I hope everyone's noticed that the _Globe and Mail_ has taken a
page from Roger's book.
http://tinyurl.com/ptgbydp
The author, Clive Thompson, has the sense to quote liberally
from the work of an old Inkshedder, Andrea Lunsford (well, not
old. Long-standing?).
===
But Prof. Lunsford did find a big change in how students were
writing - and it was a positive shift. Over the past century,
the freshman composition papers had exploded in length and
intellectual complexity. In 1917, a freshman paper was on
average only 162 words long and the majority were simple
"personal narratives." By 1986, the length of papers more than
doubled, averaging 422 words. By 2006, they were more than six
times longer, clocking in at 1,038 words - and they were
substantially more complex, with the majority consisting of a
"researched argument or report," with the student taking a point
of view and marshalling evidence to support it.
"Student writers today are tackling the kinds of issues that
require inquiry and investigation as well as reflection," Prof.
Lunsford concluded.
===
"Part of what makes the online environment so powerful, as Prof.
Lunsford says, is that it provides a sense of purpose:
"[Students are] writing things that have an impact on the world
- that other people are reading and responding to."
===
-- Russ
Russ Hunt
Department of English
St. Thomas University
http://www.stu.ca/~hunt/
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