Topic: Writing Conferences

10-Second Review: The main idea of the article has to do with the roles people play in writing conferences, but specifically concerning the students’ not understanding the teacher’s use of terms in writing.

Title: “The Writing Conference as Performance.” Thomas Newkirk. Research in the Teaching of English (May 1995), 193-215. A publication of the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE).

Summary: Students are unwilling to ask teachers questions about the terms they use, and take for granted, concerning writing.

Comment: I think most of the problems students have in learning to write occur in the confusion over the terms teachers use concerning writing, whether on the students’ papers or in writing conferences. Teachers need to ask students what they understand about the terms teachers use. What do they mean, for example, by “unity,” “Awk.,” “clarify,” “details,” etc. Students might understand. Then again, they might not. Can’t hurt to ask. RayS.

The purpose of this blog is summarize ideas from past English education professional journals. The topics deal with all levels: elementary, secondary and college.