Dialogue on Writing : Rethinking Esl, Basic Writing, and First-year Composition

A discussion of writing, covering ESL, basic writing and first-year composition. It features essays which are arranged in four sections on: teaching writing; becoming a writer; responding to writing; and beyond the writing class.

Designed for courses on theories and methods of teaching college writing, this text is distinguished by its emphasis on giving teachers a foundation of knowledge for teaching writing to a diverse student body. As such, it is equally relevant for teacher training in basic writing, ESL, and first year composition, the premise being that in most colleges and universities today teachers of each of these types of courses encounter similar student populations and teaching challenges. Many instructors compile packets of articles for this course because they cannot find an appropriate collection in one volume. This text fills that gap. It includes in one volume: the latest thinking about teaching and tutoring basic writing, ESL, and first year composition students; seminal articles, carefully selected to be accessible to those new to the field, by classic authors in the field of composition and ESL, as well as a number of new voices; attention to both theory and practice, but with an emphasis on practice; and articles about non-traditional students, multiculturalism, and writing across the disciplines. The text includes suggestions for pedagogy and invitations for exploration to engage readers in reflection and in applications to their own teaching practice.