Michael J. Ryan writing.
I share the opinion of Robert Irish. I find the article internally
inconsistent and unconnected to the international context of which it
writes. In this modern age, most International Scholars arrive on a
Canadian campus having been trained [or subjected] to native speakers as
their EFL resources. That is what fifty of are now doing here in Wuxi,
Jiangsu, China. However, if the issue is that PhDs provide poor writing
support then there is no worry, as none of us are PhDs. 80 ]
I had thought the article would legitimize the emphasis on training PhDs, as
this is the point of leverage for the writing by the next generation of
tertiary students. Oh well. Perhaps a distinction between the direct
guidance of a graduate student and the necessarily templated approach to
initiation into writing courses would explain the difference in approaches,
rather then a blind willingness on the part of universities to provide
assistance to those least in need of that assistance. I really did not
follow the article. I am not sure the trail was clear enough. Perhaps it
was argumentative in form, rather then demonstrative. All is in the eye and
hand of the beholders.
I would suggest a unified response by co-authors. If UA will not "publish"
for some time, then perhaps it could be at Inkshed in Fredricton?
Many thanks for the link to the article, as there is no such
scholarly/administrative publication in China.
Michael J. Ryan,
Jiangnan University - Lambton College
Wuxi, Jiangsu, China
BTB: The uni here seems to require four writing courses of most students.
These are Academic Writing and Business Writing at both an introductory and
advanced level.
On Tue, Mar 18, 2008 at 5:11 AM, Robert Irish <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> The real question is why UA published such a banal piece of badly
> researched
> drivel that perpetuates the myth of the declining undergraduate and sounds
> the eternal whinge of the professor who wants someone else to take
> responsibility to fix this "skill" (as if it were a disease).
>
> Rob Irish
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: CASLL/Inkshed [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Doreen
> Starke-Meyerring, Dr.
> Sent: Monday, March 17, 2008 4:33 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: University Affairs article on writing at universities
>
>
> Thanks for sharing this, Tania. Very interesting. The person must have
> missed the Dalhousie conference on critical writing and critical thinking
> and Anthony's talk, which explains the issues very nicely for a broader
> audience:
>
> Paré, A. (2007). What we know about writing, and why it matter. Plenary
> address, Critical writing, critical thinking conference, Dalhousie
> University, Halifax, May 2-3
> http://faculty.msvu.ca/SusanDrain/pare%20keynote.pdf.
>
> Doreen
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: CASLL/Inkshed [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Tania
> Smith
> Sent: Monday, March 17, 2008 5:00 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: University Affairs article on writing at universities
>
> I just found the latest University Affairs magazine in my mailbox today,
> and look! There's an article about writing instruction at universities!
>
> http://www.universityaffairs.ca/issues/2008/april/opinion_01.html
>
> So... who among us is going to write in a letter to the editor and
> inform the readers of University Affairs that there ARE experts in
> written composition at Canadian universities, that writing instruction
> is not just a job for TAs, and that "understanding how [language] works
> psychologically" is a part of the interdisciplinary field of rhetorical
> studies?
>
> --
> Tania Smith
> Assistant Professor
> University of Calgary
>
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--
Michael J. Ryan, Professor
Business Communication
Jiangnan U - Lambton College
Wuxi, Jiangsu, China
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
To leave the list, send a SIGNOFF CASLL command to
[log in to unmask] or, if you experience difficulties,
write to Russ Hunt at [log in to unmask]
For the list archives and information about the organization,
its newsletter, and the annual conference, go to
http://www.stu.ca/inkshed/
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