical, for example, where the writing is geared towards making the audience go and buy their product.

03.

04.

Therefore genre is enacted by both the writer (the commerical writer) and the reader (the consumer who goes and buys the product). In this example, the relationship and expectations between writer and reader remain relatively consistent or habitual, constituting it as a genre.

Connection Section: 1.2

2.3

2.3

Writing is a Way of Enacting Disciplinarity

Author: Neal Lerner

01.

02.

03.

Disciplines shape and are shaped by writing

(Lerner, 2016, p. 40)

vs.

(Lerner 40)

Citations as an example: APA requires dates while MLA does not, illustrating how the two discipline's value time (MLA contends that citations are timeless while APA does not)

Connection Section: 1.9, 2.0

2.4

2.4

01.

02.

03.

04.

All Writing is Multimodal

Authors: Cheryl E. Bell and Colin Charlton

Multimodal = Multiple + Mode

The New London Group's Five Modes of Meaning Making

way of making meaning

Linguistic, Aural, Visual, Gestural, Spacial

Two Common Misconceptions: Multimodal means digital, and the opposite of multimodal is monomodal (p. 42)

Connection Section: 1.3, 1.5, 1.9, 2.0, 2.2, 2.3, 2.5

2.5

2.5

Writing is Performative

Author: Andrea A. Lunsford

01.

Writing has the ability to act or call to action

02.

03.

04.

Think about a student when they write an essay, aren't they "performing" for a grade?

Writing is performative when it helps to produce new insights or knowledge

Connection Section: 1.7, 2.6, 3.0

2.6

2.6

Texts Get Their Meaning From Other Texts

Author: Kevin Roozen

01.

When reading, we are not gleaning information strictly from the text at hand, but from other previously encountered texts as well (p. 44)

02.

Texts draw meaning from a network of other texts

03.

Texts can draw on nonwritten texts as well, like images or videos

Concept Three

Concept Three

Writing Enacts and Creates Identities and Ideologies

3.0

3.0

Writing Enacts and Creates Identities and Ideologies

Author: Tony Scott

01.

02.

03.

04.

Vygotsky: "external speech becomes internalized and then comes to frame how we think, self-identify, and act in the world" (p. 49)

Problems for First Year Writing: The impossiblity of generalizing writing studies. Identity is a nuanced concept and cannot be approached with notions of hegemony

The future: interrogating practices that do not engage in critical understandings of pedagogical choices

Connection Section: 1.0

3.1

3.1

Writing is Linked to Identity

Author: Kevin Roozen

01.

02.

03.

04.

Writing facilitates the construction of self

Text helps to initiate individuals into a community, which will inform their identity

Writing serves as a way to advertise, display, and communicate our identities to others

Connection Section: 1.0, 3.1, 3.4

3.2

3.2

Writers' Histories, Processess, and Identities Vary

Author: Kathleen Blake Yancey

01.

02.

03.

04.

While we share many common identity traits, all writers are unique

Writer's identities are impacted by and differ depending on the time-period in which they live

Challenges notions that teaching writing should be uniform--how could it be if we are all so different?

Connection Section: 2.0, 4.1, 4.3, 5.1

3.3

3.3

Writing is Informed by Prior Experience

Author: Andrea A. Lunsford

01.

02.

03.

04.

All writing is a symbolic action or in conversation with other writing (p. 54)

Many writers have negative perceptions of writing because of prior experiences, like lefty's being punished for writing with their left hand. That negative perception often persists into adulthood

Specific genres that have informed prior writing can facilitate current writing

Connection Section: 2.2, 2.3, 2.6

3.4

3.4

Disciplinary and Professional Identities are Constructed Through Writing

Author: Heidi Estrem

01.

02.

03.

04.

Students encounter new disciplines or professions, usually when they reach college. Writing serves as a way to intitiate students into their specific discipline

Once initiated, students use writing (through the construction of essays and other assignments) to create their own professional identity

Through writing, we learn how to be and act in our new discipline (p. 56)

Connection Section: 1.0, 1.1, 2.3, 3.0, 3.1, 3.5

3.5

3.5

Writing Provides a Representation of Ideologies and Identities

Author: Victor Villanueva

01.

02.

03.

04.

Our identities are multifaceted--think intersectionality

Writers must be aware of how they are representing identity in their writing, make sure to pay attention to nuance and complexities inherent with language and identity

James Berlin's 3 conceptions of how writing can work (p. 58):

1. reflective, like a mirror

2. intentional, conveying what author wants

3. constructed, negotiations of meanings between writer and reader

Connection Section: 3.2

Concept Four

Concept Four

All Writers Have More to Learn

4.0

4.0

All Writers Have More to Learn

Author: Shirley Rose

01.

02.

03.

04.

Writing is not an innate human trait

Writing efficacy changes based on context, so as we encounter more contexts, we continue to learn different ways to write

As teachers, we cannot correctly judge a student's writing ability based off of one singular writing sample

Connection Section: 1.6, 1.7, 2.0, 2.2, 5.3

4.1

4.1

Text is an Object Outside of Oneself That Can be Improved and Developed

Authors: Charles Bazerman

and Howard Tinberg

01.

02.

03.

The act of writing involves writers putting symbols (letters, words) onto an external medium that can be edited, shared, and shaped by others

Externalization allows writers to review and revise the text they have written so far for clarity and messaging

Externalization also allows for collaboration and therefore new knowledge production

4.2

4.2

Failure Can be an Important Part of Writing Development

Authors: Collin Brooke and Allison Carr

01.

02.

03.

04.

Most good writing is the product of multiple revisions

Failure must be encouraged, therefore assessment should account for multiple drafts

Writing failures should not be tethered to feelings of inadequacy or stupity. Instead we should embrace failure as part of the writing process

Connection Section: 4.3, 4.4

4.3

4.3

Learning to Write Effectively Requires Different Kinds of Practice, Time, and Effort

Author: Kathleen Blake Yancey

01.

02.

03.

04.

Writing is like any other skill, it takes practice

Practice provides writers with opportunites to become more fluid and refine technique

Writing practice can involve different contexts and people

Connection Section: 1.6, 2.0, 4.0

4.4

4.4

Revision is Central to Developing Writing

Author: Doug Downs

01.

02.

03.

04.

In general, an unrevised first draft will rarely be as well-suited for its purpose compared to a revised draft

Writers who deliberately make revision part of their writing process will see more positive results

Teachers should try to dispell notions that revision = punishment

Connection Section: 3.0, 4.1, 4.3, 5.1

4.5

4.5

Assessment is an Essential Component of Learning to Write

Author: Peggy O'Neill

01.

02.

03.

04.

Assessment should not be focused only on grades, exams, or standardized tests but rather on the aspects of teaching and learning (p. 67)

Students should be assessing their peers writing as well as their own

Teachers should be assessing all phases of the writing process: pre-writing/outlining, drafts and revision, final essay

Connection Section: 2.2

4.6

4.6

Writing Involves the Negotiation of Writing Differences

Author: Paul Kei Matsuda

01.

02.

03.

04.

The Myth of Linguistic Homogeneity (p. 69): all writers share the same knowledge of language functions or structures.

Writers should be aware of multi-lingual audiences and contexts

All writers should understand diversity within language and how language shifts and changes

Connection Section: 1.0

Concept Five

Concept Five

Writing is (Also Always) a Cognitive Activity

5.0

5.0

Writing is (Also Always) a Cognitive Activity

Author: Dylan B. Dryer

01.

02.

03.

04.

Research in writing studies focuses heavily on what happens "outside the skull," but researchers are now looking what happens "inside the skull" when writers are composing (p. 71)

Anxiety (about assessment, time management, etc.) can overwhelm the composing process

Composing can influence other mental factors like attention span and recall abilities

Connection Section: 1.4, 1.5, 1.6, 1.9, 2.1, 2.3, 3.2, 4.2, 4.3, 5.1, 5.3, 5.4

5.1

5.1

Writing is an Expression of Embodied Cognition

Authors: Charles Bazerman and Howard Tinberg

01.

02.

03.

Writing draws on all the resources of the nervous system

Embodied cognition draws on the physical aspects of composing (posture, grimmacing, laughing)

"Writing comes from full engagement of the entire writer, which is developed across many years of developing the self" (p. 75)

5.2

5.2

Metacognition is not Cognition

Author: Howard Tinberg

01.

Knowing what we know (cognition) versus knowing that we know (metacognition)

02.

Teachers should strive to develop students' consciousness of the writing process so they can reproduce success

03.

Metacognition allows writers to carefully choose which skills to employ when writing in unfamiliar contexts

5.3

5.3

Habituated Practice Can Lead to Entrenchment

Author: Chris M. Anson

01.

02.

03.

04.

The repetition of the same genres and writing processes will lead to entrenchment, which restricts a writer's ability to enter into new genres or communities

Repeated practice leads to processes or retrievals of information to occur with no conscious attention

Teachers should approach teaching writing by emphasizing "rhetorical dexterity," which allows writers to better understand the community they are writing for and thus compose work according to the standards of that community (pp. 78)

Connection Section: 2.1, 3.3

5.4

5.4

Reflection is Critical for Writers' Development

Author: Kara Taczak

01.

02.

03.

04.

Reflection allows for writers to understand what they are doing in a particular moment (cognition) and why they are making specific choices related to their writing and their process (metacognition)

Reflection should be continously happening during the writing process, not merely after it

Reflection does not strictly entail writers expressing how they feel about their writing, but also identifying what parts of their process are working and which parts can be improved

Connection Section: 2.0, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 4.4, 5.1, 5.2

Connections

Web

Take a look at our Connections Web

Please note: these connections were conceived by Amber Simpson and Nick Stanovick. The 'connection sections' throughout the presentation reflect connections explicitly made by the authors in their respective chapters of Naming What We Know.

Further Connections

Visual Connections Web

Visual Connections Web

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